River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1901-04-11

Booth gave exhibitions of his great
kistrionic genius everywhere else,
but he never saw the national capital
after that awful crime was committed.
Mr.. Dietrich spoke of the assassin
as a crazy man, and said that his ia
Their before him was on the border
land Of insanity. 1t 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 Gniteau, the
assassin of the lamented Garfield;
and he was undoubtedly crazy man.
We may we'll believe that no sane
man would commit such a deed in
republic like this, where escape from
the consequences is impossible.
James c. Linden, who has lived in
Washington until his sands OF life
are running through the hour glass
which indicates So years, says: 81
have been temperance man and an
advocate of prohibition for Go years,
although l had been a drinking man
during the first half-century of my
life. l used to say that every man
is responsible only to himself and his
family when he takes a glass of whis-
key / resented all of the works of
the early temperance people; and l
hated John B. Cough and all others
who talked against saloons. I knew
John Wilkes Booth well, and often
drank with him. He WIS what we
boys regarded as d Jolly good fell
lof,' because he treated rftener than
others, and always spent his money
so freely.
"But when he went into that sa.
loon, adjoining Ford's theater, fully
half a dozen times and maybe oft
ener, to get his glass of brandy in
order to nerve himself to commit
that crime, saw the folly of all my
theories of individual rights. ! saw
that the man who takes alcoholic
poison is responsible to the commu-
nifty in which he lives, and to the ma
ton of which he is citizen. Then !
gave up my ideas of private rights,
and / 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 consti-
tute the best temperance lectu ever
delivered. The greatest crime Of the
past century was committed by
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-
BILE, but it is simply a statement of
fact, and there is some man in every
community to whom the characteri-
cation will aptly apply.
Senator Stewart, of Nevada, the
only member of the present senate
who was a senator when President
Lincoln was ASA sinated. says: 81
was the last man in public life who
saw and talked with Lincoln, and /
received the last line ever written
by him l called at the white house
that Friday night and sent up my
card. 1t was returned to me with
the penciled lines Call tomorrow.
Am going to theater with my wife
l had a friend with me who wanted
to meet Lincoln, and we stood on
the front portico a 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 l knew that he had
been killed. / was awake all that
night, and SO vas everybody else in
this city" SMITH D. FRY.