Democratic Sentinel, Volume 8, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 August 1884 — “USEFUL IF NOT HONEST." [ARTICLE]

“USEFUL IF NOT HONEST."

“I DO NOT THINK THAT I SHALL PROVE A DEADHEAD,” ETC. “Jaxon,” the Washington correspondent of the Fo r t Wayne Sentinel, writing under date of August 15, puts the screws to the Plumed Knight in this fashion: Some of the readers of the Se’ntinel have asked me to write the History of the Blaine-Mulligan letters. To do the thing justice would require a volume as large as Mr. Blaine’s '‘Twenty Years,” etc. However, for the benefit of the many readers of the Sentinel who have not yet investigated the Mulligan letters I will give a few points taken from official records. From 1861 to 1665 the Republican party had uninterrupted control of the Executive and both branches of Congress. During that time $64,000,000 in money subsidies and 220,000,000 acres of land were voted to railroad corporations. The most of this landgrabbing was done under the reconstruction period and under cover of the bloody shirt, which was vigorously hoisted along the line in order to detract public attention from these stealings. Not until the issues of the war were forever settled and the bloody shirt cast oi as old rars did the people realize the magnitude of the plunder of the public domain which was carried on. They began to inquiie where the land had gone to. when the records showed that nearly all that was left was in the hands of a few corporations. They wanted to know by what corrupt means it was obtained and what public men were parties 'to the bargain. They found out that

the leading men of the Republican party had combined t gether with a few outside schemers, to rob the people of their lands. The result is well known. The tidal wave of 1874 swept the grand old party out of power from Maine to California, and elected a Democratic Congress by sev-enty-four majority. When the new House met in December, 1875, investigations were instituted which resulted in exposing and retiring to private life nearly all the Republicans of congress, including that old fraud, ex-Speaker Colfax, of Indiana. blaine’s part. In 1876 James G. Blaine was a candidate for President. There were rumors, which spread all over the country, that Blaine had been “on the make” when the land grants were voted to railroads. Supposing that the Mulligan letters were safe, on the 24th of April 1876, he rose from his place in the House to make a personal explanation. After denouncing the imputations on his character and the villains who, he claimed, were persecuting him, he said: “But I have never done anything in my official career for which I could be put to the faintest blush, or tor which I could not answer to my constituents, my conscience and the great Searcher of hearts ” (See congressional Record, April 24,1876, page 2,725.) This was received with satisfaction in absence of documentary evidence, but two days afterward there appeared in the Cincinnati Gazette a statement signed by John C. Harrison, a Government Director of the Union Pacific Railroad, charging Mr. Blaine with “queer” transactions with the Fort Smith and Little Rock Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad. On the 15th of May Mr. Harrison testified before the committee that the Union Pacific came in possession of seventy-fiye bonds of the Little Rock Railroad very mysteriously; that when Mr. Harrison moved that tne matter be investigated the Secretary of the railroad took him out of the office and advised him to withdraw his motion and say nothing about it; that if the matter was investigated it would defeat Blaine for re-election to Congress: that the bonds were given to Blaine by the Little >)ck Railroad, and that the consideration of services ren dered to the Union Pacific Railroad by Blaine the latter road gave him "64,000 for them, although their actual value at that time was seven cents on the dollar, or $5,250. (Mis. Doc. 176, pt. 1,1-44 Cong., page 28.) Twenty-two other witnesses were examined, and their evidence shows that Mr. Blaine grot the seventy-five bonds oi SI,OOO each from the Fort Smith and Little Rock Railroad for “doing CALDWELL A GREAT FAVOR,”

whlie Speaker of the House when the land grant of that company was in danger. (See Mulligan letters Congressional Record, June 5,1876, page 3,605.) As the investigation proceeded it leaked out that James Mulligan, of Boston, had some letters in his possession very damaging to Blaine, and he was immediately summoned before the committee and ordered to produce the letters. The following testimony of Mr. Mulligan will explain how Blaine stole the letters from Mulligan: Washington, June 1,1876. James Mulligan recalled. The witness—“l wish to ask the indulgence of the commit? tee for a few moments to make a personal, and to me a painful, statement. When I first arrived in this city, and within fifteen minutes after my arrival, there came a communi-

cation from Mr. Blaine to Mr. Fisher. Of course I wish it understood that lam stating this under oath.” Mr. Hunter—“We so understand it.” The witness—“ There .came a communication from Mr. Blaine inviting Mr. Fisher and me up to his residence. 1 declined to go for the reasbnthat I did not want to have it said that I had gone to see Blaine, I wanted to come into this committee room untrammeled by any influence. Mr. Fisher went up to Mr. Blaine’s house, or at least he so reported to me; and he told Mr. Blaine about certain facts that I could prove, and certain letters that 1 had got. Mr. Blaine said that if I should publish them they would RUIN HIM FOR LIES, or that if this committee should get hold of them they would ruin him for life, ana wanted to know if I would not surrender them. 1 told him no, and that I would not give them to the committee unless it should turn out that it was necessary for me to produce them. After my examination here yesterday Mr. Blaine came up to the hotel; the Riggs House, and there had a conference with Mr. Atkins, Mr. Fisher and myself. He wanted to see the letters that I had. I declined to let him see them. He prayed, almost went on his knees, 1 would say on his knees, and implored me to think of his six children and his wife, and that if the committee should get hold of this it would

SINK HIM AND RUIN HIM FOREVER. i ' I told him I should n<tt give them to him. He asked me if I would not let him read them. I said I would if he would promise me on the word of a crentleman that he would return them to me I did let him read them over. He read them over once and called for them again, and read them over again. He still importuned me to give those papers up. I declined to do it. I retired to my own room and he followed me up and went over the same history about his family and his children, and implored me to give them up to nim AND EVEN CONTEMPLAT D SUICIDE. He asked me if I wanted to see his children left in that state, and he then asked me again* if I would not let him look over these papers consecutivelj, (I had them numbered). I told him 1 would if he would return them to me. He took the papers, read them all over, and among them I had a memorandum that I had made by way of synopsis of the letters, and referring to the numbers ot the letters—a synopsis containing the points of the letters. I had made that memorandum so as to be able to refer to it here when questioned. He asked me to let him read the letters and I showed him this statement, too. After he had read them, he asked me what I wanted to do with those papers; if I wanted to use them. I told him I never wanted to use the papers, and would not show them to the committee, unless when I was called upon to do so. Then he asked me if I would not give them to him. There was one letter in particular that he wan ted me to give him. I told him I would not do it, and the only reason I would not d > it was because I saw it stated in one of the evening Sapers here, the Star, I think, h.at the Blaine party were going to completely break down the testimony that I had given yesterday; that they were satisfied about that. I said I should not publish these letters unless my testi raony was impugned or impeached. That was the only reason I wanted to keep them, but I

wanted to keep them for that purpose. These are the facts, gentleman, and I leave them to you. If I undestand the order under which this committee meets, this committee has power to send for persons and papers, and « want this committee to get for me those papers. Mr. Blaine has got them and would not give them up to me.” Before the committee ho refused to return the letters or let the committee read them. But the pressure of public opinion was so great that, like a rat smoked out of his hole, he was compelled to resort to a desperate act, and, like a “plumed knight,” on the sth of June he arose from his seat in the House, and posing in a “what-a r e-y o u-g o i n g-to-d o-about-it” attitude, partially admitted what had been charged in the Little Rock matter, and in a dramatic manner, holding a package of letters in his hand said: “Here is the very original package. And with some sense of humiliation, with a mortification that t do not pretend to conceal, and with a sense of outrage which think any man in my position would feel, • invite the confidence of. 44,000,000 of my countrymen* while 1 read those letters from this desk. Some of them may require a little explanation; some of them may possibly, as i have said, involve a feelling of humiliation.” (See Congressional kecord, June 5,1876, page 8,601.) There were nineteen letters in the package, but he only read fifteen, and no one knows how much of their contents he omitted to read. But he read enough to satisfy every honest man that he was a dy-ed-in-the-wool rascal and had PROSTITUTED THE HIGH OFFICE of Speaker tor private gains. With great drops of sweat dripping from his excited face he skulked out of the House like a whipped cur with evidence of guilt humiliation and mortification on his person and in his own handwriting. For this brazen, bare-faced brass-jack-cheek a few weeks later Ingersoll put him in nomination at Cincinnati as a “Plumed Knight” When the committee notified him that they were ready to hear him in his own defense the “Plumed Knight” took to the woods and got sunstruck and the House adjourned before he The following are two of the fifteen letters read by Mr. Blaine, showing how ne acquired an interest in the Little Rock Railroad:

“no DEAD-HEAD.” August, June 29,1869. My D‘ ,; ar mb. fish l -.b—l thank you for the article from Mr. Lewis. It is good in itself, and will do good. He writes like a manj of large intelligence and comprehension. Your offer to admit me to a participation in the new railroad enterprise is in every respect as generous as I could expect or desire. I thank you very sincerely for it, and in this connection 1 wish to make a suggestion of a somewhat selfish character. You spoke of Mr. Caldwell disposing of a share of his interest to me. if he really designs to do so, I wish he would make the proposition definite so that I could know what to depend on. Perhaps if he waits till the fu 1 development of the enterprise, he might grow reluctant to part with his share, and * do not by this mean any distrust of him. 1 do not feel that I sha prove a dead head in the e terprise if I once embark ini I see various channels : which 1 know I can be uses i Very hastily and sincerel your friend. J. G. Blaine. * Mr. Fisher,lndia St, Boston.

“SFNT HIS PAGE LOGAN/ “(Persqzial/” Augusta, Me-, Oct. 4,1869. “Mi DearJSib— 1 spoke to you a short/ume ago about a point of interest to your railroad company that occurr ed at the las< session of Congress. “lt/was on the last night of when the bill renewing the land grant to the /State of Arkansas for the Lit tie Rock Hoad was reached, and Julian, of ndiana, Chairman of the Public Lands * ommittee, and, by right, entitled to the floor, attempted to put on the bill as an amendment the Fremont .El Paso scheme —a scheme probably wellknown to Mr. Caldwell. The House was thin, and the lobby in the Fremont interest had the thing all set up, and Julian’s amendment was likely to prevail if brought to a vote. Roots and other members from Arkansas, who weie doing their best for their own bill (to which there seemed to be no objection), were in despair, tor it was well known that the Senate was hostile to the Fremont scheme, and if the Arkansas bill had gone back to the Senate with Julian’s amendment, the whole thing would have gone on the table and slept the sleep of death. [“ n this dilemma Roots came to me to know what on earth he could do under the rules, for he said it was vital to his constituents that the bill should pass. I told him that Julian’s amendment was entirely out of order, because not germane; but he had not sufficient confidence in his own knowledge of the rules to make the point, but he said GeneraLLogan was opposed to the Fremont scheme, and would probably make the point. 1 sent my page to Gencneral Logan with the suggestion, and he at once made the point. 1 could not d© otherwise than sustain it, and so the bill was freed fr®m the mischievous amendment moved by Julian, ahd at once passed without objection. “At that time had never seen Mr. Caldwell, but you can .tell him that, without knowing it, 1 did him aigreat favor. Sincerely yours, J. G. Blaine. W. Fisher, Jr., Esq.. 24 India street, Boston.’' These letters .defeated him for the Republican nomination in 1876 and in 1880, and would have also defeated him this year if the wost element of his party had not got control of tlie convention. This is the reason that the best element of the Republican parV has bolted his nomination.