Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1882-01-26
THE ASSASSIN'S TRIAL
The Testimony all in-The law In the Case
Arguments Of Counsel,
FRIDAY, JANUARY 10.

Arguments OF counsel,
FRIDAY, JANUARY 10.
Davidge took the floor as soon as the prison
or had relinguished it This the prisoner did
after he had announced that he had uninten-
| honally done Davidge injustice in blackguard-
ing him. and that henceforth he would confne
his attention to Corkhill and Porter He never
seems to be able to keep a promise Notwith-
standing his solemn promise, he was interrupt
hour
Davidge held the attention Of every auditor
in the criminal court room all day long until
ne concluded his argument just before adjourn
ment He SAID just what he should say in the
best manner imaginable and produced a tell
ing effect on the little audience OF twelve to
whom he especially addressed hi-aseh
He made the jury unders+~ ne value Of
d ss %afef s q He Droa Que ss a With as
marked effect all the administrations Of
and especially Of the family Witnesses detri.
mental to the defense. He iterated and reiter-
ated all that he said yesterday about the vii
who, however, always understood the advan-
tage of stealing the livery of heaven to serve
his master in. He went over his career, bring
ing out in strong relief the acs of iniquity Of
which the miserable wretch was guilty, and
made out a strong case OF total depravity His
peroration, in which he summed up all the
facts about the crime the criminal and the
victim, was mastery effort It was skillful-
~ prepared. His sentences flowed naturally one
after the other as lie described the hor-
rlble crime, the miserable assassin and the
martyred president to the terrible sequence to
come scafold and suspended form. The
tragical interruption to his eloquence, q strong
man fainting from EXCITEMENT and the heat
and bad atmosphere Of the crowded court room
intensified the interest with which every word
q ON 70 s,4o, >lol
constantly He soon became excited, and then
exasperated. When Davidge WAS detailing he
acknowledged short comings he punctUatcd
the sentences with ''that's false' or *'thats q
lie"
Reading from the evidence, Davidge quoted
from Guiteau's own testimony this sentence:
II don't tell my busine So to everybody. keep
my mouth shut" Guiteau retortea: ssThat's
true, except have to open it pretty often here;"
| and in s. few minutes he shouted in loud tones:
Confer not with flesh and blood. That was
Paups idea, and that's mine get advice from
the Deity, not from flesh and blood. That's
the way Paul got his work in, and that's the
| way did mine. The trouble with you is,
Davidge. that you don't know anything about
| the Deity. He knows you, though, and you'll
| know something about him when
HE GETS YOU DOWN BELOW.
After disposing Of the insanity and inspira-
! ton theories, Davidge continued:
There is not an element in this case that re-
moves it from the category of immoral lives.
He was a daring, audacious boy who, in the
| Oneida community, gave way to a life of law
less vice. Later, as man, a theocrat, who
wonld overturn all law and churches. Later,
| when he boosted himself to be of the firm Of
Jesus Christ & Co., you see the legitimate out
come Of his wicked egotism, and it is
true explanation OF this crime in the
| same traits of inordinate vanity,
desire OF notoriety, and reckless egotism. As
l conceive, the true and only theory of his
| CRIME is this: He conceived the idea of this
monssrous crime, believing others were as
wicked as himself and those who would be
benefited by it would in some way interpose to
save him from the damning consequences of
his most heinous crime.
Guiteau continually interrupted, with con-
stantlY increasing exhibition Of ugly temper
.sYou'l get the deity down on you for the way
you are conducting this case" he shouted,
'sandhe will eternally damn you, Davidge"
SATURDAY, JAN II.
Guiteau promptly took the floor to say that
he had received checks aggregating in amount
$4,000. Some of them he supposed were
good. He wanted people to send him no
other kind. He wanted everybody to under
stand, too, that he was doing bis own banking
business, and desired the checks made payable
to his order. Before Reed began his argument,
Scoville requested Judge Cox TO decide wheth-
or Guiteau should be allowed to speak in his
affirmative he wanted Guiteau to speak either
before Mr.. Reed or himself.
Judge Cox-I should be 10th in a capital case
to deny any man present an opportunity to be
heard even if he is represented by counsel In
this case it is safe to assume the prisoner will
the trial, and what he would say would be high
" improper to 60 before the jury. shall
therefore deny him the privilege. AS said
yesterday. however, If his council desire to read
from his manuscript anything that seems prop
| er to be laid before the jury, they can do 80.
Reed and scoville, disappointed but not de-
spondent, accepted the decision with the best
grace possible but Guiueau WAS not like minded
He broke out fiercely in denunctation of a de-
cision which, allowed to stand, would be an out
rage to American Jurisprudence.
Reed then rose to address the jury on behalf
of the prisoner. He commenced by paying
compliment to the jury for the seriousness and
solemnity and care which had characterized it
during this long trial, unparalleled in the history
OF criminal jurisprudence. Before Reed had
to comment and contradict. Contrasting the
mercy Of the Savior towards those afflicted with
devils and insane. with the demand of the
prosecution In this case. Reed said they say
Chang him" Guiteau shouted:
And the American people say let him 60 The
American people are on my side. Reed, now
go on with your speech
Reed continued:
1t does rot require an expert to pronounce
the prisoner insane. You have seen him day
after day shutting IN before you. You have
seen that strange, unnatural look of his eyes,
needing the opinion of no expert to convince
you that this is not the appearance Of a sane
msn In my opinion, if this poor creature is
sent to an asylum he will be q driyeling idiot
within six months
Guiteau had been quietly listening with ell
bows upon the rail Of the dock and bis chin up
on his hands, his back being turned to the
audience and his attention apparently fixed on
something in the court. This startling predic.
ton amused him immensely. Turning around,
he looked over in the direction of the speaker