Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1872-10-17
LANcAsrER. Ohio. Oct. I.

! LANCASTER, Ohio, Oct. Z.
Hon. james g. Blaine, Speaker House itepresels
! tatIyes.
Ny DEAR SIR: Your letter of the Isl
inst. from Cleveland, was received BY me
yesterday on returning home after an ab-
sence of ten days | had previously seen
the New York Tribune of 2Sth and 20th
September in which is published, with
editorial comments, what purports to be d
list (niade by General j. c. Stone, of
Leavenworth Kan, dated May, 1861 OF
contracts alleged to have been made oy
him and myself Jointly as officers of the
Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western Rail
road Company (atterward the Union Pa
cific Railroad, Eastern Division, and now
the Kansas Pacitic) to procure the pass
Lage OF the original Pacific Railroad law Of
1862.
On this list your name is sad to ap
pear, first as the recipient of 81 $4,000 O
the stock of that company, and a second
time as the recipient of SO ,0G0 OF the
stock And on the faith of these entries
you are accused of having taken a bribe to
aid in procuring the passage of the law OF
1862, and also of Eaving acted as agent If
the company in using large part of its
stock TO corrupt other members of Con-
gress.
SO far as the charge imputes to vow per
sonal corruption in office, it is conclu-
slvely disproved by public records acces
sible 10 all, which show that you did not
enter Congress for nearly year and a
half after the law referred to was passed.
And as to the other branch of the charge,
my general knowled e of the business OF
the company, and especially my intimacy
with you, make it certain that you could
not have had any contract with the com
pany without my knowing the fact; and
| unhesitatingl declare that you were
not i'll any manner, or at any time, direct
ly or indirectly, employed by the COM
pany, or in any way interested In its af-
fairs as stockholder, agent, or otherwise,
in any ca acity whatever.
Your brother, J. Z. Blaine, at that time.
Clerk of the District Court at Leaven-
worth, and one of the early settlers OF
Kansas; was the owner of S 0,000 of the
stock of the Leavenworth, Pawnee and
Western Railroad Company, which, in
deed, was held very generally among in
fiuential men of all parties along the line
of the road i'll Kansas. But that was in
1861 or 1S62-and considerable period
before you were even nominated for your
first term in Congress. Beyond that,
there never was at any time the remotest
interest in the Company held by any of
your family. The entry Of St,920,000 of
stock opposite the name of Blaine" was
therefore wholly fiction or blunder,
and the grave imputations on your char
acter and on that of the officers of the.
Company are utterly groundless and with
out shadow of justification.
l know nothing whatever of the list al
legged to have been furnished by General
Stone. 1t purports to have been pre-
pared nearly year after the act had be,en
passed, long after had entered the mill
tary service, and more than SIX months
before you first took your seat in Con-
gress. am informed that General Stone
is now in Europe He will doubtless sake
occasion, when he learns of these char
ges, to speak for himself about them. So
far as my knowledge of the affairs of the
company goes, deliberately assert that
it never, by any of its officers, agents or
attorneys, made any contract, the pro
ceeds of which there was good reason to
believe were to be in any manner partici-
pated in by any member of Congress or
other public officer.
Very truly yours,
IHoMAs EWING, JR.