The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1873-02-25
Report of Credit Mobilier Committee.


WASHINGTON, Feb. Is.
At halfpast one o'clock, the report Of
the Poland committee was presented and
read in full by the clerk Of the House.
1t began by giving brief statement of
the circumstances attending the operation
Of the Credit Mobilicr at the time aud
after Oakcs Amcs and his friends began
to build the Union Pacific railroad. They
then gave a hi.tory of the Alley contract
aud the manipulation of Credit Mobilicr
stock and then proceeded to discuss Mr..
Amcs conduct in detail. During the
reading of the report, the galleries were
quite full and all the members of the
House paid close attention to the docu-
mcnt. Mr.. Amcs occupied his seat d.
rcctly in front Of the chair, holding his
hand over his face and listening intenty.
James Brooks, as well as nearly every
other member of the House, was in his
seat.
In discussing Mr. Amcs' motives in al
lowing members Of the House to take
stock at par, when it was really worth
much more, the committee say that a
doubt cannot be entertained that he was
doubtless honest in saying that he did not
expect any further legislation, but that
what he desired was to enlist friends, who
would resist any encroachments upon any
rights already secured, and whose aggre-
gate interest would be identical with his
own. They are also satisfied that he
feared that when the true relation be-
tween the Credit Mobilicr and the Union
Pacific became known, there was danger
oil hostile Congressional action The COM
mittee believe that in his distribution of
stock, he had an especial purpose to offset
the hostility Of General Washburn, of
Wisconsin, and his brother, who were
openly hostile to the Credit Mobilicr.
The committee then took up the tcsti-
moDy in detail ard alluded first to the
Senators, simply saying that the evidence
taken had been transmitted to the Senate.
Concerning the members of the House,
the committee say that the evidence is in
some cases painfully contradictory. A
brel history Of the evidence in each case
Is given by the committee, beginning with
Mr.. Blaine and followed by Dawes and
Schoicld, Of Ponnsy ylvania, neither of
whom received any profit from the stock
Messrs. Kelley and Garfield were next
reviewed, and in summing up the COM
mittee say that Mr. Ames had good rea-
sou for withholding the dividends on ac-
caunt Of the McComb suit. They do not
feel like charging corruption against the
gentlemen who did not pay down their
money for the stock but the members
must have felt it was a suspicious invest
mcnt, Oh account Of the remarkable prof.
its promised and accruing. They do not
discover that any member has been affect
ed IN his congressional action oy the own
ershlp of this stock or corruptly Influenced
IN any way, but the committee do not
agree to the doctrine that member mas
the right to own stock in corporations
which are likely to be at any time before
Congress for legislation The only crit-
clsm they made upon these gentlemen is
that they were not sufficiently careful to
ascertain what kind of stock they were
getting and that, in their judgment the
assurance that they were getting good
stock was all the assurance they needed.
The committee discussed James Brooks
case at some length. They say he had
no claim for the fifty additional shares,
and that these shares were ostcnsibly
owned by Brooks. All the circumstances
seem to point in the direction of tho
truthiunoss Of Mr. McComb's statement
concerning the conversation between
Brooks and Alley, and that Brooks got
his stock for his services to the road, Ia
considering the facts and the evidence the
committees are entirely agreed. The
committee are unanimous in believing
that the House has jurisdiction of the
case Of AIessrs. Amcs and Brooks, and
can declare a member unfit to hold his
seat on account of his conduct in previ-
Gus Congress. The power to expcl is
founded on the same grounds as the cause
to impoach.