The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1882-02-02
GUITEAU'S TRIAL.

received from American INtlleB. uno letter
suggests that President Arthur give mo o
Cabiuet appointment. | do not desire any
Office from General Arthur. It would not be
proper and if it would l don't desire it. l
also wish to say to Judge Porter that he is to
have the final close ON this case, and that il he
attempts to mislead that jury about the law or
about tile facts my counsel and myself will
stop him. He came into this case last Octo-
Der at the instance OF General Arthur under
misspprehension, and Judge Porter doesn't
represent the American people or the
governm of the United States. In
this case he represents himself" Judge Por-
ter then began the closing address to the jury
in presence of an audience that crowded the
courtroom to suffocaiion. in a voice that was
rather weak for he had been sick several days
MIR. Potter said: "l deal only with the evil
dence and the facts and the law" During
most of Mr.. Porters address Gnteau either
read o newspaper or wrote autographs. Mr..
Porter said ho would say, in Justice to the
prisoner that, of the three arguments which
had been made for the Defense the one most
free from objection was that delivered by the
prisoner himself. Aside from the impousness
Of his statements, it was free from the deliber-
ate misstatemonts aui perversons of testi-
mony that ran through the arguments OF his
associate counsel, especially of Mr. Scoville
Describing Guteau's characteristics Alr. Porter
said: i" Ibis man showed his idea of mercy to
others when Oh one occasion he turned to you
80 often blasphemed, would interfere to strike
down one of your number before you should be
able to convict him. This is the man who in-
yokes the tender and merciful confederation Of
his case-a man brutal in his Instincts, in
ordinate in his love of notoriety, eaten mp by o
thirst for money which has gnawed at his soul
like cancer, beggar, hypocri c, a canter n
swindler, lawyer, who with many years prac-
tioe never won q case. Would you know why I?
No court, no jury failed to see that he was dis
honest rogue and such men cannot win
cases-a man who has left his trail i'll
various States man who has lived OH other
peoples funds and appropriate ed them to his
own use i'll breach of every trust; man who is
capable OF aping the manners OF & nteman;
p man who as q lawyer had this notion OF
morality that when he had taken debts to collect
and collected them by dunning the debtor, held
them against his client, and chucklod over the
success OF his scheme a man who sold orolde
watches or pauned them to get money through
fal7ehood and mis- representation" (rhe pris-
oner-" That lie seems to stick in your throat
Porter.'O Mr. Porter continued his denuncs-
tion of Guiteau, calling him a coward and a
ftnd. Then he highly eulogized PRESIDENT
Garfield. Mr.. Porter review d the history of
the case. the purchase of tho pistol. the pris-
oner's prScticing by the river side and the va
rious occasions when he was deferred from the
murder. III regard to the incident of the prac
ticing at the river side, he said: "Who was il
at the bar VINO fired at these osiers? Who
sent them swerving down as Garfield swerved
Who hit them Nho fred twenty times in
order to aecustom himself to the noise OF the
report of the pistol, to the end that
it should not stun him when it mur-
dercd the Presidenti' As to his
being restrained from tho murder by the pres-
ence OF Mrs Garfield on one occasion and that
OF the two boys on another occasion, Mr.. Porter
remarked that there was no diabolism SO COM
plete on this side Of the Internal regions that it
has not some remaining twinges of conscience !;
and yet he firmly believed that this statement
OF the prisoner was as false as anything else he
had said. He had been restrained by no thing
but cowariice on all such occasions. Mr.. Por-
ter also referred to the vanity which made the
prisoner choose White-handled pistol rather
thau q black one, that it might bear his name
and fame Numbering down the ages" and be
more conspicuous i'll the patent Office He ac-
cused Mr.. Scovllle of making deliberate
mirsatements aud perverting the testimony.
Mr. Scovlle interrupted him at one point, say
ing he desired to correct the speaker on the
evidence. Mr.. Dayi lge objected 10 Interrupt
tions, and Mr.. Scovile retorted that he had
been interrupted 147 times. When Mr.. Porter
touched upon the question OF public opinion
concerning Guiteau, Mr.. Scoville objected, and
took an exception to statements of the speaker
denying what Guiteau himself had asserted as
to the tone of the press and the public. There
was lively tilt, in which Guitoau took part,
and Judge Cox said Mr.. Porter could deny
what Guiteau had said, but could not make
positive statements as to what is contained in
newspapers or private letters. Mr.. Porter was
not well aud was obliged to suspend his speech
early in the afternoon
AS Mr.. Porter rose to resume his argument
on the fifty-ihiId day Guiteau shouted from
the dock: "Some crank signed my name to q
letter in ono of the papers t i. morning. re-
pudiate that kind of business. I also under
IL.
ing, and that two of them have been lying
around since Saturday. l give notice that
am in charge OF officers Of the court, and if
anybody attempts any violence against me he
will be shot dead Let the people understand
that" Judge Porter then continued his
address. to the jury; He asserted that
the defense was founded on shams and
impostures; on brazcn falsehood which was
supposed 10 acquire force and strength by per-
petusl feiteratiOns. "Ihe disciples OF the
school of Guiteau," he said, "have great
confidence in a maxim of Aaron Burr, that
falsehoods are to be verified by persistenoy
and reteration.' He said that Guiteau was
liar, swinder and a murderer in heart from
the beginning; that he had grown worse every
year that he had lived; that lie vas DISC
bedient child, lawless and ungratelul to his
father, and an uukind brother; that he stung
every man who was beneiactOr to his youth;
that he had inordinato desire for unholy noto-
riety, and that h" grew worse and wore until
his career eliminated in cold-blooded ASSASSIN
alton. He became, not by disease but by/nii-
ture, moral monstrosity--the mos coia-
blooded aud savale murderer of th5 iast Blk
thousand years. Guiteau intcrrnYeu 'nls 'oI,
rent OF deuunciation, remarking1TI" ma 1"' ~ was Sii
bosh, and that Porter knew ne t1ni,taeu IadIn;
his interruptions all day, sche'in1e,s declaring
that the speaker as .;,,t telling &, false. false
hoods hoods ail and oa.,.68 at that Mr.. t1s PoroT
.'.. ;a% Dibber reminded the
a,ool,or mas ~ ,,I4e, which he repeated for the
iipaA'A ippra AUoSfer interruption led Mr. Porter to
so,y' o@<5s afraid the prisoner had not tho
Intelligence from heaven. Referring to
S.tteau's assertion that he made Arthur Pres
/ident Mr. Porter said General Arthur was
made President by the voice of bis country
men the same voice that made Garfield
President, and HAT Millard Fillmore was lust
as truly elected by the people as the President
whom he succeeded. Guiteau declared that
this was false, for Arthur and Fillmore were
nominated for Vice-President, and would not
have been nominated for President at the time.
Speaking Of the statement made by Guiteau
10 the dist let attorneys stenographer soon
after the assassination, and which the de-
tense claimed was destroyed because it CON
tanned the prisoners claim to inspiration, Mr..
Porter said he had read that statement. and II
contained no such thing. Mr.. Scoville at once
objected, saying that Mr. Porter was trying to
get indirect and unsworn evidence before the
jury. Mr.. Porter defended his course on the
ground that he was only contradictng what
the prisoner had said. Judge Cox said the
statement was Objectionable, as the prisoner
ter was not. Mr., Porter, nevertheless,
attempted to go on with what he wished to
say, but Mr. Sc0ville stopped him again,
and Judge Cox said he could not allow any
thing more 10 be said by Mr.. Porter on tho
contents Of that paper. Mr.. Porter declared