Gitteau's Trial

The prisoner Jones, charged with attempting to kill Guitean was examined and in default of $5,000 bail was committed to jail. When Guiteau was taken to court today nis teeth cliattered with fear, notwithstanding the guard had been graatly increased. Mr. Robinson with draws from the case not being pleased with his associates in counsel. " I want no more Eobinson in my case," said Guiteau. Mr. Scoville reviewed Mr. Kobinson's action in the case, and said he thought it was at least "uncivil." "Decidedly unc vil," suggested Guiteau. Mr. Scoville said thrat he had nothing more to say, except that he had fully made up his mind that either he or Mr. Eobinson must leave the case. The difíerence in their temepraments made the trouble. Judge Cox said he appreciated the prompt sacrifico made by Mr. Robinson wnen he was assigned to the case. Therefore, partly gince Mr. Scoville seemed to have mastered the case, he gave Mi Robinson a very honorable discharge from it. Guiteau then made a short speech in regard to his expectation of counsel to come, concluding: "I am here representing the Deity. He has taken good care of me thus far, and I am willing to trust him." Surgeon General Barnes, Dr. Woodward and Dr. Lamb, who conducted the autopsy, testifica as to the character oL the President's wound, and declared that it was necessarily fatal. The defense then admitted that t-he shooting took place on the ground belongingto the government at Washington, and that the President died at Eiberon N. J., whereupon the prosecution rested their case. GUITEAU MAKES HI8 8PKE0H. At the request of Mr. Scoville the prisoner was given permission to address the jury. Guiteau began to talk as he sat in his chair. Mr. Scoville asked hiin to rise. "Thankyou, Idon't care to stand up," said Guiteau; I am not bound to; however, I have only a moment to talk. I did not expect to be asked to speak to-day. I have no set speech prepared, and I don't careto make one. I have one word to say, however, in regard to inalpractice. I only want to have it shown that up to a certain time the doctors said the wound was not fatal, and that he was out of danger, and that therefore If it was made fatal af terwards that the doctors were to blanie. I want an intelligent statement of the case. As my own counsel in the case I shallhold the right to makecorrections when I please. Such corrections should be made while the matter is hot. I alaall take care to do that, and have, theretore, no speech to make. THE DEFEN8E OPBNS. Mr. Scoville then rose and said lie should begin his argument, but after reaching a certain point he would ask an adjournment. With this understanding he began. He said, among other things, that he thought the prosecution had put in much evidence that might have been well left out. "For instance," said he, "you are not here to try the long sufferings of the president, or the sorrowing widow and ohildren he left behind. We all feel alike on that question. We all know the deep and widespread grief." At this point Mrs. Scoville was overeóme with weeping, and many other eyes were dimmed with teais. Mr. Scoville went on to say that the case should be tried as if the President had been nothing but a laborer. The only question was whether the man was murdered by the prisoner. It was no matter who held the 1 resident's head, and wLo dressed the wound. He had subpeenaed experts he had never seen, and he ran the chances of their testifying in the prisoner's favor. Some of tliem would no doubt disappoint him. He took that chance. Mr. Scoville further said the case ought to have been postponed for some time, but he knew it was useless to ask that. He was therefore doing the best be could. He called the attention. of the jury to the disparity of lus forcea and those on the opposite side. He asked no f avors, but desired it understood that he was not responsible for the failure to get adequate counsel. He was not much of a lawyer himself, while the prosecution had all skilied practitioners; but in point of fact he asked no odds. If the jury did their duty he waa sure they would recognize an insurmountable wall in the defense, and he would feel secure in their judgment. He then asked the court to adjourn until tomorrow. A general impressiou prevails that Mr. Scoville's argument, thus far, lias been an effective one. Guiteau kept very quiet during its delivery, and expressed his thanks to Mr. Scoville. TUESDAY TBTAL. .Guiteau geemed in rernarkably good humor to-day. Possibly owing lo the fact that an Illinois lawyer had sent him a $29 money order. Mr. Scoville resumed his argument, stating that no two cases of insanity were ever alike. There are insane persons who are impelled irresistibly to do acts they knew to be wrong, though they were unable to control their actions. Another man raight be no such victim of impulse ; yet if a man was shown to be a maniac on any subject, or to have been of unsound mind in any particular, these things must have their weight with the jury. He cited cases where men had been hung notwithstanding a defense of insanity ; and when post mortem examinations had revealed unmistakable insanity. Mr. Scoville mentioned this to show that insane defenses are not always shams and dodges. He did not insist that insanity was always hereditary, but it was the rule rather than the exception that where there was a taint of it in the blood insanity was the probable result. Mr. Scoville considered the probleni of feigning insanity. He said if the prisoner was feigning, he was not worthy the protection of the law. Guiteau interrupted jin a loud voiee : '! never feign anything. I always act as I am, sane or insane." Mr. Scoville replied, "That, I expect, will be proven io the jury." When he flrst heard of the shooting he had said, as did Mr. Blaine and Gen. Garfleld, "The man is crazy." District Attorney Corkhill denied that Blaine and Garfield had ever said so, and called attention to the fact that Blaine had sworn that he thought Gutieau was sane. Scoville replied that he expected to bring evidence on those points, and then proceeded to discuss insanity. Members of Guiteau's family would show that nis grandfather was insane, and that the taint ran through the family. He cited the family names, "Martin Luther," "Abraham," etc, to show his religious mania. One relative with a well-to-do kusband had a fear that she waa going to the poor house. Anotaer waa a bright giii up to 14 years, and then became insane, and is now in an insane asylum. Another died insane. Another was made insane by a love aff air. The father oL Gulteau had a mania that he would neve.r die, in which he was disappointed. The mother of the defendant was, to say the least, peculiar. Mr. Scoville detailed the history of the prisoner : how he spent his time in Freeport copying deeds ; went to Ann Arbor to school ; found himself unprepared ; worked hard at study and reading religious books ; how the latter had a bad influence, and how he flnally went to the Oneida community ; hved there five years ; was f ully impressed that their dostrine was right, and even expected to become the ruler of all these believers in the world. Finally he took up law, was examined by Mr. Reid, of Chicago, who asked three questions. Guiteau answered two, and was admitted to the bar. He was unsuccessf ui as a lawyer, and collecting bad debts was his principal business. Whenever he met another lawyer in court he failed." Here Guiteau interrupted Scoville, sayiug : "I have had agood many cases in court, and was never called a fooi when a lawyer. I generally gtve thetn as good as I got." Mr. Scoville continued : "Guiteau was persistent as a debt collector, and had a good business." Guiteau interrupted : "And liad also good habits and personal appearance, which brought the business." "Well," said Mr. Scoville, "he liad no bad habits ; never smoked, drank or chewed. He once tried a case with Charles Reed, of Chicago, in which Mr. Reed got the impreasion that he-was a little off. "That is absolutely false," said Guiteau. "I don't want to interfere with your story, but I want to say that I never tried a case with Charley Reed in my life. The rest of your story is good and true, and in regard to my peculiarities, I understand them ; but I want you to know I never was quite a fooi when a lawyer, and don't you forgetit." Mr. Scoville then referred to the fact that Guiteau did not pay his board bilis; that the prisoner was lacking in business ability, and ran behind in money matters. Guiteau interrupted by saying: "I had brains enough, but I had theology on my mind then. That's the reason I did not adhere to law. There'a no money in theology, and 1 ran behind on that, and haven't got over it yet. I am out of the business though now." Scoville's speech was continually interrupted by Guiteau, who denied that he ran in debt and wore poor clothes. Scoville continued to describe Guiteau' s indifference to montary responsibllities, and Guiteau interrupted with the statement that he dead-headed from Detroit to Washington as agent of the Lord on his personal appearance. He was never put off a train but twice. Jumpecl once and was nearly killed. Mr. Scoville then spoke of Guiteau's susceptibility to woman's society, in order to show that aff ections influenced Guiteau. He seemed to think he could marry any woman he chose to ask. "That is a lie," interrupted Guiteau. Scoville cited the case of the lady with $10,000, and said that Guiteau really expected to be the honest husband of an honest woman. Guiteau interrupted, chai'giug Scoville with intercepting and suppressing hls correspondence and lying about it, assertlng, in loudest tones, "Yon are a liar." A controversy ensued between counsel, Col. Corkhill asserting that Guiteau was acting a part. Nothing especially new developed in the Guiteau trial to-day Wednesday. At the close of Scoville's argument witnesses for the def ense were examined, several testifying to the prisoner's insanity which idea was scouted by Guiteau somewhat as follows: "I object to yourtheory on that score, and wheii you try to make out I'm a fooi I'm down on you. I want you to teil the truth, but you needn't try to make me out a fooi. I say the Deity inspired my act, and he will take care of it. I want the truth, and that's all there is about it." The London News iu speaking of the trial saya: It is to be hoped, for the sake o E American justice and public decency and good taste, that the trial of Guiteau will soon come to an end. It will probably be aeknowledged in America, as in England, that the assassin has been allowed to carry his own conduct of the case too far. It seems absolutely necessary in theinterests of decency and justice that Guiteau be prevented turning a tragedy into a hideous búrlesele and from attempting to prove his own insanity by a demeanor which badly simulates or travesties madness. fbiday 25th. There was the usual crowd in the court room this morning. Guiteau was given a few minutes to address the court, and read a peculiarly constructed paper setting forth some of his ideas. He read In a dramatic and somewhat eloquent manner. There was a sharp tilt between Scoville and Davidge over the newspaper clippings found on Guiteau when arrested, which ended in Scoville's getting possession of the papers. These clippings consist piïncipally of editorials froui various newspapers, many of them relating to Conkling, Grant and Garfleld. One of these marked in Guiteau's handwriting, June3d, read as follows: " From whatever standpoint the existing conflict within the Repnblican party is regarded, its outcome would seem to involve the disintegration and overthrow of that organization in this state, and probably in the union." Auother from Loug Branch, dated June 27, stated that President Garfleld, accompanied by Secretary Hunt and Postmaster General James, had left Elberon for Washington, leaving Mrs. Garfleld and children there, and that the President would return from "Washington to Long Branoh on Friday. Guiteau stated that h& understood his divorced wife was in court, and wanted it understood that il' she came there to do nim harm he would rip up her oharacter. GUITEAU'S STATEMENT. Guiteau's statement, read to the court, is a long rambling document, in which he says he inteuds to have all the facts go to the jury, and for this reason he continually interrupted counsel and witnesses. He was determined that every fact in his career bearing on the question, 'Who iïred that shot - the Deity or meV" should be presented; henee everything connectsd with the personal, political and theological must be developed. He places great stress on an editorial in a newspaper last spring denouncing Garfleld for the use of patronage inimical to the Republican party, and says lie certainly never would have shot the President but for them. and they should bear a j ust portion of the odium and responsibility as should also the doctors, who actually killed him. Except íor their treatment he would be alive to-day. The Lord inspired the act, as he did in the case of Abraham, and scores of other cases mentioned in the Bible. Guiteau then paid particular attention to cranks, warning them to keep away f rom him at the peril of instant death. GUITEAU llth DAY. The prjsoner continúes so garrulous that Judge Cox threatens to have him gagged. The threatworks effectively but a short time. His behavior in court is either the result of insanity, or the result of an attempt to simúlate insanity. To-day (Saturday) is called school inam's day as the teachers being at liberty every school in the city is represented in the audience. When Senator Logan took the witness stand and was asked if he knew the prisoner, the cheeky Guiteau coolly remarked"Howare you, senator, glad to know you." Logan was acquainted with the man, but like all the rest of his acquaintances, had a very poor opinión of him. Edmund C. Smith a witness, employed at the Republican national committee rooms during the late Presidential campaign, thought that Guiteau was vevy peculiar, flighty and rambling in conversation. Guiteau then interjected lus custoxnary comments. "This gentleman was not in a position to know about matter there. He was only a clerk anyway. #ov. Jewell, exsenator Doi'sey and the rest of us boys were the ones that did work there." Mrs. Scoville, Guiteau's sister, also testifled to the prisoner's insanity She related an incident of nis attacking her with an ax. She had given him no provocation, but got out of patience with him. It was not the ax that frightened her so much as the expression of his face. He looked like a wild criminal. The direct examination of the witness was in progress when the court adiourned until Monday. THE TWELFTH DAY. The eourt room was crowded on Tuesday as usual. Scoville read the letters written by Guiteau to his father from school in Chicago detailing expenditures of mcney, etc. One letter was signed "C. Julius G." The prisoner interrupted, saying he "mnst have been pretty crank to sign a letter that way." Another letter, he explained, was written when he was 17 years old, and was badly cranked too. Many letters were from the Oneida comruunity and Guiteau interrupted to say he was ashamed of tbat fanaticism and wished the letters were not in existence, Oue letter was abo at publishing a theoeratic newspaper. Another believed only in serving God. Both these were approved by Guiteau, who took every opportuaity to abuse the Oneida community. After reading the letters Guiteau took the stand, answering questions in a quiet, straight-forward manner. He was very indignant at his father for forcing him into the Oneida community. He said : "lt makes me mad to think of it - the stinking fanaticism ; he was crazy on that subject." His father used to compel his children at table to say they thanked God for John H. Noyes, the Oneida community, etc. His father was crank on that subject. He recounted his efforts to start the "Theocrat," and his failure and return to the community, whose principies so haunted him that he feared he would be damned. He intended the paper shorld be an organ of the Deity and the church, benevolent associations, etc. He remained at the community one year. Once while there he threatenfld to blow them up, but flnally decided to have nothing to do with the cursed thing. At this point Guiteau made a speech to the crowd ia court. He saidhe was a slave while there ; thought he vouid go to heil i f he recanted the doctrines, and was "alniost a cranked man ;" and while he did not know but he was going to heil, he went to New York instead, and, under the influence of christian asseciations, had the glamour removed from his eyes and applied for editorial positions on the New York Tribune, the Independent, and in New Haven ; but all werecramroed, jammed full.