Waterbury Democrat., 1901-04-15


 histrionic genius everywhere aelse, but he never saw the nationalcapital after that awful crime was committed.
 MT. Dietrich spoke of the assassin as crazy man, and said that his fa- ther before him was on the border land of insanity. It may be well for us all to take that charitable view, and believe that the deed was that of an unevenly balanced mind. The narrator saw and knew Guiteau, the assassin of the lamented Garfield; and he was undoubtedly crazy man. We may we'll believe that no sane man would commit such deed in 2 republic like this, where escape from the consequences is impossible.
 James c. Lindon, who has lived in Washington until his. sands of life are running through the hour glass which indicates s3 years, says: .I have been 9 temperance man and an advocate of prohibition for .a6 years, although had been a drinking mar, during the first half-century of my life. used to say that every man is responsible only to himself and his family when he takes a,glass- of whis- key I resented all of the works of the early temperance people; and I hated John B. Cough and all others who talked against saloons. I knew John Wilkes Booth we'll, and often drank with him. He was what we boys regarded as "a jolly good fell 1of,' because he treated oftener than others, and always spent his money so freely.
 ''But when he went into that sa- loon, adjoining Ford's theater, fully half dozen times and maybe oft ener, to get his glass of brandy in order to nerve himself to commit that crime, I saw the folly of all my theories of individual rights. I saw that the man who takes alcoholic poison is responsible to the commu- nifty in which he lives, and to the na- ton of which he is a citizen. Then gave up my ideas of private rights, and I learned the power and neces- sity of respecting public rights. The assassination of Lincoln would not have occurred but for that saloon"
 This expression was surprising. The few words thus spoken eonsti-; tute the best temperance lecture ever delivered. The greatest crime of the past century was committed by a drunkard. There are many drunk ards who carry on their business, and are not known by that obnoxious word; but they are drunkards. just the same. They are able to sober up over night, and appear all right dur ing business hours; just as the drunkard-actor appeared nightly be- fore crowded theaters. But they are drunkards, and should be known as such in their several communities. This may seem harsh and uncharita- ble, but it is simply statement of fact, and there is some man in every community to whom the characteri- zation will aptly apply.
 Senator Stewart, of Nevada, the only member of the present senate who was a senator when President Lincoln was assassinated, says: "I was the last man in public life who saw and talked with Lincoln. and I. received the last line ever written by him. I called at the white house that Friday night and sent up my card. It was returned to me with the penciled lines: Call tomorrow. Am going to theater with my wife. I had friend with me who wanted to meet Lincoln, and we stood on the front portico few minutes. when the president came out. I in-' troduced my friend to the president and his wife, and went away. Inside of two hours I knew that he had been killed. I was awake all that night, and so was everybody else in this city" SMITH D. FRY.