The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-05-04

in Canada between Jacob Thompson
| and his associates, on the one part.
and Booth and Surratt on the other.
There was reliable evidence that
| Booth and Surratt had been in Canada.
and had talked with Confederate
agents there To prove that their
talk related to a conspiracy to kill
Lincoln the government relied upon
the evidence of one Sanford Conover.
detective and spy. who had served
! both sides in the war. He swore
| that he had been invited by jacob
Thompson to participate in plot to
assassinate Lincoln and his Cabinet:
| that he had seen Booth and Surratt
with Thompson. and that Few days
before the assassination the latter
had delivered dispatches TO Thomp-
son. who said: This makes 1t all
right: that MIR. Cleary expressed to
the witness a fear that Booth might
make a fizzle OF it," as he was dissi-
pated and reckless.
The fact that both Booth and Sur
RAFT had been in Canada gave color
10 this testimony. Booth was there
in October. to deposit money for
flight in case of failure In the plan
he was then nursing to kidnap Lin
coin. Surratt was there the first week
in April with Confederate dispatches.
SoHoNSi testimony " oe
corroborated in it's essential part by
two witnesses. and was accepted by
the commission as true. 1t was taken
in secret session. and no reference
10 ii was printed. for the stated fear
of Embarrassment 10 the govern
ment"
Two years after the trial Conover
was convicted in the District of Co
lumbia of perjury in this case and
IN, hA
Tertiary at Albany II was then
shown that he had produced both the
witnesses who corroborated him. and
that one of them received $1,000 for
his testimony. Various persons had
testified that they could not believe
this witness under oath.
Irregular War Acts Reviewed.
To prove the existence OF the Great
Conspiracy" the commission heard
testimony relating TO the chief known
acts against the government of the
Confederate agents in Canada during
the war. most Of which acts were not
countenanced by the rules of war.
These included plot to destroy
vessels in Northern ports by incen-
diarism. an attempt to burn New York
City. which failed only because of the
use of defective chemicals for causing
com buStion, and the RAID OF Lieut.
Bennett II. Young on st. Adams, VT.
Testimony was also taken on the
treatment of Union prisoners in tho
South, the blowing up of an ammuni-
ton barge at City Point. the mining
of Libby Prison. Richmond, at the
time OF Dahlgren's cavalry raid, and
the alleged introduction of yellow
fever into Union camps in infected
clothing sent from the Bahamas by
way Of Canada and sold at auction to
suffers in Washington.
Jacob Thompson's bank account. a
cipher letter found in Booths effects.
and an advertisement in an Alabama
newspaper calling for q subscription of
100000 for assassination purposes.
were offered in evidence.
None of the evidence under these
heads showed Booth had any part in
the war activities described. or was
otherwise associated with the Con-
federates named in the charge.
There is little doubt that he had
ia liked to some of them OF his kidnap-
ing plan, in October: but there was no
evidence that he saw any of them after
that. while the government declined to
acknowledge that there had been two
plots framed by Booth. one to kidnsp
Lincoln. and the other. adopted at the
eleventh hour, to kill him.
No Evidence Against DavIs.
Jefferson Davis with the assassination