St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1894-09-01
HISTORY OF A CRIME.
Anniversary Of tho Assassination
OF President Garfield.
The Act Of Guiteea Was . Crime, Care
fully Planned, and Not the Work OF
Diseased Brsin-Aceount Of
Hls Trial.
[Sperial Washington Letter.l

Especial Washington Letterl
Tho sound Of . pistol shot echoed
around the world on Saturday morn
ing, July 2, 1881, when President Gar
field fell. mortally wounded. The as
sassin, Guitsau, was . sane man. He
was the only cooi. deliberate, ,dispassion-
ate man st police headquarters, where
/ saw him halt al hour after his crime
was committed. Ny friend, George B.
Corkhill, was United States attorney,
ana was admitted to the room Of the
chief Of police. whore the prisoner was
held.
While others were excited, tho as
sassin deliberately said: II am pris-
oner Of state. It is your duty to pro-
teot me, and yet, either willfully or BE-
cause Of your incompetsncy, you are
holding me hero while a mob 10 gather
ing outside to kill me. I should be
taken Immediately to jail, where can
be carefully guarded"
Just then the prison van arrived.
Guiteau was escorted down the winding
stone steps by . Gordon Of policemen,
In full view Of tho crowd, which almost
completely blocked Four-and-Half
street and Pennsylvania avenue. It
would have been impossible for anyone
In the crowd TO have shot the man
without injurin9 the guards who sur
rounded him. Twenty policemen
cleared tho way for the prison van:
Guiteau was hurried across the side
walk; he jumped into the van. the
door was quickly snapped together,
two policemen stood on the rear steps,
three mounted policemen were on each
side Of the vehicle, tho driver cracked
his whip, the tour horses went gallop.
ing through the crowd, down Pennsyl-
vania avenue, up steep Capitol Hill,
and in ten minutes the prisoner was In
side the Jail, one mile east OF the capi-
tol.
As soon as the prison van disappeared.
the crowd began to mutter, grumble.
and finally to organize for the purpose
Of lynching the assassin, It was too
late, however, for the jail was sur
rounded by battalions Of marines and
soldiers Of tho Third artillery. There
were repeating rifles In the hands Of
the well drilled regulars. and Gatling
guns guarded the four corners Of the
jail. No mob on earth would have
dared to attack the jail.
Twice within the period Of eighteen
years the chief magistrate Of the re-
public was stricken down without
warning, without cause. Tho assassin
Of President Lincoln was . sane man.
Nobody ever questioned his sanity. The
assassin Of President Garfield claimed
to be insane, and made conspicuous ef-
forts during the trial to convince the
Jury that he was Of unsound mind. His
counsel ably handled their theory. so
that, outside Of the courtroom, many
people were convinced that Guiteau
was insane. More than twelve years
have passed since the mans deed
startled and horri1ed the world. more
than eleven years have passed since the
murderer paid tho dreadful penalty Of
the law upon the scaffold, and men diff
fer now, as they differed then. as to the
assassin's degree Of mental responsi-
bility.
That the jury's verdict Wa not unan-
imously approved cannot be denied,
although few indeed were those who
questioned it, correctness and just
mess. But, nevertheless. the propriety
Of the verdict was questioned by some,
both here and elsewhere throughout
the country, and when Guiteau, upon
the rendition of the verdict which con-
demned him to die. and again upon be-
ing sentenced, called down the curse
Of God upon everyone who had been
instrumental in bringing about his
conviction Il was those who disagreed