Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-02-16

first that Remington was an agent of the
French Government, but he soon afterward
disclosed himself as such. The reports
made to the French government showed
that all the lots Of arms sold here went to
France. sTaE8.HE EECs
Mr.. Conkling denied this and said Sem
ator Schurz knew very well that France
and Prussia did not constitute the only, or
even the chief markets for arms in chriten-
dom at that time.
Mr.. Schurz said the investigation would
show that at least an overwhelming ma
iority of the arms went to France.
Mr.. COnkling-There is difference be-
tween all and an Overwhelming majority.
Mr.. Schurz read from Mr.. Remington's
letter Of Dec. IS, 1870, his statement that
be had bought
Fifty Batteries, ETC.,
and said that this showed Mr.. Remington
to have been negotiating with the Govern
ment after he had declared himself TO be
French agent, because after the endorse
ment of Mr.. Remington as a gentleman of
high character yesterday by the gentleman
from New York (Conkling) it would not do
to explain away his statements inthis letter
by saying that he was trying to magnify
his Importance in the eyes of the French
government.
Mr.. Conkling said he had not yetindorsed
Mr.. Remington as gentleman of high char
acter, but would not deny that he might do
so if It should become necessary.
Mr.. Schurz thought that the circumstan-
ces to which he was calling attention SEEM
ed to make il necessary.
Mr.. Conkling asked whether Mr.. Schurz
meant to say OF imply that Mr.. RemingtOn's
letter necessarily meant that he made the
purchases in person. The language of the
letter would be just as true and appropriate
if be had done the business through agents
and we had the word of the Secretary of
War that no arms were sold to Mr.. Reming-
ton by the Department after about the mid
die Of October, 1870.
Mr., SchuTZ was willing to let the letter
go before the country. He then discussed
the sales to Richardson, the alleged attorney
of Remington & Sons. Richardson, he
said, was a lawyer of lion, and ordered
$4,000 mUskets. What bellicose lawyer
Laughter What did that little country
lawyer want with $4,000 muskets? Here,
surely, was an exceedingly strong ground
for suspicion. On the part of the War De-
partment, plainly there had been blind
ness, compared with which
The blindness of n Mole
would be clairvoyance [laughter,1 or else
there had been transparent jugglery, and in
either case an investigation was necessary.
Remington himself had since gone to
France, carrying a certificate of character
from the Secretary of War, endorsed, as he
(Schurz) was informed, by the Senator
from New York, (COnkling).
Mr.. COnkling denied that be had endors-
ed any letter written by anybody else for
Remington, and stated that be had written
letter himself saying that so far as he had
ever known the character of Remington
Bros. commercially and personally, it was
good, and their standing high in the COM
muuity in which they had always lived.
He had written the letter at the request of
Remington, who told him that his character
bad been questioned. Remington also
stated that instead of having special facili-
ties given him by the Government Of the
United States, he had been questioned, i'm
peded and bafiled in his transactions
in arms in a manner and to ali
extent far beyond anything to which he
had ever known a citizen Of any OF her
country to be subjected, and that when his
character was questioned abroad and he
applied to the officials of the War Depart
ment for a letter certifying to facts which
appeared on Their records, they declined to
give it on the ground that they did not
wart TO be dragged into a matter of that
kind and would only consent to certify he
had had transactions in arms with the De-
partment and had been found trustworthy.
Mr.. SchurZ thought it very odd that
gentleman who wanted a certificate of good
character to enable him to get into good so
ciety abroad should apply for it at the War
Department. Laughter
Mr. COnklinE-Did the Senator under
stand me to say that Mr.. Remington want
ed a certificate to introduce him into good
society abroad.
Mr. Schurz-NO sir So far from sup
posing that he wanted that certificate to get
him into good society, l believe that he
wanted it to help him in settling bis &C
counts with the French government. Fur
ther, il was of questionable propriety for
the Chief Of Ordnance or the Secretary Of
War to give a certificate of character to a
man who had been virtually turned out of
the Department as French agent short
time before.
Mr.. Conkling said the certificate was Civ
en- this winter, long after the end Of the
war.
Mr.. SChurz-Yes, it was given after the
first trial Of NJ. Place had ended, and after
Remington had got into difficulties with the
French Government about his army con-
tracts.
Mr.. Schurz then spoke of the difference
between the amount paid by the French for
the arms and that received by the War De-
partment, and asked
Where the Money had Gone.
After the endorsement Of Remington by
such high authorities, it would not do to
suppose that he had stained his hands with
it. He (SchurZ) did not know where it had
gone, but the investigation would probably
show it. 1t was no use to attempt to ignore
the suspicious excited on this subject at
home and abroad. The honor of the
nation required that the matter
be investigated. A year ago he had had
this subject forced on his attention by let
ters. resolutions and circumstances, from
German born citizens, who believed that
the Government was selling arms to the
French, and urged him to attack the Gov
eminent for it in the Senate, but he had
X
it prudent to introduce the subject p. that
time lest the friends of the admir Iistration
might be driven to justify is action, and
might thereby disturb the good feeling ex-
isting between it and the German element.
He bad, however, done all he could in pri-
vate to stop the sales. The Secretary of
War, when applied to, said the Government
had the right to sell arms to American citi-
zens, and that he didn't know that the arms
went into the hands of the French, and
that he saw no reason to stop the sales. For
while the sales were said to have been
suspended, but,
After the November Election
in that year, they were resumed, if indeed
they had been stopped. The Secretary of
State then promised to interfere and finally
they were stopped. When he (Schurcz)
saw the officials of the United States thus
persiSting in
A Course SO Dangerous
and so likely to compromise the country
with foreign powers, his suspicious were
awakened, and as their conduct could not