Why was Booth admitted into the presidential box?

[loetar44]

(04-26-2015 12:54 AM)John Fazio Wrote:  "...Forbes was never mentioned before...the 1980s..." But I have already shown that he was mentioned, expressly, by name, by Hanscom in his newspaper on June 8, 1865, and impliedly, as the President's "messenger", "usher", "servant", "servant at the door" or "sentinel", by McGowan, Dr. Leale, Dr. Todd, Koontz, Harper's Magazine, Booth himself (through Herold), Gath, Stoddard and Nicolay, all between 1865 and 1902.

Right, Hanscom mentioned Forbes by name (“upon reaching the door we found no other person belonging to the President’s household than Mr. Charles Forbes”), but that was 20 minutes before the assassination and it says nothing where Forbes was at the time of Booth’s entrance into the theater.

McGowan declared that Booth indicated (in an unspoken request) to him his desire to pass and that, while passing, he was blocking his view of the play, but he said nothing about Forbes.

Dr. Leale spoke about a disturbance at the door of the President’s box and that he saw a man endeavoring to persuade the reluctant usher to admit him; but nothing about Forbes.

Dr. Todd “observed” a man walking along side the Presidential box and declared that this man removed an object, possibly a pack of calling cards, from his coat and offered a card to the man who was seated outside the box; he identified the recipient of the card as an “usher” , not as Forbes.

Koontz wrote that Booth went through the door of the box and told the man who was Lincolns servant at the door, that Lincoln had sent for him. He was about 15 ft (4.5 meters) from the box, how could he have heard that?

In Harper's Magazine article is spoken about a “sentinel” who stopped Booth. Booth (through Herold) spoke of “a soldier or officer [was] trying to prevent him from going into the box” ( a man in uniform?). Gatch simply recall that Booth moved into the presidential box but mention no person outside the box.

Stoddard and Nicolay (were they eyewitnesses?) spoke (years later) about Booth presenting his card to the President’s messenger, but don’t mention Forbes (?).

Don’t forget Ferguson and Troutner. They mention no person outside the box.

I said it before (see post 57), that there is not the slightest doubt in my mind, that there was “someone” sitting near the outer door of the president’s box, but I say it again: there is no hard evidence to support that this “someone” was most definitely Charles Forbes. The real identity of the man outside the box is impossible to establish. Yes, it could have been the presidential messenger by the name of Forbes, but it could also have been someone else. And as long as we have no hard evidence we may NOT conclude that it was Forbes and nobody else.