American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-10-05
The Price of Congressman.


The actual cash value of legislation in
favor OF railroad construction may be
estimated by the prices said to have been
paid from the treasury of the Credit Mo-
bilier by Cakes Ames. 1t is impossible to
make a graduated scale of prices, as the
smaller fry of Congressman were not in
cluded in the negotiation. Cakes Ames
only dealt with the Legislative leaders
whose services We're worth purchasing.
and whose influen ;e would guarantee full
filIment of contract on their part. His Sc
lection embraced a ring of Congressman
in the Republican party, which. by force
of influence and standing, could have car
ried any scheme through to success, how
ever bad it might have been. With Will
son and Patterson in the Senate; ColfaX,
speaker; Blaine and Bingham. prominent
affairs Scofield, chairman of the COM
mittee on revised and unfinished business;
Dawes. chairman of the committee on cleo
tiOns; Boutwell,, on the Judiciary commit
tee; and Kelley, Eliot, and Garfield. in
the house, no trouble could have been APP
pretended in pushing anything through.
The above names were furnished to MIR.
McCOmb by Mr.. Ames, as having re-
ceived a fixed number of shares bus Mr..
AmeS, in one of his letters, makes the re-
mark that he had other shares that he
would place advantageOusly. Since the
it is stated, upon the authority of one of
the legal gentleman employed in the case
against the Credit Mobilier, that several
other Congressman. among them Brooks.
Boyer anu Schenck in the House. and
Pomeroy, Chandler. Cameron. Nye,
Stewart, Sherman and Morton in the SEN
ate, also received a number of shares. The
exact number (if any given to the latter,
however, is not stated but in the case of
the former we have certain figures, and,
rs Mr.. McComb has also furnished the
value of the shares when delivered, and
the dividends which were subsequently
declared, we can easily get at the price of
these gentlemen. The stock. when de-
livered, was worth 260, and there were de-
clared in dividends from the time of de-
livery in January, 1865, to January, 1869,
S41 per cent. in stock and bonds of the
Union Pacific railroad, stock of the Credit
MObilier and cash. The price which Mr..
Blaine. according to this showing, re-
ceive-l, was as follows:
So. 900 in Or Mobilier shares at 26O, actual
SOS per cent. in Union Pacific stock. ... $50
go per cent. in Union Pacific bonds. ..... g. 800
II per CT in Or. Mobilier stock . $40
So per cent In gold mot counting prem
Total .............. .s3s ,o30
Deducting nominal value. 5000
Mr.. Blaine's portion ...........S 3O, $50
Having obtained Mr.. Blaine's, it is easy
to fix the others. Messrs. Patterson and
Eliot were given the same amount of
stock as Mr.. Blaine, and therefore real
lied $50, 900 each. Messrs. Wilson. Col |
lax, ScOfield, Kelley, Dawes, Boutwell,. |
Bingham, and Garfield were not quite so |
hieh-priced individuals, they receiving
but s., 900 in stock each, making their |
price, per capita, $4,000. The bonds, |
and, of course, the cash dividends were |
par; and the stock, on the completion of |
the road, was worth 30 or 40. 1t is now
quoted at sc.
The manner in which these gentlemen
paid for their stock discloses novel way
OF comforting the congressional con-
science, and an ingenious manner of whip
ping the devil round the stump. Mr..
Ames, it is stated, first handed the con-
gresham certificate of stock, and told
him it was an excellent thing. In all
the congressman agreed with
MIR. Ames' view of the situation, and per-
haps he innocently asked, how much mo-
ney was required, to which Mr.. Ames re-
piled ''NOt cent at present.. In a few
weeks, Mr.. Ames would call around
again to inquire after the health of the
new stakeholder, and hand him check
drawn by the treasurer of the Credit Mo-
biller, in an abstract sort of way, saying.
Here is the first dividend.' This first
dividend was sufficient to pay for the stock
at its par value. The So 900 was thus
paid the congressman found himself with
81 $40 in his pocket, and had nothing
to do but draw his divi-
dends with becoming courage and regu-
larity. and vote favOrably on everything
the Union Pacific. If it hap
pened to be on the 4th of January, 1865,
that Mr.. Ames called, he came before the
congressman was fairly out of bed with
the first dividend OF sixty per cent. in
Union Pacific stock. at lunch with the
second dividend of thirty-three per cent.
in the same stock, at dinner time with the
third dividend of so per cent. in Union
Pacific bonds, and, Just as the congress
man was going to bed, he comes in. the
fourth time, with a comfortable little four
teen per cent. dividend, all in shining
gold, whereupOn the congressman said
his prayers and closed his eyes upon this
weary world, $40, 40 better off than when
he arose in the morning.
This is bad, bad business for the shin !!
ing lights of the Grant party; but, if all
NE lntmatlons which are suggested by '
egal gentlemen are true, it is not half as
bad as it will be when the whole case is
brought to the light. Mr.. McComb has.
t is stated, all the proof in the case, |
md will produce them, or compel Cakes
Ames, who has all along refused to ap- I
pear before the examiner, to do so. BY y
Ill means let us have Cakes Ames on the i
tand, to tell what he knows about bri- a
very. Mr.. McCOmb is an interested party, 1
Is the stock, or part of it, for which he t
rad subscribed, was placed by Cakes b
Ames ''where it could do the most goOd.'' I
)akes Ames is the most competent wit fl
hess, as he had charge of the distribution 1
II the stock, and, if any one knows what t
'ecame of it, he does. Mr.. Cakes Amcs b
; wanted. Meanwhile, it is fair to give e
he accused congressman the benefit of all d
doubts until they shall have put in their h
License, or have had time to do so. They o
ppear to be rather slow in going about
t; but their is still time for them to ap-