New-York tribune., 1881-12-14
THE ASSASSINS SMARTNESS OVERESTI-
MATED.
(BY TELEGRAPH TO THE rRrsUSs.l


fBY TELEGRAPH TIL. rRIBUSs.l
WASHINGTON Dec. 13-Dr. Fordyce Barker, the
famous physician of New-York, was put upon tho
stand to-day by the prosecution, at the conclusion
of Dr. Spitzka's examination. Dr. Barker's testi-
UOny told very strongly against Guiieau, though
he had made no personal examination Of the
assassin, and answered only general questions
framed by Judge Porter with view to the case.
Guiteau sat almost as silent through the whole Of
this examination as he had done yesterday during
the testimony of DR.. Spitzka, which was in his
favor. This seemed to involve a contradiction of
Que of the Of the experts for believing the
assassin insane, which that as a rule, he was
quiet and showed pleasure when testimony.was
favorable to him, and became abusive when it was
unfavorable. But to one who watched him close at
hand as TIE TRIBUNE correspondent has been
doing the apparent contradiction seemed easy Of
explanation. The look on Guiteau's fac) when DR..
Barker was explaining to the jury his idea OF in
sanity the distinctions between deluslOns, illusions
and halucinatiOns, that of a man who is listen-
ing TO a discussion above the level of bis intellect
and in which he is not able to take part. When tho
stream of evidence flowed back to his own life, his
borrowing money, his petty swIndles and the like,
he resumed his old manner which grows moro
outrageous every day. abused the witnesses with
great freedom. joked and laughed, and plainly felt
at home again.
The truth appears 10 be that Guiteaus smartness
for that is the only word to fit him-has been
overestimated He has shown so much small Gun.
ming, SO much superficial intelligence and so much
readiness with rbald tongue, that the public,
contrasting these evidences of sanity with tho
claim of insanity, has probably obtained an exag-
gerated idea of his abilities. The truth appears to
be that Guteau is intellectually man of very
narrow range and ignorant as well as deDraved.
Those who know him best say that he has no gen.
eral knowledge. except what may be gathered from
slipshod reading of the newspapers, and never has
had. There is no evidence that he ever learned
anything thoroughly. His little speeches in court
and his legal points loLg ago convinced nearly
everyone, probably, that he is sane man; but
taken by themselves they disclose his ;gnorance-by
bad grammar, shocking gmispronunciations of words,
and mere scrap knowledge Of law-and exhibit
chiefly the workings of nature oyershadowed by
depravity. He had the intelligence To write q
trashy political speech. the constructive ablllty TO
devise a murder and the knavlsh cunning to try 70
hundred little tricks III court for effect upon the
Jury but when the nature of insanity was beng
discussed by q learned man, he seemed 10 leel De-
yond his depth. and had little 10 say 1t Is easy to
see that the clumsineSs of his alleged slmulatons
of INSANITY. which the experts say show thal le
knows nothing Of it, could be accounted Tor upon
The close of DR. Spitzka's examination was
noticeable for two things-the discovery that ne
| has been writing number OF articles IN medicai
papers upon Uuteau and the ulal during lts pro-
gress, and the presumptuous declaration WIN
| which he lett the stand-that tle expert mHo
would positively pronounce the assassin sane ls
either not expert or not an honest one. one OF
| the most eminent members of the profession, Dr.
Barker took his place on the stand almost III me-
diately upon this lppant utterance and gave teStl
mony which. while it made no reference TO Guiteau
left little room for doubt that if the witness should
rive his opinion it would be that the assassin
sane. DR.. l}arkerS testimony was listened 10 WIN
great interest. He soon defined his position as that
of a nOn-beever in what is called moral insanity
Moral insanity" sand he in reply to question rom
Judge Cox is wickedness." He denied thai there
was any such disease known To science as heredi-
tary insanity. A nervous temperament might DC
Inherited which would be more liable 10 insanity
than Others. He denied that deusion that per-
son was the chosen instrument OF Goa was an
insane delusiOn though it might be proved as an
element of insanity, and declared that u person
actually having delusion, who had nevertheless
shown that he could control his own actl0ns, nau
nor lost the power of the will under the dehslon,
and was governed by the processes that naturally
belong to sane men, The presence OF personal
motives in q crime would snow that there was no
deluson Many interesting definitions and ilustra.
tions were given. Mr.. S9oylle made labored
and Intellectual attempt TO detract from Dr baherS
testimony by creating an impression that MS prac-
tice had been largely directed TO mental diseases III
women rather than in men. The examination
% sSs w US Ei ITe ar Seov rising TO
question DIR. Barker. The answer was gwen with
all the doctors accustomed c0urtllness OF manhcr,
while all present preserved a respectful silence.
AT the afternoon session several witnesses
we're examined whom Guiteau had swindled In
times past out of various sans of money or other
wise deceived. All of them agreed that they never
saw any indication of unsound mlnd III hlm on
the contrary. quite the reverse" to use the words
of one OF them. One witness brought out new
point directly in he line of former testimony that
t.uiteau went into theology because he saw, a. he
said. Moody and Sankey making good deal OK
money out of it, and he thought he knew mora
than they did. Guiteau now resumed his billings
gate. He made the most outrageous reference 10
his wife he has yet made. In the morning he spoke
of Mr.. Talmage in an indecent manner. ana ms
insults TO the District-Attorney were frequent ana