Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1898-12-22
A WILKES BOOTH STORY.
He Made Up His Mind Never to Fight
the Old Flag.

the Old Flag.
In the known and unknown his
tory of John Wilkes Booth, Abra-
ham Lincoln's murderer, there is q
chapter which is revealed for the
first time now, says contributor
to the st. Louis Republic.
1t deals with Booths political
sentiments. Strange as it may seem,
they were with the north at the out
break of the war. Professor August
Waldauer, an old and prominent
citizen of st. Louis, vouches for the
truth of this statement.
What caused the change in the
heart of the erratic Booth can only
be surmised in view of the fact that
he exp1 essed emphatic northern sen-
! timents.
This tardy and interesting infor-
nation about the great political
murderer is given in Mr.. Waldauer's
own language:
1T was in April, 1861, when MIR.
Booth passed through this city and
paid me visit at the old De Bar
Opera House. Naturally the CONVEX
sation centered on the war, for hos
tilities had just commenced, and 1
asked Booth to which side he in
clined. His answer was very en-
phatic. An actor, said he, has no
business to NEEDLE with politics or
to espouse either side. l have to
play in the south as we'll as in the
north, the east and the west. 1t
would not do for me, young actor,
to take issue with either side
but, said to him, you must
have some opinion about the issues
involved. Suppose you had to go
to war. With whom would you take
sidesS'
Deliberately and without hesita-
ton he answered, I have made up
my mind never to fight against the
old flag
"'But you hail from Baltimore,
persisted, and your estates are in
the Southern Confederacy.'
No matter, said Booth sternly.
Let come what may, 1 have made
up my mind never to fight the old
flag
SO stern and emphatic was this
declaration that the words engraved
themselves on my memory forever.
In the winter of 1864 l had nearly
finished my translation of Scribe's
comedy : Glass Of Water Booth
was at that time playing brilliant
engagement at De Bars Opera
House. l submitted sketch of the
translation to him. He liked it and
asked me to finish it for him, as he
intended to bring it out during his
1865 season. The following summer
had business in New York. l took
with me my manuscript, which was
ready for the stage, and delivered
it to Mr.. Booth. He read it, accept
ed, it and we came to a satisfactory
conclusion of the deal We were to-
gether almost constantly during my
visit to the metropolis, and he seem
ed to be as lively and cheerful as
ever. There was no indication of a
change in his political sentiments.
Nothing seemed farther from lis
intentions than to prepare for a
prosperous season late in the fall.
-Four weeks after my return from
New York he sent me back my man
uscript, accompanying it with a few
lines. This is about what he said:
"MY DEAR WALDAUER-Itis very doubtful
whether shall be the stage during next
season. I've made up my mind to rest and re-
| cuperate, for my health is not good. 1 am eX-
ceedingly sorry, because liked the piece, but
I am positive that l will not be on the stage
to play it.
II was greatly astonished, for
had left him in good spirits in New
York. Six months later, on the 18th
of April, came the terrible news of
Lincoln's assassination at the hands
of Booth. l could not explain his
act to myself except on the ground
that he had fallen in with a lot of
conspirators. He was chevalier-
esque, high strung and light hearted,
and it must have fallen to his lot to
execute the sentence of the conspira-
tors to murder the president of the
United States"
| Sporadic Influenza.
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