The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1882-01-06
A SCREAMING FARCE.
Guiteau In the Role of Leading Low Come
dian.
Burdette, b, the Burlinqton Ha,okeue.

Burdete, Li the burlington Hdtrkeye.
II seems to be very funny, indeed. The
Americans are fun-loving, mirthful people.
We must have our little joke. We must
laugh, and the more solemn the occasion the
more necessary that we should indulge in
the relaxation of laughter and merriment.
We have suffered so much from the death
the reaction from our measureless grief
should set in. 1t is very natural, indeed.
We suffered in sympathy with the stricken
martyr through all the long, hopeless sum-
mer of voiceless agony and patient endur-
ance. The shattered bones and the fostering
| track of the fatal bullet the cruel knives of
the anxious, perplexed surgeons the bur
rowing pus |; the burning fever; the chills
like the hand Of death; the longing cry from
the homesick heart for the old home at Men,
tor; the weary nights of wakefulness; the
long, hot days; the pain that never slept and
the agony that never ceased; the long. hun
cry look at the billowy sea stretching away,
wide aud shoreless as eternity; the strong,
good life, so full of hope and love and
strength for God and man, stricken down in
the hour Of its innocence and honor by the
hand Of the vilest assassin that ever cursed
the earth by living in it the peace that only
came with death; the land palld In the
gloom of starless night from sea to sea, a
sobbing world kneeling about an open coffin;
nations beyond the sea calling out their SYM
pathy to the stricken republic, and washing
our tears away with their own-was ever sor-
row like this? Was ever agony like his, or
grief like ours?
And now-you will kindly excuse the hi
larity of Washington audience, but 1t seems
so funny they can not help it. 1t is tie man
who caused all this long day of agony and
night of sorrow who is on trial; that is all.
Over there, just little way, the shot was
fired; just here-maybe you can see the
stains on the floor yet If you look closely
the President sank down, crying, "My God,
what is this ?" Over yonder, In the Capitol,
his dead body, worn and emaciated, and
drawn with suffering, lay in state. Here
but We are missing something good; the
courtroom is ringing with laughter over
something the assassin said. Something
funny; he is very droll man. He says so
many funny things. All, there is "great
laughter" in the courtroom again. Out
West or down In Texas a police magistrate
would promptly check such laughter in his
court during the trial of man mho stole a
mule, but this is a Washington courtroom,
and it is the trial Of the wretch who killed
the President. They do things differently in
the District Of Columbia courts, you see.
And now the audience break into enthusi-
astic applause. They are cheering good
telling point made by the counsel for the as
sassin. 1t is Washington crowd that is en-
joying the trial; the trial that seems to be
full of merriment aud enthusiasm. We who
live far away from the capital of our coun-
try, and can only CLEAN the funny things of
this amusing trial from the first dispatches
Of the Associated Press, no doubt lose great
deal of the rich humor of the courtroom.
All, 1t makes one heart sick to even read It,.
They may enjoy that sort of thing in WASH
ington-God knows what they wouldn't en-
joy there-but the rest of the country, which
is nearly twice as large as the District Of
Columbia, takes no pleasure in Ii. Had
Guiteau committed his crime in Texas, he
would have been hung so long ago he would
now be forgotten. If the State of Mssis-
sippi had jurisdiction in the case the trial and
examination would be conducted without:
expense to the State. Had the trial been set
for any district in Iowa, we believe 1t would
have been concluded without any bursts Of
merrmert or ripples of humor, and 1t does
seem to us that the case might be conducted
even In District of Columbia court with al
least decent show Of dignity and some ap-
probation Of the magnitude of the case. It
may seem to be a very funny trial IN the
courtroom, but the fun dries out in the cold
type of the public dispatches. It may be all
very funny, but there has been enough of IT,.