New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-01-27
PROOF TAINTED,

lne Creult MODlIer Scanual mas SOnb 80 ldI
that nobody can afford now to be satisfied
with conjecture and hearsay evidence. The
Committee must get to the bottom OF this
corruption There is not an honest man in
Congress who can afford to leave the mystery
half-solved, or permit witnesses to meet i'll
private rooms and prearTange their testimony,
to forget what they do not want to remember,
to dole out scraps of memoranda, or tell only
what they suppose will make matters easy"
for certain Senators and Representatives. The
disclosures of the past few days have be-
smirched the fair fame of some of the most
eminent and widely respected politicians
Both parties are discredited in the persons OF
their leading members. II these men are
guilty of the corruption, the prevarication, the
lies, the deceit, the cOwardice. the perjury
charged upon them, we may ask III despair
Whom then shall we trust 1t will not do to
guess at the comparative credibility of Cakes
Ames and Schuyler COlfax, of Thomas Z.
Dmant and James Brooks. We must have
positive proof, one way or the other, and we
believe it can be obtained if the Committee
will go to work IN the right manner.
When the inquiry began, Mr.. Cakes Ames,
rs recent testimony shows, held consultation
with some of the principal men to whom
he had offered shares, and agreed with them
upon the story he and they should tell, and
the circumstances it would be best for him to
forget When he found, however that as a re-
suit of this plan he was likely to be abandoned
by his accomplices, he began to recover his
memory he found his missing memorandum
book; he looked over the accounts of the
% Will yybn no hod dam fn1
a corruption fund and he furnished extracts
from his books and papers greatly to the dis
credit of some of the gentlemen whom he had
at first protected. Now it is clear that Mr..
Ames is not telling the whole truth He has
documents which the Committee ought to see.
The memorandum book which revived his re-
collection in two cases has undoubtedly re-
vived it in a great many others. The Com
mittee have done at last what they ought to
have done at first, and called for its prOduc-
ton. From that we may learn whether
Messrs. Colfax, Allison, and Patterson are
more guilty than the Others or whether they
have only been found out little sooner.
But MIR. Ames's memorandum book is not
all that is wanted The bank accounts of
some of these suspected gentlemen ought to
be examined, as Mr.. O'COnor and Mr.. Tilden
examined the bank accounts of the New-YOrk
Ring. We may learn from these sources how
many persons continued to receive dividends
on the stock which they profess to have re-
turned TO Mr.. Ames and how many resOld it
for nominal sum, somewhere in the neigh
"bOrhood of five cents" so that, like Mr.. AL
lson, "they could call it Amess or theirs, just
"as they pleased" 1t would be interesting to
know who made large deposits just at the
time dividends were declared on Credit Mo-
bilier.
Why too are not the accounts of the Ser
geant-at-Arm examined7 Mr. Ames testifes
that he deposited $4,000 with that officer and
drew upon it to pay the Credit Mobilier divi-
dends to Congressman who pretend they never
received any dividends. Let us see the checks.
Two have already been produced, and they
have told an astonishing story. Where are
the rest Let us trust no more to accident.
to unguarded admissions, to the caprices of
Mr.. Ames's memory; but look in savage earn
est for documentary proof. Gentlemen Of the
Committee, call the Sergeant-at-Arms