St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-06-10
The SILENCE BROKEN
John F. Coyle Reveals at Last
a Strange State
Secret.
His Meeting With Lineoln's
Assassin. and Booths
Last Letter.
New Light Thrown on the
Motive For the
Deed.
Mrs. Surpatt's Fate Sealed By
the Hiding Of a Plea
For Pardon.
New York World.

silence | have observed for twenty-five
years and more, and to tell the true
story of my meeting with Wilkes Booth
on the morning Of the assassination OF
MI. Lincoln, and the delivery of the
letter to mutual friend, and its con-
tents as told me months afterwards by
the gentleman to whom it was given. |
am impelled to do so in the hope of
stopping the falSehoOdS which crop out
every year OF two about this letter and
meeting. Only few weeks ago Sun
day paper of this city published long
story of dinner at Wormley's, at which
Mr.. Morresey, Samuel J. Randall and
We're present and at which this letter,
committed as this writer said, to Mr..
MOrreSey. was burned at the urgent re-
quest of Mr.. Randall and myself. No
such meeting or dinner ever took place,
and there is not the remOteSt Semblance
of truth in the whole story. | had
known Wilkes Booth from his early
bOyh0Od. His father was personal
friend of years. l admired and took a
very deep interest in the brilliant young
actor, who had inherited all the genius
and talent of his father. and l mani
tested that interest in the columns of
the National Intelligencer whenever he
came before the public. At that period
l met him almost daily at the club, then
at the corner of Louisiana avenue and
Sixth street. where he made no conceal
ment of his ardent attachment to the
South and her cause.
ON THE MORNING
of April IA, 1865, Good Friday, was
conversing with Maj. Thomas Donoho,
at the corner of Tenth and ID streets,
when Rnptb ininpd uS cnminp from
Pennsylvania avenue on his way to the
theater, as he said. | introduced him to
Maj. DonohO, and the conversation was
of his father, who was q contemporary
of Maj. Donoho. After few minutes,
Booth asked me if | would be at the
club during the morning, as he wanted
to see he. | replied | would be there,
and that was only going to Mcclure 81
Co.'S, just opposite, when he said he
would wait for me. Maj. DOnOho left
US, and Booth waited until had trans
acted the business l had with Mr..
Fisher (of Mcclure & Coz. and he went
TO a restaurant on ID street and had a
drink. While there his conversation
was of the South and her wrongs. Com
ing out of the restaurant, he said:
Suppose Lincoln should be killed OF
die, what would be the reSult?''
81 said:
would be 10 change"
but if he were killed."
'"Then Gov. Seward would come next,
/ believe, | replied. ''All that is pro-
vided by law
AS | remembered it afterwards, he
grew excited and said:
But if all could be swept away, what
then?''
anarchy and Chaos l said; ''but
such thing could never happen. They
don't make Brutuses nowadays"
"No, no. he replied, they DON'T"
and abruptly left me.
II is conversation made no impress
siOl- IN my mind, as l had so frequently
heard him declaim against the wrongs
of the South. Regarded them as merely
the utteranceS of an enthusiast. A few
days previous to this some Southern
prisoners had been stoned and abused
while being marched to the war depart
ment, and though arrests were made of
those who committed the assault, it Gre
ated good deal of excitement.
WILKES BOOTH WAS
especially bitter in denouncing it, and
in his conversation at the restaurant he
referred to it eXcitedly. l dined out
that day, and on my way to the Office
of the National Inteligencer about
1880 o'clock that night passed crowd
near the residence of Judge Chase, cor
ner of Sixth and E streets. A gentle
man in the crowd recognized me, and
asked how Gov. Seward was. Ireplied,
''Better this morning when l saw him."
Qt will be remembered he had been
thrown from his carriage few days be-
fore.)
oh he said, ''have you not heard
of his attempted assassination, and that
Mr.. Lincoln has been killed, and John
son and Grant?"
was stunned. / exclaimed: "Great
Cod Wilkes Booth!" Yes" he said,
san actor named Booth" | fastened
to the office, where all was excitement,
and where already there was rumor
one for me. The fact, too, of my hav-
ing been seen with him that morning
was generally known and commented
on, and rendered me unpleaSantly and
dangerously conspicuous during this
reign of terror.
THE NIGHT WAS A SLEEPLESS ONE
in Washington. Underlined fears and
apprehensions filled the public mind,
and this letter was anXiouSly looked
way allay those fears. Reporters were
sent in every direction in search of it.
No one at the theater had heard of it,
and as the night passed it was hoped
the morning would bring it in the mail.
l recognized my danger and consulted
with a friend who was on intimate
terms, political and social, with the late
president and his cabinet, and he adj
vised me not to repeat the conversation
with Booth, but to speak OF it as gen.
eral.
And in all these years have done so.
On two different occasions L was sum-
mOned to the prOyoSt-marshal'S office
and to the department of justice OF
judge advocates Office and questioned,
as the impression prevailed that | had
received the letter.
The morning after the assassination
many arrests were made, among them
that OF Mr.. Clifford the stage carpenter
and builder of the theater. He was
taken before a magistrate and held in
$4,000 bail, and / became his bondsman.
He was again arrested that same day
and taken to the old capitol by the in
famous Col. Baker. When on his way
to the prison he asked to be allowed to
call and inform me of his arrest, that,
being on his bail bond, [ might know
where he was. He was refused by Ba-
ker with an oath, who said: Never
mind him. He will be with you in an
hour or two.' Though l escaped the
custody of that creature l suffered
keenly in the constant surveillance for
months. The intervening time bel
tween the assassination and the tria
was hardly less painfully exciting than
that fatal Friday night and the next
succeeding day. The capture and death
of Booth, the brutality of the infamous
Baker and his superiors, kept the coun-
try in constant state of turmoil and
suspense. | was not summoned as
a witness before the commission Or
ganiZed for the trial of the conspir-
ators, but SO much has been said about
the treatment of the prisoners-more