Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1872-10-04
Vicc-President COlfax on the Credit
MObilier Slander.
SOUTH BEND, Ind, September 9S.

having been advertised to speak here to.
day, Vice President Colfax was elected
by the audience to preside, and on taking
the chair said that II afforded him great
pleasure to introduce to the people OF his
own home his valued personal and politi.
cal friend, ex Governor Hawley, Of Con.
necticut, distinguished both in civil and
military life, who would speak to them
in favor Of Republican principles and
their chosen standard bearers, State and
national, Grant and Wilson, Browne and
Saxton, Packard, and all their Republl.
can associates on the ticket. Mr. Colfax
| then said
Let me detsin you a few moments, my
| townsmen, while touch fabric OF false.
hood with the speer OF truth, exposing the
90 called "Credlt Mobiller scandal" that
you may see out OF what worthless stuff
| campaign charges are manufactured. Not
| to put myself on the defensive. Far from Il.
| In all my public life there has never been an
hour when | would not have trusted
Jury OF my political opponents here to de.
eide any charge affecting my honesty that
the bitterest malignant could Imagine or in
| vent, or to render their verdict as to whether
l could be bribed to cast any vote or support
any measure my conscientious convictions
disapproved. You are all my witnesses, too,
that during twenty years of editorial life
and speaking on the stump, never sought
| to make you believe that public men were
scoundrels because / differed with them
politically.
There are, my friends, three papers in the
| United States which, above all others, abso-
lutely know, as | shall show, that bribing
me to support Pacific Railroad interests is
| just as incredible as that should need to be
bribed to vote the Republican ticket Seven
| years ago, with three gentlemen, connected
with and corresponding with the Chicago
| Tribune, the New York Tribune, and the
| Springfield Mass Republican, / crossed the
continent in a stage coach, expressly that all
| four of us might see with our own eyes the
proposed route of the Union Pacific Rail-
road-might decide as to its practicability,
and might hasten its construction, by using
our influence, personal and journalistic, to
| induce capitalists to accept the liberal sub
sides offered three years previously by Con-
gress From a letter written by Mr. Bowles
| to the Springfield Republican,, dated at San
Francisco, August 90 1865, and found on
page 262 of his widely circulated book,
"Across the Continent" quote the follow
ing
| amount Of $4,000 mile through the plains, and
$4,000 a mile in the mountains, beside which half
Of all the land each side Of the road for twenty
doing ng qSe the WORK Go Tbe companies @ S are iur
ther authorized TO Issue riieif owl Gonds 10 an
equal amount to those granted by the government
and secure them by first mortgage, The Gouern-
nient loan taking tie second place IN he secITity.
Mind you, my friends, Mr. Bowles is stat
ing the ofer Of The G0voI7meat, phich 'ods
| yet lrditiag the acceptance Of noHeyed men.
On page 273 Mr.. Bowles concludes the
letter:
Men OF the East Men at Washington :
| Send now a few thousands of men, and hundred
millions OF money, TO create a new republci tc
marry to the nation Of the Atlantic an equal II not
greater nation OF the Pacific"
need not quote from my own numerous
speeches, lectures and letters, nor from the
editorial letters of Governor Bross to the
Chicago Tribune, and his lectures before
boards Of trade and capitalists TO induce
alluded to by Mr. Bowles for this great
work, nor from Mr. Richardson's letters tC
the New York Tribune. Their favorable in
fluence in pushing this enterprise forward
is summed up in Mr.. Bowles' dedication oi
his book, dated December 25, 1865, foul
months after his letter, as follows:
'The railroad is indeed the great work OF the
day: tho great want, the great revealer the grea
sippi II is cheering to find that since we wen
over the plains labor on the eastern end OF th
road has had a new impetus; to learn that new ele
ments Of capital and enterprise have become en-
gagean
Mr.. Bowles wrote truly. The appeal o.
these representatives and special correspon
dents ofthe New York and Chicago Tribune
and the Springfield Republican, with, per
haps, my humble aid, based on the persona
knowledge we had acquired by our long anC
dangerous journey, was inducing men o
wealth to accept the subsidy, offered at frs
by the Congress of 1862, and reoifered anC
improvedby the Congress of 1864, two year
afterward, both of which acts were support
ed and voted for by such distinguished Sena
tors as Charles Sumner and Lyman Trum
bull. But these very capitalists have beel
denounced ever since by many papers ant
| a c hpttpr than
accepting what had been proffered and re
proflered by Congress with the heartiest POP
ular Endorsement, and finally risked thel
millions where others would not hazard thei
dollars. Having myself made more speeches
addresses and lectures In favor Of the Pacih
Railroad as a political, military and CONNER
cial necessity than any other man in the ma
tion, nothing could be more absurd and sell
refuting than the charge that one who wa
!, its open friend when millions doubted il
practicability, had to be bribed to favor it
interests. Enemies, not friends, are thos
\ whom bribes seek ont and control.
, You might as well say that Methods
+: had to be bTibed to advocate methodism, c
. that an editor had to be bribed to suppol
Typographical interests. But, never havin
= had in my life dollar of stock of any kin
: that did not pay for, claim the right
{ the Credit Immobilier, If there is one; |
the Union Pacific, or Central Pacific, G
Northern Pacific or Southern Pacific, G
n Lake Shore, or South Bend u Plymout
o Railroads. in oil wells or gold mines, prom
; | ising immense dividends that sometimes fail
:. in printing offices or furniture factories; /
banks or in water woTks-just like othe
American citizens or the rest of mankinC
: Nor do know of any law prohibiting it.
h there Is man out OF all our 40 600, 900 {
q people who knows me, who believes | coul
+ be influenced hairs breadth, in private {
: public life, by the purchase of any stocks
: any company, | should not value his goo
l. opinion as worth any more than his evil on,
S | am proud to say, too, that in all my publ
4 life, no man ever dared to make me a di
: honest proposition.
} Do need te add that neither Oakes Am(
y nor any other person ever gave or offered
give me one share, or twenty shares, or 2, OK
~ shares in the Credit Mobilier, or any oth'
: railroad stock ;and that unfortunately / hd
ueVer seen or received the pdl1te Of a fdrthi,
:, out of the $40 per cent. dividends, nor IL
d 800 per cent, dividends In cash, stoc
,. and bonds you have read about evel
a day for the past month, nor 100 p,
. 9 cent, nor one per cent, nor the tenth
u one per cent. have said that If twenl
l. shares of it could be purchased at par, wit
IS out buying into prospective lawsuit,
4 would be good investment, If it was as va
o liable stock as represented; and ! ha'
9 said that would like to buy twenty shar
h at par If attainable, in the Studebaker Wage
It Company, or the Birdsell Clover-Separat'
Company here; and l challenge either oil
ofthe two last companies to give me such {
, opportunity now or hereafter. But ney
q having been plaintiff nor defendant in
q court of justice, want no stock of any XII
j. at any price with a lawsuit on the top of
Is not even with the prospective dividends
e $22 900, which am "free to maintain Meth
,s these good eyes of mine nor this pocket-boC
!. have ever seen the first dollar of, although
!, = is so positively asserted that have been e
e titledto this handsome amount ever since TO
70 years ago. Here might stop. But some
these papers have been so anxious, day aft
day, TO hear from those gentlemen who
). they would have been SO quick to defend
- stead of to asperse few years ago, that
IS must continue this exposure. | have dete
!. mined that nothing can be said or charg
Il or insinuated against me in this canya
10 shall induce me to say harsh word in !
ply; and you will notice, therefore, that
abstain from using language which the We
mildest of you would employ II your neig
D, bors had sought to blacken your charact'
s. day after day, as Infamous.
m, "a f,yorita onrraanon Of the nrpgQ