Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-09-28

WHAT THEY THINK OF THE PRISONER


| soldiers frequently on guard at the Jail will give
| an idea how the military engaged in that duty
| feel toward the prisoner This interview was
had last Saturday directly after the assassin had
been escorted to the bath room as stated in yes
| terday's STAR
In answer to the question: "What do you
| think of this business of guarding Guiteau
| anyhow" the guard answered.:
| why, it is humiliating in the extreme that
| we have to guard such a miscreant. The gov
| eminent Is bound to protect its prisoners, how
ever. and some of us have got to guard him,
| suppose. We soldiers feel sometime that We
| ought to shoot him, but even were We so in
! clined we do not get a chance now. Sergeant
] MasOns freak caused the wretch to be hid from
| u.s."
"What will be done with Sergeant MasOn?"
81 suppose that he will get about three years
| at the military prison at Fort LeavenwOrth with
loss Of pay &c. as a sentence, but perhaps after
sentence they will have a board Of inquiry Onhis
mind and find that he was crazy on the one
point-that the Presidents assassin should be
put out of the way-and will be sent across the
river. to the Insane asylum. Shooting is too
good for the wretch. and am glad now that
Mason did not kill him, for it would have been
too honorable death for him to die. Gentle
men die by the bullet, and to treat Guiteau to a
death by the bullet would be to dignity the
wretch
Then you think Sergeant Mason was in the
wrOng?"
why. of course, he was as a soldier. He had
no business to fire his piece without an order:
that is an offence against military law. / hope,
though. it won't GO too hard with him. for Ser
geant Mason is good man and We all like him.
This thing of guarding the assassin worked on
his mind SO that he could not help it. / don't
believe that he did it to gain nOtOriety, but
because on this point he was insane. MasOn's
shot not having been effective, it frightened
Guiteau terribly. The assassin was not before
then afraid of us soldiers. but he is now. He is
afraid of everybody nearly now, even the jail
guards
''What kind of punishment would you mete
out to him. if in your pOwey?''
"Why keep him in his present frame of mind.
Didn't you see him as he went to his bath? He
was afraid of his shadow even. l would keep
him in fear continually. He has got scared into
the diarrhRa but hope it won't kill him. but
just be bad enough to keep him in fear all the
time. and this fear of death by the law and fear
OF death by mob will be punishment, indeed"
''Then. you do not believe in delivering him to
New Jersey for trial? They are impatient to
make short work Ofhim."
"We all hope that New Jersey will not get
him. at least yet awhile. Somebody should tell
him that New jersey wants him. so as to add to
his punishment but he should be kept here
and be made to realize that slow justice is
better than swift Justice"
.'DO you think that he is expecting to get
clear?'
Il have heard as much-that he expects
when the excitement dies away he can get off
by the crazy dodge He is sane enough to fear
and he can't come that dodge. He believes now
that there are 10000 men coming down to take
him out and the least noise frightens him.
When cast an ugly look at him awhile ago he
fairly trembled. and his hair stood on an end
lis there any danger of soldier ending
his life and the trial!'
NO. not unless some insane man gets down
here or some new men come down. Those who
know how he is fearing now would not end his
punishment that way even they hadt OppOrtu-
nifty. There is no indignity which should not be
put upon him. but goodpowderand ball shOuldnot
be wasted on him. On him. let him live as he
is to-day, without friend. in constant dread of
sudden death. or worse in fact let him be kept
in constant suspense as to whether he is to be
hung by mob the military or civil law or to
die in despair. Let him pray for death to come
to his relief and may it never come He is now
suffering the fortunes of the damned as near as
they can be suffered on this earth, and say let
him suffer-
The above interview of STAR reporter does
not seem to bear cut the following
STORY OF A CONSPIRACY
i'm dispatch to the New York Herald from this
city - If it had not been for Sergeant MasOns
hurry" said soldier of the second artillery.
.Guiteau would have been out of the way by
this time. We had arranged everything" said
he. land would have carried out our plan on the
following night. Masons individual fire had
nothing to do with us, and indeed it broke up
the whole thing. for that night he was removed
TO cell where no one can shoot him from the
outside if they want to- The soldier then de-
tailed all the preliminaries in regard to the Or
ganiZatiOn Of the conspiracy. Said he to the
Herald correspondent -. Now that the whole
thing is matter OF the past will tell you about
it. We were sick of the duty We were doing
guarding the jail. and being required to
remain on the outside. One of the nom
commissioned officers suggested that as Guiteau
would tie hanged we may as well shoot him and
thus avoid the expense and trouble of trying
him. That evening at supper one OF the men
asked him if he was serious about it. He replied
that he was. There We're few words said about
it. and at least dozen said they would take
part i'm it. The plan was:-SOme morning or
evening when we were relieved from guard duty
for the whole party to march as near the Jail as
we could get, and then go through some kind of
a drill. SO as to attract Guiteau's attention to
us. We were to go through the form of loading
and unloading several times and then at the
signal the whole party were to let 90 at Guiteau
The whole crowd firing together we would all
be equally guilty. and none of us would ever
know which Of us fired the ball that took effect
Mason heard of it in some way. and so as to steal
the credit from us. fired at him alone. Hemissed
him. Had We all worked together and fired to-
gether. one of us would have certainly killed
him. and the chances are that none Of us would
ever receive any punishment for it."
THE WOMEN's CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION
At the annual meeting of the WOmens Christian
Temperance Union yesterday the committees for
the year were announced. with charmen. as fol-
lows: On juvenile work. Miss C. NJ. Gangewer.
chairman: Sabbath school work Mrs. Lucy d.
Lang; scientific instruction, Mrs. s. NJ. Hart
sock: temperance literature. Mrs Lydia Tilton:
Legislative work. Mrs. Rosa E. Hartwell young
wOmens work. Miss Anna Underhi: Bible read
ings Mrs. Robert Cohen; on inducing employers
to require total abstinence among their en-
plOyGs. Mrs. f. MOffatt; on influencing the press
Mrs Nellie Bradley; evangelist work, Mrs Anne
NJ Linvie; friendly inns Mrs. Mary Wilkinson
prison and Jail work. Mrs. NJ NJ. Chaplin; infer
nented wine. Mrs. Emma Cook; drawing room
meetings. Mrs. S. E. Sweetman; reform work
Mrs. II. E. Crosby; work among the foreign pop
ulatian and cOiOred people, Mrs. S. NJ. Dove;
statistics of liquor traffic. Mrs. W. Burris; visit
ing influential bodies, Mrs. Laura Barnard and
finance committee, Mrs. Anne MoultOn. Officers
were elected for the ensuing year as follows
Mrs. Clara l.. Roach, president; Mrs. Anna l..
Davidson, corresponding secretary; Mrs. Rosa
+. Hartwell, recording secretary; Mrs. Sar all D.
lie Fetra, tgeasurer. Mrs. Alcesta Riley was
elected delegate to the national convention.
ATTEMPTED BURGLARY.-AbOut 12 o'clock last
night there was an attempt made by thieves to
enter the residence of Mrs. Raymond, northeast
corner of Sth and streets southeast by cut
ting the Stats from the back window. The