Evening star., 1952-01-06
Days Of President Garfield
Horny Johonsen Sold Star Extras That Day
To Buy His First Stem Winding Wutch
By Jessie Font Evans

ny Jessie
Former Washingtonian Harry T.
Johansen, who achieved distinction
as an officer OF the National City
Bank Of New York City during the
regimes Of James Stillman and Frank
H. Vanderlip, earned his first SPEND
ing money by selling Evening Star
extras containing an account Of the
assassination of President Garfield.
Now IS years old, tan and erect,
with keen brown eyes and remark
able memory for detail, he believes
he is the only person now living who
was in the depot at the time Charles
Guiteau. a disappointed Office seeker,
shot the goth President. This took
place July 2, 1881. in the old Balti-
more & Ohio Railroad depot at the
northwest corner of Sixth and B
streets NV. (The National Gal
lery Of Art occupies the site now
That day he walked from Bacon
Bros grocery store at Seventh
street and Pennsylvania avenue NV.
to the station to see the President
and the dignitaries who were either
seeing him of or accompanying him
to the 25th reunion Of his class at
Williams College.
"As ] was entering the depot on
the B street side about 9:25 am,
heard a shot" he recalled on recent
visit to this city. ''At first I thought
it was q big firecracker exploding
because Fourth Of July was near at
hand. got inside the ladies' wait
ing room, which was where the
crowd had gathered, as the second
shot was fired. Then I saw Presi-
dent GARFIELD lying on the floor in
the doorway between the ladies'
waiting room and the main room Of
the depot. The President is shot,
Secretary Blaine was saying ex-
citedly. Get Rockwell! Get Rock
well!' as Mr. Parks and several other
depot attaches began trying to move
the President upstairs.
Police Feared Lynching
Meanwhile Old Man Kearney, as
we called this police officer with a
full beard, had grabbed Gu.teau, with
o partly loaded pistol, about 7
inches long, still in his hand. Then
Kearney hurried Guiteau over to
police headquarters, over a reStau-
rant at Pennsylvania avenue and
Four-and-a-haf street. Every one at
headquarters thought Kearney out
Of his mind when he rushed in with
Guiteau, gave q report Of what hap
pened and urged that the assassin
be taken to the jail to prevent his
being lynched. Guiteau was taken to
the jail near Congressional Cemetery
in two-horse hack shortly after
ward.
with so many people-those who
had been summoned and the curious
like myself-pushing into the depot.
Mr.. Cathell, the gateman, closed the
double iron doors across the entrance
on Sixth street and all the other
doors Of the main building and
locked them"
Mr.. Johansen recollects that the
District Commissioners, to help out
the police situation, telegraphed Fort
Myer, and company Of cavalry was
ordered to the scene. At the depot,
the cavalry formed a hollow square.
guarding an ambulance carrying the
President, which moved with his at
tending physicians up Pennsylvania
avenue to the White House. Among
the physicians he recognized DR..
Hammond. Ahead galloped a squad
OF mounted city police All this, he
recalled, took place within an hour.
Bought 100 Extros
Suddenly it occurred to him that
people who hadn't seen or heard
about what had been happening,
would be waiting to read about it in
The Evening Star. He went back to
Bacon Bros store, from where he
had started. and borrowed 81 so from
Gen. Peter Bacon's son Samuel.
With his first capital in hand. he
hurried to the Evening Star build
ing, then on the south side Of Penn
sylvania avenue, next to Thomas
Dowling's auction rooms. (The former
post Office occupies the site.) He
bought 100 copies from Sunday
Dick" who dispensed The Star to
neWsboys for cent and a half.
MY supply was soon exhausted"
Mr.. Johansen recalls. Customers
didn't wait for their change in their
excitement. I found I was getting
nickels, dimes and quarters for my
copies. One man in front of the Will
lard Hotel even grabbed a paper and
threw me dollar, shouting, Keep
the change, kid. ! haven't time to
watt"
BY the time he had sold out the
100-lot purchase of The Stars four
page edition in fine print. he had a
net profit Of 1886. With this prince