Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-11
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star

Two weeks after the death Of Presi-
dent GARFIELD grand jury of the Dis
r,.. trict Of Columbia be-
indictment gan on the Sd of Oc-
NJ Gui+aau tober, 1881. conSidera-
ton Of the case against
Charles j. Guiteau, his assassin The
Jury concluded its proceedings on the
following day. The Star of October 4.
1881. prints the following report:
The grand jury resumed its session
this morning and the examination of
the case of Charles j. Guiteau for the
murder Of James A. Garfield, President
Of the United States. by shooting him
on the I'd Of July last. DR.. Lamb pro-
duced a diagram of the wound and
testified to the autopsy, and Mr.. E. L.
Du Barry testified as to the shooting.
In the evidence taken yesterday was
one of the confessions of the assassin
as given to the United States attorney
and taken in shorthand by Special As
sistant United States Attorney Bailey.
This completed the examination by the
grand jury, and they at once voted on
the question, Shall Charles J. Guiteau
be presented for murder?" and that
was decided in the Affirmative by a
unanimous vote. About O'Clock today
the grand Jury took a recess, and the
foreman, Mr. Caleb Churchman, pro-
ceeded to the district attorneys Office
and placed in Col Corkhill's hands the
following presentment:
In the Supreme Court of the Dis
trict OF Columbia, holding a criminal
term (June term, 1881, District OF Co.
lumbia, County of Washington, to wit
We, the grand jurors of the United
States for the District aforesaid, upon
oath n oroSeTf Charles I GI1it 7,
for the murder of James A. Garfield.
President of the United States, by
wounding him with bullet fired from
a pistol in the hands Of him, the said
Charles j. Guiteau, at the Baltimore {,
Potomac Depot, on or about the I'd day
Of July, AID. 1881, on the evidence Of
j. K. Barnes, George w. Adams, Pat
rick Kearney, Sarah e. v. White, Robert
A. Parker, Edward A. Bailey, D. S.
Lamb, Jacob P. Smith, Z. L. Du Barry
and @. w. McElfresh.'
The Star Of October S, 1881, prints a
further account of the preparation of
the indictment, and
Be Defense. vilie mr the eG bTeStber sfo-
law Of the assassin, Guiteau, arrived
here yesterday from Chicago, accom-
panied by his wife, and in the after
noon had q long interview with Dis
trict Attorney Corkhill. He stated,
after this interview, that he desired
either Mr.. Merrick or Col Totten to
assist him. He said that If he did not
think the unfortunate man was insane
he would not defend him at all, If he
Is not insane or cannot be clearly made
to appear so, he ought to be hanged.
Still he would be governed largely by
the advice of his associate counsel and
could not say definitely what pleas
would be offered. A hereditary faint
OF insanity and acts previous to the
assassination would sustain such q de-
Tense. And he thought both positions
could be sustained. Guiteau's family
have really known nothing of him or
his actions for quite three years, ex-
cept what has been learned from the
newspapers since the assassination, and
ifathe accounts of him and his vagarieS
during the time his family have lost
sight Of him are reliable, he is clearly
an irresponsible being. He (Scoville)
would not be ready for trial at once,
for he would be obliged to rake the
country over for witnesses. and doubt
less many of the most important ones
will, If possible, evade process. Guiteau
had been IN the Oneida Community 1or
six years and was at one time con-
fined as a mnatic. The defense will
not necessarily be q costly one, for the
Government will be bound to compel
the attendance of such witnesses as
are shown to be material and to pay
for 1t. Quite o number of lawyers, and
some Of them prominent ones, have
written offering to assist in the de-
tense, but he has not yet accepted any
Of them. Some were washington
lawyers. To the question, Will your
defense embrace any allegation that
malpractice on the part Of the surgeons
in charge Of the President contributed
to or was the cause Of his death? Mr..
8. answered "A good many doctors
have assured me that there were good
grounds Tor defense on such q position,
and I have been told that DR.. Ham,
mond Of New York, who Is certainly
most eminent authority, asserts that
the Presidents death is due to the
treatment. But my strong rock of de-
Tense is the non-responsibility of this
unfortunate man for the cruel crime
against our beloved President, on the
ground Of his insanity, and, unless I
am overruled by my associates, that
VIII be the position ! shall adhere to- Z"