The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-04-15

| As Lincoln lay dying in the little bed
room of Il lodging house across Tenth
street from Ford's Theater where he
was struck down by John Wilkes Booth
on the evening of April H. Washington
passed through such night of terror,
of sorrow and of anger as had never be-
fore stirred the people of an American
city
| Crowds cried for vengeance on the as
sassin. and on the South. for wild rumor
soon spread a report that the striking
down of Lincoln was but part of Il wide
spread Confederate conspiracy to kill all
the government heads and establish
jefferson Davis as President in Washing
| ton. \ murderous assault upon Score
tary OF State Seward by Booths dupe,
Lewis Payne. at the hour of Lincoln S
fail. gave color to these exciting ru-
mors. When 1t became known that Lin
coins assailant was an actor. there were
cries of Burn the theater."
| That mob violence did not break out
! was due to the good sense OF the ma
| jority and to the fact that Washington
was garrison city, in the strong hands
OF military authority.
| Before the dying President had been
long in the little house on Tenth street,
cavalry patrols arrived and swept back
the excited crowd that filled the street
| DtlWeeil inc mousse anu the tS-
tablshins Gordon at each intersecting
street.
| Messengers had driven rapidly to the
White House to bring Lincolns eldest
son. Robert. and to the homes of officials
needed to assume authority. and of ply
! sicians to give aid to those already be-
side the dying President. One messen-
ger, seeking Surgeon General Joseph X.
Barnes of the Army. found him at the
bedside of the Secretary of State. whom
he left to hurry to the dying President
stanton Calm and strong.
Within half an hour of the Presidents
| fall prominent men were crowdns the
! little ground floor room in which he lay
cabinet members. Senators. generals
| and heads Of departments. One of the
| first to arrive was Secretary of War
Edwin NJ. Stanton, who, in the midst of
great excitement. showed himself calm
and strong. taking up the reins of gov
| eminent as II the act Were a matter of
| course. While others stood mute beside
the President or in nervous silence in
| the hall, this short, fiorid. bearded man
sat at a little table in the back parlor
and dictated orders and dispatches to a
stenographer. Before him Were brought
the actors and actresses of FOrd's Thea
\ ter, fresh from the comedy that had SO
suddenly turned into the darkest of ac-
| tual tragedy.
They thought they recognized the as
| sassin as John Wilkes Booth, but in
| tfnir horror they dared not swear SO
monstrous crime upon a well-loved
member of their profession. Before
morning other persons Were found who
had recognized the assassin as Booth.
and at 3 a. IN. Secretary Stanton named
him as the man who struck down Lin
| coin.
In the Death Chamber.
Those persons granted the privilege of
| standing beside the dying President
found him stretched diagonally on bed
| too short for his great length, in room
! 3 by II feet at the rear of the front hall.
| 1t was the room of young soldier
(William T, Clark, Company ID, Thir-
| teenth Massachusetts Infantry. Only
Lincoln's great strength kept life thus
| long within his big frame, for the as
sassin's bullet had coursed his brain. He
was unconscious, his body rigid and his
breathing at times stentorious with auto
matte means.
There was no hone that he would ever