Dr. Channing’s Faulty Reasoning

Dr. Walter Channing, of Boston, who was one of the experts called upon to decide whether the assassin of President Garfield was sane or insane, has recently stated that he “knew” at the time that Guiteau was insane, but, for fear of public opinion, allowed it to appear that he had no positive conviction on the subject, and added to this confession a statement that “Czolgosz was doubtless in the same category,” meaning, it is to be supposed, that Czolgosz was insane and that the experts who pronounced him sane knowingly testified falsely because they were afraid to tell the truth. It is impossible to dispute Dr. Channing’s premise. He knows better than anybody else the secrets of his own mind. But his conclusion is obviously illogical. The fact that he misconducted himself in the Guiteau case falls far short of proof that other distinguished alienists similarly misconducted themselves in the subsequent Czolgosz case. Dr. Channing doesn’t make sufficient allowance for his own personal equation.