Abraham Lincoln - American Memory

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and unimpeachable witnesses who were clear in their statements,
who entertain no doubt of the truth of what they say, whose oppor-
tunities to know were full and complete, and who were constrained to
take special notice of the prisoner by reason of his extraordinary
conduct.
These witnesses describe accurately the appearance, stature, and
complexion of the accused, but because they describe his clothing as
dark or black, it is urged that as part of his clothing, although dark,
was not black, the witnesses are mistaken. O'Laughlin and his
drunken companions (one of whom swears that he drank ten times
that evening) were strolling in the streets and in the direction
of the house of the Secretary of War, up the Avenue; but you
are asked to believe that these witnesses could not be mistaken
in saying they were not off the Avenue above 7th street, or on K
street. I venture to say that no man who reads their testimony can
determine satisfactorily all the places that were visited by O'Laugh-
lin and his drunken associates that evening from 7 to 11 o'clock
p. m. All this time, from 7 to 11 o'clock p. m., must be accounted for
satisfactorily before the alibi can be established. Laughlan does not
account for all the time, for he left O'Laughlin alter 7 o'clock,
and rejoined him, as he says, "I suppose about 8 o'clock." Grillet
did not meet him until half-past ten, and then only casually saw him
in passing the hotel. May not Grillet have been mistaken as to the
fact, although he did meet O'Laughlin after 11 o'clock the same
evening, as he swears?
Purdy swears to seeing him in the bar with Grillet about half-past
10, but, as we have seen by Grillet's testimony, it must have been
after 11 o'clock. Murphy contradicts, as to time, both Grillet and
Purdy, for he says it was half-past 11 or 12 o'clock when he and
O'Laughlin returned to Rullman's fromPlatz's, and Early swears the
accused went from Rullman's to 2d street to a dance about a quarter-
past 11 o'clock, when O'Laughlin took the lead in the dance and stayed
about one hour. I follow these witnesses no further. They contra-
dict each other, and do not account for O'Laughlin all the time from
7 to 11 o'clock. I repeat that no man can read their testimony with-
out finding contradictions most material as to time, and coming to the
conviction that they utterly fail to account for O'Laughlin's wherea-
bouts on that evening. To establish an alibi the witnesses must knoio
the fact and testify to it. Laughlan, Grillet, Purdy, Murphy, and
Early utterly fail to prove it, and only succeed in showing that they
did not know where O'Laughlin was all this time, and t>hat some of
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