Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-08
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star

Just 10 days before the trial of
Charles ]. Guiteau for the murder Of
Attorney General fieid took place
Put on the Carpet. tins TINS NEWS news. i1e m
The Star of November 4, 1881:
that President Arthur Is seriously con-
sidering the question of superscding
District Attorney Corkhill, strong
pressure having been brought to insure
a change, which, 1t Is well known,
Attorney General MacVeagh has for
some time favored. It Is said by an
intimate friend of the late President
Garfield that he had become satisfied
that the public good demanded q
change, and the evening before he was
shot he had formally decided upon the
events, however postponed any action
upon the matter until quite recently"
The day following, November 5, 1881,
The Star printed the remarkable news
story bearing upon the same subject Of
the displacement Of the district at
torney:
"A very important meeting Of the
Cabinet was held in President Arthur'S
parlor directly after his return from
Yorktown. 1t was of unusual length
and the secrecy maintained by the
members and the oninous looks which
followed all questions relating to the
subjects discussed occasioned a good
deal OF comment at the time. Putting
this and that together and taking one
consideration with another, The Star
is enabled to print tolerably accurate
history of the meeting:
every member Of the Cabinet was
present, the President, as soon as all
were seated, stated that he had called
the members together to consider the
question Of the prosecution OF Guiteau;
that from facts which had come to his
knowledge he believed the Government
to be entirely unprepared for the case.
He added, with q good deal of emphasis
and accompanying his words with a
clenched fist that came down with
some force on the table, that he would
consider 1t pre-eminently disgraceful to
the Government II in the Guiteau case,
as in the star route cases, the Govern
ment should confess itself unprepared
to 20 on and be compelled to ask
continuance.
present and gave no sign. The Presi-
dent. noticing Mr.. MacVeagh's silence,
put the question to him directly as to
the preparation Of the Government to
proceed in the Guiteau case. The At
torney General replied that he did not
consider it any part of his business to
give attention to criminal prosecutions
The President replied that this was a
great State trial and that the whole
country looked to Mr.. MacVeagh to see
that it was conducted properly and EN-
GENTLY. Mr.. McVeagh said there was
no law or custom for the Attorney Cen
eral to appear in criminal trials and
said he had been told so by Judge
jeremiah Black.
''The President then quickly and
somewhat angrily asked Mr.. MacVeagh
how it had been in the Aaron Burr
trial"
"'Oh, but that was q trial for tres
son. Mr. MacVeagh replied.
YES said the President, and this
is trial for numbering the Chief
Magistrate of the Nation. and to my
mind it is the positive duty Of the At |
torney General to take charge OF the
case
"Mr. MacVeagh then reiterated that |
the law never contemplated that as any |
part of his duty. The President replied /
that the statutes of the United States
authorized the Attorney General to ap-
pear for the Government at any time IN
any Federal court In any case In which
ne might deem Ab nag 0uOy " w ~ oAo
he referred Mr.. MacVeagh to the par
tinular section Of the law.
"By this time there was good deal
Of excitement around the Cabinet table.
The lawyers OF the cabinet being APP
pealed to. they all agreed with the
President. As Mr.. MacVeagh main
tanned his position that it was below
the dignity of the Attorney General to
appear In a criminal case, the President
then asked him II he had done any
thing to obtain counsel to assist District
Attorney Corkhill in the prosecution of
Guiteau. Mr.. MacVeagh said he had
not; that that was duty which be-
longed to the district attorney himself
Il he desired additional counsel.
"The President, with considerable
warmth. said shat that was Q new