Morning journal and courier., 1882-01-14
THE NATIONAL CAPITAL.

large audience MT. Davidge resumed his ar had left off at the hour of adjournment yes- terday. Guiteau apologized for the offensive remarks he had made yesterday against Mir. Davidge, saying they were based upon let ter he had received, but he had since learned that he was Q high-toned Christian gentle man and sonnd lawyer. MT. Davidge pro- ceeded in a matter fact way to take up the testimony as it fell from the witnesses mouths, dwelling particularly on John w. Guiteau's evidence, which he made good use of to show the weakness and inconsistency of the defence's claim of insanity. Guiteau kept very quiet till after a severe passage, in which Mir. Davidge declared that Guiteau's family, which was very respectable one, should have hewn off this rotten limb and cast it into the fire. The prisoner then cried out, "All that's said for money" and from that time he made frequent Interruptions. Mir. Davidge next considered Guiteaus own testimony, which, he said, dispelled any doubt as to his sanity. MT. Scoville had di- lated upon his morality, and had asserted that lack of intellect was his failing. On the contrary he had shown upon the stand, MT. Davidge said, a wonderful memory, large reason and intellectual ability. Likewise, as the defence had claimed for him virtue and morality, the prosecution had availed them selves of their right to show the contrary, and what had been the result? He had been shown to be such monster of corruption, deceit, depravity and wickedness that the country looked on with shudder. He re- hot, 0f onIYN upon the prisoners moral character as evi- dence in his past life. ''All this time," said counsel, ''no one accused him of insanity. In the estimation of his friends and his family he was sane enough for all the trans actions of lifo. But when his hand is red with blood and the outraged law claims him as sacrifice on the altar of justice we first hear of insanity" Alluding to Guiteau's schemes in relation to the Inter- OceG7a, MT. Davidge said ''We have to deal here simply with the plans of an audacious mind, but there is nothing in such scheme to in- dicate insanity. It is a fact, l understand, that the stock of that paper, once worth $75, 1000, is now worth $1 ,O0O, ,OO0, and it was by putting into successful operation plans suggested by the prisoner"
 F'Yes," shouted Guiteau, ''the paper never was anything until put some brains into 1t, and they have been running ever since on my brains"
 Summing up this, incident Mir. Davidge said: ''It was no indication of insanity It was simply in keeping with his idea that the great moving brain and the one central figure of the day was that of Charles J. Gui- teau.''
 ''Thanlz you, Mir. Davidge" (sarcastically called out the prsoner), 'I'm glad you are beginning to think so. A great many other people think I'm the greatest man of the day, but I do not care @ snap what they think. I haven't got bit of egotism"
 IF his review of John W. Guiteau's testi- mony Mir. Davidge said this witness was, to the prisoner, bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh, with every possible inducement to shield the prisoner, so far as he could do so consistently with the truth He quoted some of the answers of this witness in cross -exami- nation-that he believed the prisoners case was a case of demonism, that he was pos sessed of the devil that before God he was responsible for his acts (which he called moral responsibility, because he believed that, sometime in his past life, he made a choice to follow the path of evil rather than that of good. It was to be said to the credit of this gentleman that when insanity was i'm puted to his father, his uncle and other rela- tives, he rose in court and condemned the course pursued by Mir. Scoville. He read and commented upon the testimony of John w. Guiteau as to the quarrel between himself and the prisoner in the witness office in Bos- ton, and brought out again with great effect the explanation given by the witness ir reply to MT. Scoville of what he meant by saying that his brother was possessed by the devil-that was, that it was the theo- logical view of his father, his brother and himself that there were two contending spirits in the world the spirit of good and the spirit of evil, and that Gas he believed) at some time in his brothers life when he h.d the free will to choose between good and evil, he must have, through his wilfulness, his stubbornness, his perversity had allowed Satan to obtain such complete control over him that he was under the power of Satan, or other demon or demons. ''There," said Mir. Davidge, ''is the judgment of the man | above all others most capable of forming an opinion in regard to the intelligence and capacity of this prisoner"
 When MT. Davidge alluded to the testimo. ny of Mrs. Dunmire, Guiteau's divorced | wife, in which she unhesitatingly and em l phatically pronounced him sane, Mrs. Sec vile broke in, FtShe's a liar anyway. , | Commenting upon the testimony of Dr. | Spitzka, Mr. Davidge said, 'Notwithstand 1 ing some of his remarkable statements | Spitzka never denied the prisoners respon sibility Accepting all his evidence, ever 1 Spitzka brought the prisoner within the reach of law and punishment. A recess was taken at this point.
 l After recess Mir. Davidge, resuming sait had this crime happened in continental Flu rope the authorities would have crushed ths prisoner like an insect In this land of law 1 and liberty the assassin was allowed to sum mon witnesses at the expense of bhe govern l ment, but even the medical witnesses called l in for the defence almost unanimously ar rived at the conclusion that the murderer was sane. The prisoner claims that he com mitted the crime under divine pressure | Where Guiteau the word God, i the word ''devil" were substituted, thu claim could be allowed. The New Testa ment says that God tempts no man to d. evil, that wickedness springs from his owl heart and that sin bringeth forth death.
 Guiteau busted himself writing when thi passage was quoted. Some commotion wa caused by the fainting of a man in the audi ence. Guiteau cried: 'tWe had better hav 1 some more air. It is close and the peopl are fainting away"
 Mr. Davidge went on to read copious ex tracts from the prisoners testimony, con, menting on striking passages, Guiteau inter rupting all the time Once he exclaimed
 'I always lived in good style and paid m. bills when I had money. That's more thai Corkhill does" Some of his remarks wer unusually blasphemous and seemed to shocl the ladies. With regard to the pris oner nursing his conception of the fou deed counsel said that any Christian wh
 found such thought in his mind would hay rushed to the sanctuary, rushed to frient and asked aid to drive away the wicked thought. That's not the way Paul did, shouted the prisoner. ''He conferred neithe
 with flesh nor blood neither did I. I mad
 sure of the Deity and I put my life on it
 You don't know anything about the Deity
 that's the trouble with you. He will prob
 ably know you some day down below.
 When his repeated violations of law wer
 touched upon he said: How about thos
 Mormons out in Utah ?" QLaughter.)
 After long review of the prisoners caree
 MT. Dayidge said EIn all those things yo1
 have the outcome of the same boundless ego
 tis1n and the same indescribable love of noto
 riety, in order to gratify his egotism, in or
 der to secure bad eminence in the world
 now and hereafter, for n bad eminence wa
 better to him than no eminence at all. I sa.
 now, as I did at the beginning, that this mai
 conceived this internal idea the underlyini
 element of which was simply that other mel
 were as wicked as himself and the men wh
 should be benefited by it would find som way to relieve him from the frightful situa
 tion in which he would be placed by it's per petration.' '
 , '"The money you get for this," bawle
 Guiteau, twill burn in your pocket and Go Almighty will curse you"
 Mir. DaVidge then discussed the evidence 0
 a1l !