THE MENTAL STATUS OF GUITEAU, THE ASSASSIN OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD. BY WALTER CHANNING, M. D., BOSTON. [Reprinted from the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal of March 30, 1883.] Crimea at tftc f&ce&L 1882. CAMBRIDGE: THE MENTAL STATUS OE GUITEAU, THE ASSASSIN OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD.i The question of the mental condition of Guiteau on the 2d of July last, wlien he murdered President Garfield, is one that requires concentration of mind, and freedom from the common sentiments of human- ity, to discuss with perfect impartiality. There is an unconscious tendency in the mind to he influenced by a sense of what is right, which may at times mislead well-meaning and truthful men. Connected with this sense of the eternal fitness of things, still further, is a desire to punish wrong or make the guilty suffer for their crimes, and this feeling also distorts and perverts a sound judgment. Perhaps there has been no in- stance in the civilized world, where, combined with such universal sympathy for the victim, there has been so little feeling for the doer of the foul deed as in this. It would seem as if every voice in the country had been lifted up in execration against the miserable Guiteau, and had made us blind to the ordinary dic- tates of humanity and dumb to the voice of reason. As a consequence we have been over nice in our dis- criminations between this point and that, and have thrown aside any testimony possessing the smallest evidence of doubt. In an ordinary case doubt would tell in favor of the prisoner, in this case it has told against him. The verdict shows how uncertain the boundaries are 1 Read February 25, 1882, before the Suffolk District Medical Society. 4 The Mental Status of Gui/eau. to the disease called insanity. In a case where the symptoms are at all obscure we can almost make our- selves believe anything that we choose to. The theory of insanity has seemed to most intelligent persons with whom I have talked, the easiest and most natural way of explaining the crime of Guiteau ; but at the same time, while these persons said he must be of un- s mud mind, “ off his base,” etc., they were not in favor of absolving him from punishment. “ Crazy, perhaps, but not so crazy that he should not be hung.” The impartial onlooker in the recent trial must have been struck with the fact that a great effort was being made to prove sanity, the presumption being in favor of insanity. The prisoner’s conduct in court was so extraordinary and unlike that known of any sane man under similar circumstances, that it seemed inexplica- ble on any ground other than insanity, unless it were simulation, a belief in which was not generally cred- ited. Had the actors in the tragedy occupied different positions, and to such an extent that the public feeling had not been aroused, and had the prisoner been ex- amined by a Commission in Lunacy, or defended by a lawyer more experienced in criminal practice, I, my- self, do not doubt that he would at least have escaped the gallows. In this paper I shall endeavor to briefly group to- gether such data as go toward showing insanity, leav- ing out of consideration all arguments in favor of san- ity, out of which the utmost has already been made. In some ways even the investigation of the case of Guiteau is hedged in with difficulties; particularly is this so at the time of the commission of the homicide, for during its preparatory stages Guiteau was secretive and reticent, and no one was so placed as to be able to intelligently study his mental operations. The case was not one, however, of “ transitory,” epileptic, or other form of suddenly developed mania, but a form of insanity of long standing, and the cumulative evidence is therefore sufficient in itself. There are long periods The Mental Status of Guiteau. 5 when we know little of Guiteau. These periods no doubt might be much cleared up if it were not for the fact that but few persons have been found who, con- sidering Guiteau of unsound mind, have been willing to come forward and boldly testify to that belief. Several persons testified to Guiteau’s apparent sanity not long before the murder; but as these persons were laymen, of common intelligence, strongly biased by the general public feeling, and who had had only casual opportunities to talk with Guiteau, their evi- dence is not of great weight. To begin at the beginning of the case, it is necessary to first look into Guiteau’s heredity. We find one pa- ternal uncle who died in an asylum and another who was a weak-minded drunkard. We find also two pa- ternal cousins, one of whom died in an asylum. Mis mother had an acute brain trouble at the time of his birth, and for several years after suffered from a nerv- ous complaint. Several of his near relatives died of consumption. His father was a man of very marked peculiarities, in some ways perhaps overstepping the limits of sanity, and it is to the father that we may look as, in part, the cause of mental irregularity in the son. He was an unreasonable, exalted, religious fa- natic, and early inculcated the vile and dangerous doc- trines of the Oneida Communists in his son. Had his wife been willing he would have joined the Commu- nity himself. Though a man of honesty and princi- ple in ordinary affairs, in religion he lost his power of sound judgment and common sense, and was willing to encourage and practice habits of gross immorality. It can be imagined that the religious instruction the sou received from the father was not calculated to lift up or purify the soul. The sister and brother of Guiteau, who were present at the trial in Washington, possess also a temperament in many ways similar to his father’s and his own. The sister has had attacks of petit mol, and i's said to have also had attacks of actual insanity. She is 6 The Mental Status of G-uiteau. very emotional, rather exalted in religion, and lacking in tact and good judgment. She is possessed of the family volubility, and several times during the trial in- terrupted the proceedings, losing entirely for the mo- ment her power of self-control. The brother possesses more common sense, but also at times loses self- control. For a man, he is unusually emotional and somewhat of a religious fanatic. When giving his religious ideas in court he rattled on with extraor- dinary volubility, and gave utterance to some re- markable doctrines about the seed of God and the devil. His brother he thought belonged to the lat- ter. Almost with tears in his eyes, he said that he had not treated his brother like a Christian, and would take that public opportunity to ask to be forgiven ! Both brother and sister seemed to quite lose sight of the fact that their testimony might injure their brother, and, while many witnesses very evidently colored their testimony, they spoke directly from the bottom of the heart with intense earnestness. “ Dead earnest ” seemed to be a general family watch-word. Guiteau obtained a good common-school education, and at an early age helped his father, drinking in all the time his father’s austere and licentious fanaticism. During early youth he practiced masturbation. For a few months in his nineteenth year he studied at Ann Arbor, but the teachings of his father had taken such hold of his mind that he renounced his books, and in his twentieth year entered the Oneida Community. At this time he was a quick-witted, sensitive, nerv- ous, half-educated, vacillating, over-religious boy, know- ing but little of practical life and ambitious to do great things. At the Community he absorbed everything that was bad, but found nothing to develop good. There he learned to believe he had found the kingdom of heaven on earth, and was taught that fornication, sexual indulgence, and yielding to the passions, if done with the sanction of the leader, Noyes, would be ap- proved by God. Any education more calculated to The Mental Status of Guiteau. 7 destroy a correct moral sense and respect for society it is hard to imagine. At times Guiteau worked in the trap-shop and did fairly well, but he did not enjoy it, preferring reading and study. After a while he as- pired to be a “Community leader,” and usurp the power of the others. Finally, he found the Commu- nity too small for him, and in 1865 left and went lo New York. It was at this time that he was filled with his wild scheme of starting a “ Daily Theocratic Press.” The publication of a little sheet called the “ Circular,” issued at the Community, and the religious life there, may have had something to do in originating the proj- ect in his mind. This plan resulted, of course, in utter failure, and he returned to Oneida, as he could find no employment in New York. Soon, however, he be- came disgusted with the Community again, and the Community also found him Intolerable, and he returned to New York. There he at once sought a position as editor on the Independent; failing in this, he sought a similar position on the Tribune. Failing in this, he began to read vigorously on theology, law, and kindred sciences. Finally he went through the farce of an examina- tion in Chicago, and turned up as a lawyer. For the next two or three years he did well, earning a fair liv- ing, and supporting a wife. Then, however, he got tired of Chicago, and went to New York, where he espoused religion, committed adultery to get rid of his wife, brought a heavy suit against the Herald, and got finally thrown into jail for debt. Leaving New York and going back to Chicago, he again did well in law, but soon his mind became fixed on another grand newspaper enterprise. He proposed to buy the Chicago Inter-Ocean, and to put into it “ the advertising patron- age of the Chicago Tribune, the Republicanism of Horace Greely, and the enterprise of James Gordon Bennett.” He wished to raise seventy-five thousand dollars to start the paper with, and applied to a man 8 The Mental Status of Gruiteau. in Freeport for it, offering as an inducement to make him governor of Illinois if he would let him have it. He was, of course, refused, but explained the refusal satisfactorily to himself by saying that this man had no political aspirations. In 1876, after the failure of his last newspaper scheme, Guiteau turned, his attention to religion, it seeming to he the only thing that was large enough to interest him. The New Testament was just the sort of reading that suited him, for he found in Christ an example in which poverty was glorified, and I have no doubt that he honestly excused himself for not paying his board hills on the ground that the Saviour had not where to lay his head, and paid no hills. In the summer of this year Guiteau diligently stud- ied the Bible, and prepared himself for his holy work, at the house of his brother-in-law. It was this summer when he seems to have shown symptoms of insanity, particularly in the direction of religion, and the case seemed such a clear one that the family physician advised sending him to an insane asylum, in which plan the family joined, and he would have gone had he not run away. In October of the same year he espoused the cause of Moody and Sankey, and was worked up to a high pitch of religious exaltation. During the following winter he wrote his lecture on the second coming of Christ. The idea of his lecture was that the second coming occurred on the destruction of Jerusalem, in the year 70, in the clouds, directly over Jerusalem. The churches have been in error for eighteen centuries in supposing the second coming to be in the future. Guiteau, in his lecture and in his book, called Truth,” and written some time afterward, apparently wishes to have these ideas considered as original. They are, however, quits similar to the views of Noyes, the Oneida leader, as expounded in the book called “ The Berean.” As far as I could see, Guiteau did not fraudulently use these ideas, but supposed that he had at least shared in their discovery. The Mental Status of G-uiteau. 9 With the utmost faith in his opinions, he went about lecturing, the laughing-stock of all his audiences, failing everywhere, and paying rarely a hall rent, few board bills, and no railway fares. Yet all the time he kept resolutely on, unconscious of the absurdity of his lec- ture, as well as of his daily dishonesty, and satisfied that he was working in the vineyard of the Lord, and teaching inspired truth. The exaltation and expan- siveness of ideas of G-uiteau were well shown in his announcement of his lecture in Boston in 1879 : “Do not fail to hear the Hon. Charles J. Guiteau, the little giant from the West. He will show that two thirds of the race are going down to perdition.” At this time Guiteau said that he had challenged Ingersoll to debate, but he had not the courage to meet him. He stated that he belonged to the firm of Jesus Christ and Co., and God was his direct councillor, and he did nothing wrong. His lecture was disconnected and rambling, and seeing that he was only laughed at he finally left the hall in disgust. In 1879 he wrote “ Truth ; a Companion to the Bi- ble.” He sent copies of this book to prominent cler- gymen and editors, and sold copies in the street for about anything he could get. In January, 1880, he became tired of “theology,” and turned his attention toward politics. About this time he prepared his celebrated speech on “ Grant ver- sus Hancock,” changing the former name after the Chicago Convention into “ Garfield,” and slightly alter- ing the text. This speech, which was six or eight small pages of trash, worthy only of a second-class pot- house politician, he sent to all the prominent politi- cians and editors in New York, and delivered in part to a crowd of colored men on one occasion. During the campaign in New York, Guiteau was very familiar with the “ big men,” he says, and when they saw him they “ pricked up their ears, and complimented him on his speech.” It was on this miserable speed) that he based all his important claims for preferment by the Republican party. 10 The Mental Status of Graiteau. As early as October he began to clamor for his re- ward with as much assurance and complacency as if he had been a United States senator, and had stumped several States. He wrote to General Garfield that he was an applicant for the Austrian mission, and “ex- pected to marry a lady of great wealth in a few days.” This latter statement was a lie, but, taking into consid- eration the character of the man, was not surprising. After the appointment of Blaine, Guiteau supposed that he could not get the Austrian mission, and therefore, with his usual mental obliquity, decided that he would apply for the Paris consulship. He called on the Pres- ident, and with great satisfaction presented his speech to him, marking “Paris” at the end. The President would, of course, understand the extraordinary nature of his claims, and would be equally as keen in decipher- ing the meaning of “Paris.” From this time he im- portuned both Blaine and Garfield, receiving nothing but evasive and discouraging messages, yet just as as- sured in his own mind that he should finally attain his end. He was totally blind to his own position in the matter, for the very simple reason that his power of reasoning was too defective to appreciate it. On his last visit to the White House the doorkeeper brought him word that it would be impossible to see the Presi- dent “ to-day.” He regarded the word “ to-day ” as very significant, for if the President said he could not see him “ to-day,” he meant that he would see him some other time, and that was as much as to say, “and then we can arrange matters.” Shortly after this last visit his conception to remove the President came. This was at the time the rupture in the Republican party seemed the most serious. Guiteau industriously read all the papers, and felt con- vinced in his own mind that war was imminent, and possessing himself, as he thought, such vast political importance, he was greatly distressed. For a time his whole mind became absorbed in this great issue. Here was a President he had been particularly influ- The Mental Status of Guiteau. 11 ential in getting elected, actually proving a traitor to his own party. It showed the basest ingratitude, and was to him almost a personal insult. Tims it was that, aroused, exalted, and stimulated by the outpourings of the press, he tried to solve the question, What should he done, and how could he aid in it ? Suddenly there flashed into his weak, demoralized mind the idea of removal, the “conception,” as he always called it. Garfield out of the way, the field would be clear. Not only was there here an opportunity to restore the lost harmony to the country, there was also an opportunity to make himself a patriot equal to Washington and Grant. Such was the false reasoning upon which he proceeded to arrange for the terrible deed. From the time of the “ conception ” down to the time the deed was done, there are, to my mind, but few indi- cations of malice , but all the evidence goes to show that there was, in Guiteau’s mind, one grand, false idea existence of a “political necessity,” added on to which was the idea, not one necessarily of a simple craving for notoriety, that so great a deed would, as a matter of course, deserve the gratitude of the whole country. Having once established these false, or, to call them by their correct name, insane premises, Guiteau calmly went to work, as most maniacs would under such cir- cumstances, to arrange the details of the murder. It may be said here that during the trial Guiteau’s mo- tives were very imperfectly analyzed, and attention was principally directed to the details of the crime. It should have been strongly brought out, as it has been on a hundred other occasions, that the lunatic’s premises are generally what is wu-ong, his mode of reasoning or working on these premises may be abso- lutely perfect. Guiteau was no exception to this rule. He worked at his plans in a business-like manner, slept well, ate well, and took his customary exercise. He recognized clearly what a storm of public indignation there would be immediately after the murder, and so made his arrangements to go to the jail. These ar- 12 The Mental Status of Guiteau. rangements were very simple and even boyish, and the only wonder is that he was not seized by a mob. He, however, arranged many details of a more complex nature but not directly concerned in the murder, which would serve as an explanation of his motives, or help to establish his patriotism. The newspaper clippings and his “ Address to the American People ” were for this purpose. “ Nothing but the political situation last spring,” he said in the latter, “justified the re- moval. The break in the Republican party was widen- ing week by week, and I foresaw a civil war.” The deed itself was the best proof of his patriotism, and to show how firmly he believed in it, he refused to take a quiet opportunity, when he would probably have escaped unharmed, but chose a most exposed place, and called on General Sherman for protection. Buy- ing the ivory-mounted pistol instead of a wooden one, so that it would look better on exhibition with other important relics in the Patent Office (where articles belonging to Washington and other great characters are stored), was-what the Germans would call a “colos- sal” belief in his importance as a patriot. It will be remembered that Guiteau had saved with his newspaper clippings a revised copy of his wretched little book called “ Truth. ” The revisions were sim- ply a few alterations and additions that might easily have been made in a few hours. He saved this book, it seemed to me, partly as an evidence of his attain- ments, and partly as an evidence of his piety. Further- more, he thought that the “ removal ” would enhance its value, and it would meet with a large sale. Any work of the patriot would become very valuable. Better evidences of insanity than these just described, we imagine, it would be hard to find, but the courage of Guiteau should not be overlooked at this time. Or- dinarily, though he is an earnest, persistent man, he has lacked personal courage, unless, perhaps, as in his lecturing, when he acted more or less under the guid- ance of insane ideas. He states himself that he has The Mental Status of Guiteau. 13 dreaded street crowds, and has turned away when there seemed any indications of trouble arising. But in the removal of the President he had a courage he had never known before. He was “ nerved up,” as he thought. The true explanation seems to he that he was acting under the pressure of a delusion, so strong, that it carried him tranquilly on to its consum- mation. Guiteau is a man a trifle below medium size, weigh- ing in perfect condition one hundred and forty pounds. He is pallid and rather delicate looking, though his health, he says, is good. He states that he has had syphilis and gonorrhoea, but this statement lacks veri- fication. His pupils are unequal in size; the axes of the eyes are a little dissimilar, giving the eyes a vacant, glassy stare, which makes the expression of the face unnatural, suggesting to many persons depravity. His hair cut close to the head, and the moustache also cut short, and the beard worn long, give him an unshaved, unkempt look.1 Formerly he wore his hair long, and shaved smooth, a la Beecher, hut having lost his confi- dence in Beecher, he now trims his hair in the oppo- site fashion. There is some asymmetry of the head, not, however, to many observers, ordinarily noticeable. On the whole the toute ensemble of head and face is rather repulsive, suggestive to my mind of insanity rather than depravity. His smile is pleasant, even amiable. His teeth are quite regular, and fairly well-cared for. His tongue presents nothing abnormal. His expression, when angry, is bad, reminding one of a wild beast. He talks very volubly, and gives the impression of frank- ness and honesty. When seen in the jail, and flattered a little, and made to feel his importance, his manners are polite and agreeable, hut the quiet manner is quickly changed into one of excitement by the slightest reflec- tion on his motives or character. He told the experts, when they examined him in the 1 Since the period to which this refers, Guiteau has for the time changed the style of hair and beard. 14 The Mental Status of Guiteau, jail, (hat lie wanted to give them all the assistance in his power, and he seemed to actually have the power to look at himself as a third person. He had a certain chain of events in his past life arranged in his mind, which he thought had a bearing on the case, quite ready at his tongue’s end. These events he would narrate willingly, hut he would not for any one branch off on to a side subject. He felt that he had performed a noble act, and, in the sane sense of the word, had been inspired to commit the deed for the good of the country. Though he was a patriot he must present some sort of a defense for the sake of appearances. At one time, I do not doubt, that he had thought that public opinion would exonerate him, and he would go free without a trial, but as this had not proved to be the case, he must accept the defense suggested to him. All this, as a lawyer, he appreciated, and consented tacitly to the aid of another lawyer in court. He gathered much information from questions asked him by the experts, which he made use of afterward as original. He would, however, in talking with them, angrily, as said before, disclaim anything which tended to belittle him, or make him insignificant. He had been a friend of Conkling and Arthur, he was _to be ranked with them ; he might some day be president. He had been inspired on various occasions. He was a patriot suffering for his party, but glorying in his deed, which all stalwarts secretly applauded. He was much pleased with the suggestion that he was like St. Paul, and afterward likened himself to that apostle. He was willing and even anxious to be found insane, though not believing that he actually was insane. Looking impartially at the case he would say, “ If the jury be- lieve, that I believed, that I had a special inspiration to remove the President, then they must find me insane. I believe I was insane in law, but not in fact.” Guiteau had in some manner conceived the idea that a “ special inspiration ” might be insanity, and he was willing to have what he called inspiration, which was The Mental Status of Guiteau. 15 the Oneida Community idea of inspiration, pass for insanity. It was, however, a sane inspiration, the in- spiration which he had been taught to use as a cant phrase to explain many acts of his past life. He well understood the limitations of such an inspiration, and could grasp the idea of using it as a defense. Guiteau said that he needed collateral evidence of his inspira- tion. Thus, if he prayed for something and got it, or prayed for strength to carry out some plan, and did so successfully, it was proof that God had given his sanc- tion, or had inspired the work. The insane inspiration is very different. It needs no proof. If it exists it is sufficient, and anything done on the strength of it will be entirely right. The divine command is alone neces- sary, and to try to prove that it was right would look like doubting that it was inspiration. It was unfortunate that Guiteau’s counsel laid such stress on inspiration, as its existence as a delusion could be easily disproved, and thus the most important element of insanity of the defense could be shattered. The real elements of insanity hardly came to the sur- face, and the prosecution, therefore, had little to dis- prove beyond insanity in the father, and inspiration in the prisoner. To say how insane Guiteau was, or to what special class of the insane he belongs, is extremely difficult. We have tolerably clear evidence that he has been in- sane much, if not most of the time, since leaving the Oneida Community. There is no single act, but it is all the acts and utterances of Guiteau, spoken and written, which together make up a case of insanity. Of many of the events of his life we have no history, and of others only a history from prejudiced persons. What we have got is sufficient, however, to enable us to make a diagnosis of chronic mania, similar to what I have observed in insane criminals. By this Ido not mean exactly similar, but in which the general outlines correspond. In these cases insanity cannot be easily made out, but only after prolonged observation. 16 The Mental Status of Guiteau. Neither is intellectual impairment always easy to find, still such impairment does exist, and will in the course of weeks or months reveal itself. Such has been my experience with cases of so-called “ moral insanity.” Dr. C. F. Mac Donald, Superintendent of the New York Asylum for Insane Criminals, at Auburn, has cited the celebrated case of Kate Stoddart as a some- what similar instance. In this case, which was fa- miliar to myself, I found that it required the most searching examination in the beginning of her dis- ease to discover its existence. To strangers she was pleasant and affable, and very plausible in what she said about her imprisonment, and the injustice of keeping her in an insane asylum. Her self-possession was great when not aroused, and it is probable she could have gone into court and made a good appear- ance. Once aroused, however, she would indulge in violent and profane abuse and entirely lose her self- control. For years she had had a delusion that she was a lawyer and could argue her own case better than ordinary lawyers. This delusion could not be brought out unless she was carefully approached. To see this quiet, lady-like person with pleasant man- ners and bright smile, and the powder of carrying on agreeable conversation, the ordinary observer could not have believed that she was licentious, uncontrolled in temper, possessed of delusions, and at times liable to outbreaks of almost homicidal violence. In this case of Kate Stoddart, it was only by long observation and the grouping of symptoms together that a correct di- agnosis could be arrived at. If placed under restraint these cases of chronic mania without marked delusions, but with undoubted moral and intellectual impairment, are very comfortable and often appear sane; their false beliefs are held in abeyance. The fire smoulders and sometimes almost dies away, but throw a sudden strain on them and the flame is fanned into great ac- tivity. Leaving out two or three years of Guiteau’s life The Mental Status of Guiteau. 17 when, as a lawyer, he for a time seemed better than be- fore or afterwards, we have a good account of a case of chronic mania, with occasional exacerbations. There is the exhilaration, self-complacency, supreme vanity, seeking for notoriety, regardlessness of consequences, changeableness of purpose, inconsistency of action, and hyperirritability, characteristic of a form of mania with expansive delusions. The grand schemes which Gui- teau endeavored to carry out, such as editing the Inde- pendent, or New York Tribune ; founding the “ Theo- crat; ” editing the new Chicago Interocean ; the desire for the Chilian Mission, when Horace Greeley was can- didate for the presidency, etc., were all of them totally foreign to his education and experience, and absolutely impossible of accomplishment by him, and can only be properly and correctly regarded as illustrations of his delusional condition of mind. The first appearance of recent delusions was seen in connection with the campaign of 1880-81. It was nothing less than a delusion, that he, an insignificant good-for-nothing, should, on the claim that he had once partly delivered a little, third-rate jumble of catch- words, which he dignified by the name of “ speech,” be entitled to one of the most important offices in the gift of the government. Such a claim shows an insane method of reasoning, as well as a lack of perception and judgment. His belief, which was undoubtedly honest, that he was of equal importance with Conkling, Arthur, etc., is a part of this general delusion, and grows out of his in- sanely exalted idea of his own importance, for there is no evidence to show that he was any more than toler- ated by them. It was further an insane belief or delusion that Gui- teau entertained, that there was a “political necessity ” to destroy the President to save the country from a civil war, and no sane mind would have reasoned it- self into the belief that murder would have averted the crisis. The most stupid of men would have seen 18 The Mental Status of Guiteau. that the murder of the President would inflict an injury a thousand times greater to the country, than such a controversy as was going on between a small number of men in the Republican party. The strength and absurdity of this delusion is shown by the confidence that Guiteau felt that he should receive support from the stalwarts, and be honored as a patriot when his true motives were known. The conduct of Guiteau in court affords to ray mind strong corroborative proof of his mental unsoundness. He showed himself to be quick-witted, sharp, gifted with an excellent memory, unscrupulous, uncontrolled in temper, and almost entirely lacking in judgment and discretion. His controlling idea seemed to be to guard his reputation as a man of purity, ability, high attain- ments, Christian virtues, and political importance. It made no difference what was said on either side; no matter whether it injured his case or helped it; whether it insulted his counsel or the other side. Hit or miss ; friend or foe ; with the true indifference of the lunatic, he made his criticisms. The dignity of the court-room ; the threats of the judge and bailiffs, of the district attorney, or the United States marshal, he was indifferent to all. That instinct in the human breast which makes us bow before the majesty of the law and tremble at her bidding, was not within him. With the volubility and lack of self-control of the insane man, his voice was heard above all others ; and it must be remembered that this was the case, from the begin- ning to the end of the trial, with everybody, and noth- ing could have silenced him in all probability. An exhibition in all ways so extraordinary as the conduct of Guiteau at his trial, is not, to my knowledge, on record ; and it is not too much to say that it would be a disgrace to American jurisprudence were it not ex- plainable on the ground of insanity. The trial reminded me of what a trial might be, if a patient with chronic mania were brought in from an asylum, and tried for murder. Provided he were a The Mental Status of Guiteau. 19 bright, intelligent man with delusions of self-impor- tance, of such a nature that they had had a bearing on the crime of which he had been guilty, his conduct might have been in many ways similar to that of Gui- teau. In the writings of Guiteau may be found evidences of exalted and expansive ideas, as well as in the acts above described. As far back as 1859, when at Ann Arbor, he wrote, “ I confess Christ in me, my ability to confess that my treasure is in God that is, I have no love or affection in the world, except through Christ, There is where we all must come, that expect to be saved, for we will be saved through Christ, or damned by him.” At Oneida, in 1861, he said, “ I was attracted here by an irresistible power, which I did not feel at liberty to disobey.” In 1865 he wrote his celebrated Hoboken letter, in which he says, after describing his plans to establish the “ Daily Theocrat,” “ However presump- tuous it may seem to confess the truth about myself, I say boldly that I claim inspiration. I claim that I am in the employ of Jesus Christ and Co., the very ablest and strongest firm in the Universe, and what I can do is limited only by their power and purpose. God is my employer. I know that he will sustain me. He has furnished what money I have.” This letter bears a very strong resemblance to the writings of Guiteau at the present time. There is the same idea of inspi- ration and exaltation, and the same easy way of leav- ing money matters to the Lord, It has struck me as remarkable to find so much consistency in what he has written. In 1867 he said “ that he was under a con- stant pressure to write ” (-‘ pressure ” is a favorite word of his still). In 1877 he sent out a letter from the Chicago jail, asking for assistance, but filling it with statements about his character, his love for God, for Christ, etc. Thei •e is, after this time, a break in the letters, as most of them were destroyed in the Chicago lire. His writings begin to come thick and fast, however, at a The Mental Status of Guiteau. ]ater period, beginning with his lecture. In these later writings he shows a form of mania for writing common to many lunatics. These writings are comprised in part of his lectures, his book, his speech, his numerous letters to Garfield and Blaine, his address to the Amer- ican people, his Herald autobiography, his opening ad- dress to the jury, his Christmas address, and his clos- ing address. The last comprehends almost everything he has said during the trial in other addresses, and contains a little new matter. It is written in the grand- iloquent, high-sounding manner characteristic of him, and shows how he has gone from one point of his de- fense to another, making use of such new ideas as pre- sented themselves in the evidence, retaining, however, the one central idea of his own patriotism and great- ness. He says, among other things, that “ General Arthur is a good man every way. I happen to know him well. I was with him constantly in New York during the canvass. So with General Grant, Conk- ling, and the rest of those men. They have not taken an active part in my defense, because it would not be proper, but I know how they feel on this case.” He interlarded his statements with a variety of silly, jocose letters and telegrams he had received complimenting him on his conduct and admitting his greatness. These were sent him as jokes, but he received them in ear- nest, as tributes to his importance. Here Guiteau fol- lows the usual course of the insane person, and ex- plains all circumstances which do not accord with his false theory in a purely fictitious manner, so that every inconsistency is overlooked or explained in a satisfac- tory manner. This sentence in the Address to the American Peo- ple of June 16th is a good illustration of Guiteau’s false belief and exalted method of expression : “In the President’s madness he has wrecked the once grand old Republican party, and for this he dies. The President’s nomination was an act of God ; the Pres- ident’s election was an act of God ; the President’s removal is an act of God.” The Mental Status of Guiteau. 21 In the way Guiteau uses his writings he resembles also many of the lunatics who possess this mania for writing, especially those who have an exalted form of mania. These persons address voluminous documents to various distinguished personages, and, though they are never answered, the writers seem perfectly satisfied. They often carry extensive petitions or letters in their pockets, and entrust them to any visitor they may see to take them to the President or other important per- son. For years they will continue to forward these documents, expressing but little regret at getting no response. The mere act of writing seems sufficient to satisfy the ambitious desire of the writer, and the changing undercurrent of his delusion, renders him oblivious to the ordinary course followed in letter writ- ing. I have known lunatics who carried numerous documents on their person, concealed them in all sorts of out-of-the-way places, and sent them out of the asy- lum openly and surreptitiously on every opportunity, who would not have been recognized as insane had they not possessed this writing mania. In these let- ters, addresses, or proclamations, their delusions would generally show themselves, Guiteau followed the usual course of these maniacs, and was equally ready on every available occasion to produce some document, letter, or pamphlet wherein was plainly shown the truth of all his claims. He seemed never to be more supremely happy than when he had an opportunity to show or to read from these writings. Forgetting himself for the moment, he became carried away by his own eloquence. Perhaps no better exam- ple of the insane use to which Guiteau put his docu- ments, or his manner of so doing, can be cited, than when he left his speech with Garfield, marking “ Paris ” at the end. That speech, he thought, was enough to open the doors of paradise, and a comparatively small man like the President of the United States would cer- tainly be overawed by it. It was hardly necessary, af- ter this proof of his ability, to say anything more about 22 The Mental Status of Guiteau. his application for office, but he would mark “ Paris ” as a delicate reminder of his preference for the French consulship. From this short analysis of the case of Guiteau it will be seen that I recognize his insanity both before, at the time of the homicide, and since. While the theory of limited or partial responsibility has at times seemed feasible in his case if any, I think that on the whole it should be rejected. It is dangerous ground we tread on, when we attempt to split hairs in weigh- ing the moral capacity of the lunatic. And it is still more serious, in a case like that of Guiteau, to usurp the prerogative of the Almighty and sacrifice a man’s life to the quibbles and misapprehensions of a human tribunal. It would have been much more to our credit as a country, much more in the interests of humanity and progress toward better things, and what is still more to the point, much more in accordance with a correct in- terpretation of the evidence in the case, as presented to my mind, if the wretched Guiteau had been con- signed as a lunatic to a criminal insane asylum for life, rather than sentenced to the gallows as a sane criminal.