Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1856-09-05
From the Kennabec Journul.l
The Last Card in a Desperate Game.


The Bangor Journal of Saturday last,
contains the most barefacad and mon
strous Roorback > OF the season. 1t
has reference to the State Printing. and
enormous amount, which, according to
that veracious sheet, was paid to the
propri etors of this paper, for executing
the printing for the year 1855.
An explicit statement of the facts con-
nected with the matter. Will convince
any candid mind that the whole story Of
the Journal from end to end is tase
falsehood, ana that if we received one
dollar from the state Treasury more
than was honestly due US, the faalt is
with the Wells administration, and the
Legislature of last wiut I, b. whom our
accounts wer5 audited. allowed aad
paid,
We exc ted the printing of the
State from January, 1870. to January.
1856 We had 10 to.'ract with the
State, the printing being issued 20 US by
the varions departments as it had for two
or three years previous TO WM. I. JOHN
SON, Esq Of the Age. Our accounts
were not submitted to the Republican
Legislature oflS56. nor was a dollar paid
us by that Legislature. Ne presented
our accounts an gross to the Coali'i5m
Legislature Of 1886. Those accounts
were hot made out by us. Neither Of
the publishers of this paper is a prscti-
cal printer, and of course neither could
nuke out an account requiring knowi-
edge Of all the rules Of " art. At the
suggestion Of WIN. /. JOHNSON we en-
! ployed GILMAN SMITH, long the fore
man of th4 Age oiiicy, and Who tor the
past fifteen gears has made out the ac-
counts of the printer to the State. and
carried them before the Legislative Com
mittae. Mr. Smith performed the SER
vice for US. and neither Of us ever saw
the account he presented. ether betore
or sine II meat to the Committee, M.
Smith M}otms as, h. ,eeeer, that he mnfie
! the charges accoadiuy TO tie .cact scal.
0llom1d tie qropriefors IF the Ase fer
many gears past, neither ote csnt n'1re,
n,r oae cem less. And after our ac
counts were allowed, the present pub
fishers Q: the AZ, presented bill, also
made out by Mr., Smith, in which the
charges for similar WORK were eXaetly tn;
same as those mille By US.
i If these accounts were eXorbitant--if
they were higher than should have been
paid-it was t duty OF the !,ehs Leg
islatnre to disallow them The accounts
were before committee Of ten membe S,
sercA of whom were our political opp"-
nonts. They were tno OF three weeks in
auditing them, and finally reported OIL
their off, Il oat4s that they were ''iu.,t
and true" aud should be allowed. This
report was unanimously adopted by the
Co0litjon House and Seuate-appfopria
tions were made for the payment OF the
accounts, and warrents were drawn ii
our favor by Coy. WELLS, and promptly
paid by Treasurer REED.
Thus we have the official proof Of t e
whole Wells dynasty, Executive al d
Legislative, that cur accounts We're ast
and true, and il we received one dat or
more than was due Us, the Wells dy-
nasty must be held accountable by the
Ipeople. We had no power to unlock
the doors OF the Treasury and take a SIN
gle dollar therefrt IN; and let it be re-
membcred. that the whole amount We
received was upon warrents drawn by
GOV. WELLS, from appropriations ina,.o
by the Coalition Legislature.
In regard to the specific charges made
in the Bangor journal, viz: that we re-
ccived in one case $500 for $40 worth
of work,-and in another case $6l0 tor
$40 worth Of work, we have only to say
that these are GROSS, UNQUALIFIED
i AND ACCOUNTABLE LIES, which
none but an arrant knave would atte npt
to tell, and none but the most gullible
of fools would believe. Ifa Legislative
Committe2, scteA-teNhs Of whose mem
bers were Wells men should make a re-
port recommending such extrayagant
payments, they, and they alore should
be held accountable. If the silly and
unscrupulous LIES the Bangor Jour
nal were true, we should charge upon
the :" Vols dynasty" the dishonest act
paying $1,000 tor 800 worth of werk.
The Bangor Journal has hoped to give
this lie " swift currency - when it would
be too late to refute it. and we under
stand that Caleb R. Aver, Secretary Of
State, instead Of attending to his office
in Augusta, is traversing ~the eastern
countries retailing these same lies and a
hundred others. In this beautiful task
he mas the assistance OF sundry :. Border
Ruffian rorthiss. The, late period at
which the ci arSe is made alone demon
strates it to be one of those is.sfaeattii
'.roorbacks'' which certain ciaas Of
politicians manufacture so boantifully on
the eve of elections. Ii it were al