The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-03-28
SERGEANT MASON
STILL LANoulsAlNa IN PRISON.
Tho Petition. for HI. Rsl..,. Almost Completely
lSuorOd-sserstary LIneOln'. Dl'spDrO'ai Of
the Pstitiou-A Greedy Lawyers Love
for Gold OTersonss his PatrlotlIm.


John A. Mason, Of Battery B, secon'
United States artillery, now confined ii
the Albany Penitentiary, has just serve'
one year OF the eighth he was sentenced t
suffer for an alleged assault with intent t
kill Guiteau, the assassin Of President Gar
field. Nine hundred thousand citizens
the United States have petitioned tn
President to pardon Mason, and 1t Is sait
that II three times that number had asked
for his pardon on the grounds almost in
variably set forth in the words oi the peti
ton, no more attention would have beer
given the appeal OF 8, 900, 900 than has beer
given to the request of nearly one millior
petitioners. The last batch ef signatures
was sent by the Garfield Club, OF New
York, in December last, and numbered
l75, 900 names.
TENOR OF THE APPEAL.
The tenor Of the appeal is in the follow
ing words:
We, the undersigned citizens OF the
United States, believing that the sentence
passed by court martial upon Sergeant
Mason, for many years faithful soldier o.
the army, whose previous record had been
unsullied by any breach Of military dis
cipline or civil law, Is unnecessarily severe
and unwarranted by the circumstances sur
rounding the offence, respectfully petition
the President OF the United States that he
will take into consideration the previous
record Of the accused, the doubt as TO bis
moral responsibility at the time OF the
commission Of the crime, the great and uni.
versal indignation then and now felt and
expressed by the American people against
the assassin OF President Garfield. We
therefore respectfully ask the President to
relieve Sergeant Mason from other and
further penalty than dismissal from the
army.
The papers were forwarded to the Pres.
ident by Mr.. John ]. Clancy, chairman OF
the committee, and the request was that
the President should favorably act before
Christmas holidays. 1t will be observed
that the voice OF the petition Is to the effect
that the sentence OF the court martial was
Unnecessarily severe and unwarrauted by
the circumstances essurroundingthe offence" 4"
WHAT SECRETARY LINCOLN SAYS.
Mr.. Robert T. Lincoln, Secretary Of War,
to whom all the petitions were referred by
the President, does not concur in the
opinion expressed by million OF his fel-
low citizens. He says on this subject:
On the morning Of July 2, 1881, when he
heard Of the act OF Guiteau, he immediate.
ly ordered company Of troops to guard
the jail where the prisoner WAS then con-
fined. at that moment 1t was not known
how dangerous President Gar6eld's wound
would prove, but there was painful ap-
prehension that 1t would be fatal, and per-
haps in few hours Ifso dastardly an act
had been followed by lynch law it would
have been disgraceful to the Capital OF the
nation. The presence OF troops about the
Jail that day, with the knowledge that re.
Inducements could be quickly sent ifnec-
essary, no doubt deferred mob action.
Now one Of the persons whose duty 1t was
to protect the prisoner was Sergeant
Mason. It would have been impossible
for a civilian to have shot at the Jail
while It was guarded by United States
troops, and yet non. commissioned officer
did what no citizen would have been al.
lowed 70 40 IN the presence ol lne troops, M
t,nst aT panosed nSs T n h;m bnt the act was com.
mitted ten weeks after the shot was fred
by Guiteau. Petitions for his pardon have
invariably asserted that he was illegally
sentenced, while none have been received
that know OF asking for clemency on the
ground OF Executive power. There are
many grounds upon which pardon could
be asked that would not conflict with the
general Judgment OF what is right, but
surely the people do not intend to ask for q
mans pardon to justify the essence Of mob
law.
.cr,ov or NJ v,sos,s corysr,.
m S
lhe issue wheIher the troops were iegaily
stationed at the jail is one which will be
revived by the action OF Mr.. ]. G. Bigelow,
corrsel a., sorceart Macon wbo to.morrou
eouuee' ~, ". &c sn' 'A'' VIZ ''o" c.
VIII hle Dill IN equity IN inc supreme
Court Of the District OF Columbia against
him, Bette Mason his wife, and Riggs &
~ honlo,s /, which hs sets for,th b;s
W., ~, 80
professional services IN defending mason
before the court martial that tried him and
his subsequent services in habeas corpus
.-o,aas;,,., 49, ..a oI,oaod oxnond;,rro. - =
pfoeeeains' "uo "iesoo eApe1e' .. " "
large sum ol money out Oh ms private
means to deiray the necessary expenses
attending the litigation. Inc Dill aVers
that Mason had no money TO pay counsel
at the time ol ms arraignment before the
court maiuai ~, ulai, tnat w ieason "
licity was given 70 the trial and the public
and his utter inability to pay counsel, and
conaeouently numerous aubscritpions were