| Show IS HE CRAZY this is the great question in whose solution fifty millions of people take a lively interest Is charles J guiteau sine and was he lie in ill the possession of his mental responsibility on the second of july when he lie fired the assassins as bullet which in floated a mortal wound on the nations honored chieftain james abram garfield F for or weary dreary weeks the trial of the deadbeat shyster lawyer h has been dragging along in the criminal court at washington much to the disgust of the general public who do nut not approve of th the e spectacle of a man guilty of the greatest crime carrying his own trial with a high hand interrupting the proceedings at every step taunting whose testimony is unfavorable to him eilif vilifying ying the counsel on his own side as well as on the prosecution tantalizing the court with mock respect and genuine insults the press of europe has echoed the bad impression which the judicial jest in washington has created across the atlantic and we greatly fear that if we could read the peking papers and japan journals we would find to our dismay that even the cross eyed mongolians Mongo lians across the pacific are having baring their quiet fun over the trifling transaction transactions before judge cox it is generally known that the basis of the defense of the atrocious assassin is the plea of his insanity aside from the universal discredit into which this too frequent plea hns has long since fallen with the public there are special circumstances which attach themselves to this case the prisoner utterly scouts and the insinuation of his insanity claiming that he is and was perfectly feed y sane only yielding to an irresistible impulse on the fatal second s of july at the same taine time tinie his demeanor is such as to make calm spectators believe that he be is endeavoring to impress them with his demented condition while protesting against insanity guiteau is playing the fool for well he knows that only the tile lunatic asylum will cave save his neck from the hempen halter ho he may intend to get off with feigned craziness be confined in an asylum resume gradually his normal state of mind and be quietly discharged after a couple of years or so when he may go lecturing such and similar dodges have been resorted to before in order to avoid the executioners execution ers sword or I the he hang mans rope and G guiteau is well enough versed in criminal business to know the ins and outa outs of the profession ho he has been a deadbeat so long that it would be crowning the edifice of his deadhead existence if he could bum bunt board and lodging for a few years at the expense of the government but we are inclined toward the belief that mr guiteau is greatly mistaken in his scheme his assumed craziness is too transparent a disguise ho he ought to have taken a more thorough course in hamlet to act the madman to satisfactory effect he rants and rails rail and lumps jumps and knocks about lively enough to appear crazy to a casual casul superficial beholder but in ahe midst of his crazy conduct he manifests sagacity and discernment that prove his mind to be clear enough to hang him with a keen understanding he follows the intricate progress of bf the trial he traces the examination of the witnesses and has shrewdness sufficient to weigh the worth of their testimony and its bearing on his case in the twinkling of an eye whenever he lie hea hears is anything of a nature to injure his interests he tries to weaken its effect by outbursts of his buffoonery to make the jury laugh n and f forget the jan berous deposition over their merriment at the murderers mad niad manners his insanity y acting assim is similar ilar to that of the noble prince of the danes in one respect theres method in it the very fact of constant reiteration of the deity dodge of the irresistible impulse tho the uniformity of his characterizing people whose evidence is friendly to him as high toned the repetition of the same phrases such as that s all theres there in it all these dr cum stances combined show that there is 13 method in his madness altogether too much method to let him get off on tho the insanity pica As we mentioned the other day iu in speaking of a cartoon in puck the common sense of or tho the civilized world is against the possibility of the miserable miscreant cheari cheating nr the gallows he lias has cost the government too much already and all it can afford for him after the tedious trial ia is terminated la is to execute the law |
