Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1882-05-24
Gureka Dailp Sentinel.
WEDNESDAY u. May "a, 1882.
ONLY THE GALLONS NOW.

Guiteau's last expedient has been tried
and it has failed him. The decision of
the lower Court has been unanimously
sustained by the Court above. Under
the excitement of the act of assassina-
ton the public sentiment was in favor of
swift retribution. There is no doubt
that had the criminal been lynched, the
great majority of the American people
would have been satisfied, if not pleased,
with his summary taking off. The NOR
bid sympathy expressed for the would
be assassin No. ?, Sergeant Mason, dem
onstrates that Guiteau had ceased to be
regarded as one merely accused, but
that he was looked upon rather as one al
ready condemned and whose execution
was being delayed with monstrous dis
regard for the well-being of society. By
the time Guiteau is hanged, June 30
prox., the course Of justice will have &C.
cupied a year lacking but two or three
DAYS. The law may seem to have been
slow. but its ends will have been ac-
complished. The law is the surest and
the best means of attaining public justice.
In new countries, perhaps, there is no
law, anu until some organized method OF
dispensing justice is established, the
hasty and terrible Judgment of a vigil.
ance committee may be essential to self
preservation; but a single human life is
valuable above price, and, for fear lest it
be wrongfully destroyed, civilization
hens it in and protects it to the last
with every safeguard consistent with
reason and a proper regard for the well
fare of society. That the accused is pre-
sumed to be innocent until proved
guilty, is both practically wholesome and
founded on a principle that extends deep
into human philosophy, Some phases Of
the Guiteau trial were gross and I'M
seemly, but they were caused by the
wretch's presence, and this was unavoid-
able, for the fundamental law of the
commonwealth guarantees to the pris-
oner the right to be confronted by the
witnesses against him. Judge Cox's ex-
traordinary forbearance in allowing the
accused to interrupt the. proceedings of
the Court, to insult attorneys and wit
nesses, and to make foul addresses to the
public from the prisoners box, called
forth severe criticisms from the press,
and bitter personal denunciations on the
streets from excited crowds about the
bulletin boards on which was eagerly
read the latest news of the trial. Such
structures, however, lose much Of theil
force when the difficulty of the situation
is understood. The Judge explained that
he deemed it safer and more consonan.
with the spirit Of the law to allow the
irrepressible assassin extraordinary lib
critics rather than shut him off, thereby
possibly je~opardlzing the success of the
trial and raising the imputation Of re-
straint and bias because the murderer's
victim was the President OF the United
States. Had Guiteau murdered a mar
of the mediocre sort, one OF his OWL
stripe, his impudence and bravado would
not probably have constituted a feature
in the case, At all events, it is a mat
ter Of peculiar pleasure to the public
that the argument in the Supreme Cour
was not disgraced by the presence anG
olownish performances Of the assassin
1t will be a great relief to the people o
the United States when this bruta
wretch shall have paid the penalty O