Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1873-01-15

hOb itb III luilyg Out were bOlu IL was 10
be good investment, that Mr.. Ames
would guarantee ten per cent, on the
par value; and that would make it q
. good thing, for which Congressman
were subscribing. When the act was
passed, Mobilier stock went up three
hundred or four hundred per cent. and
Congressman became clamOrous for it.
The pressure induced Durant and Ames
! to water the stock from six hundred
and thirty 10 seven hundred and thirty
shares. Everything went well until the
, State of Pennsylvania wanted heavy
tax upon the Mobilier dividends. To
stop this little game they let the rest Of
the road to Oakss Ames for fOrty-eight
million dollars, which he was to assign
to the stockholders of the Credit Mobil-
Ter, but not to itself. A heavier trouble
came upon them when a Mr.. McCOmb
insisted that they had not given him
his share of the "swag." They offered
him his money back, but he would take
nothing but stock, and wanted them to
water it again, but they would not.
Then" said McComb, az must bring a
suit and expose this whole affair, and
/ that / don't want to DO. I don't want
to get these people mad. am In rail-
road enterprises, and don't want to stir
up hornets nest here. You don't
want to have this exposed" Ames re-
! piled that he did not care anything |
about that; everybody knew that Con- /
gressmen were bribed; he could bribe I
any OF them; and that McComb might /
tell all he knew or not, as he pleased. /
So McCOmb filed his bill in equity, leav-
ing out the names of all members of
Congress, as he was very anxious, as a
large stockhOIder of the railroad and of
the Credit Mobilier, not to expose the
means by which the laws by which the
companies had been established and
made profitable, had been passed and
he hoped, by keeping the secret, that it
would be easier to make a settlement
with Ames and the Credit Mobilier and
get his money; so the bill in equity only
referred to the transactions and Ames's
letters in general way. To this bill so
framed Ames answered, upon his oath,
that be never wrote any such letters, !
and that he never distributed any such
stock. Ames's bungling lawyers in
sisted on the publication of all the
names, suppOsing their client innocent.
The suit was laid over during the Presi-
dental campaign. Meanwhile a Sun /
reporter stole the papers in the case from ,
Ames's lawyer and published them,
which was followed by denial from
all but McCOmb, who was now sorry I
that he had started the ball. Speaker :
Blaine was enabled to clear his skirts,
and boldly pushed for an investigation.
The resolution passed, and majority of
the opposition was put on the commit [
tee, on the ground that there was no 7
Democrat or Greeley man who had been !
as that was the theory upon =
which Mr.. Blaine's resolution was
started. Mr.. McCOmb testified before
Lne committee, among other facts, as {
follows: Mr.. James Brooks had one y
hundred and fifty shares of Credit Mo- d
Olller stock, and that he received one L
hundred and fifty thousand dollars and S
more of dividends or increase on ac- :
count of owning stock of the Credit Mo- 8
olller; and if you will examine the =
books of the Credit Mobilier and wit [
nesses whom l will name, the truth will v
appear. One Of the witnesses is Mr.. |,
lhomas Z. Durant, who is now suing
or the fifty shares back. / demand
hat you send for and examine these q
as due to myself and to Con- b
yress and the people, 1t would seem n
nat some of the gentlemen who had
made denials expected and might
lave desired Ames to 90 before b
he committee and affirm his sworn r
-nswer in the chancery suit, de- h
lying that he had ever distribu-
ed the stock or written the letters 81
nd the stOck-list produced by McComb, e.
0 that they all might continue in their n
enials made in the papers that they n,
lad ever had any stock; and everybody Z,
you'd thus have got out of the scandal "
kept Ames, who might be u
adly damaged by any evil N
enee that might be produced by Mr.. h,
'ardWelI and others of the fact that
Ames had said over and over again that Il
e had distributed the stock to the per Ii
ons charged. But Ames was unwilling Iii
be scapegoat. He concluded to tell VI
ne whole truth about the distribution n
I stock and his letters to McCOmb; of n n
curse denying that in giving stock TO I'll
Dybody that was worth four hundred pl
Oilars share for one hundred dollars o,
aid the company for il, anybody sup 2,
OSed there was any wrong or bribery II
l the transaction. He insisted that 10
motives were good and te
ure, in taking the stock as well as to m
wing it-as, of course, they were. But =
le stock Is unfortunately traced by Is
mess own statement into the hands of Pt
lany gentlemen whose names have so
cen published on the stock-list ~
nd their connection with it and ~
ne denials of ever having had it are to o.
? explained as well as they can be. It ii
said that during these developments of
ne gentleman of high position went D,
lth tears in his eyes to Mr.. Ames, and
anted the stock taken back. Another De
reat war came upon the Union and an
her Pacific roads when two years ago Ii
-r. Boutwell, said to them: "Your o.,
'ads are built, and | do not see any
asOn why the Government should be III
lylnS you for carrying troops and its VII
alis while you owe it interest. | pro. in,
'se to have you offset all your earnings Tvs
doing Government business against
e interest which the Government has eF
pay you every year on the bonds Is
hlch the Government gave you, and th
EN- pay the balance, because the mort Te
Ige which secures these bonds is not
o valuable now, and if debt accumu- Ue'
tes the interest for thirty years till the Nj
nds are due, it will become less and aft
IS valuable each year, Credit MobiI- Dr.
r at once fell from IS to 76. Then
'ngress was persuaded to pass a law 'eI
stponing the payment of this interest wa
thirty years. This put the stocks up Or
sll and Mr.. Dawes stand in the same :.
ation to this matter. But the facts ait
e these: Mr.. Boutwell, always gave Ion
5 vote against everything the road de,
Inted; Mr.. Dawes always gave his ON,
te and his influence for everything the -
I'D wanted. Mr.. Boutwell, never de- oW
I'd that he had the stock, when he act
Yer did have it; Mr.. Dawes did deny, ma
all the people understood his letter, obi
wing had any of this stock, when he
have it. MIR. Boutwell,, as Secretary caI
the Treasury, ordered the Pacific rail- anC
IDS to pay up their interest due the VIII
llted States from their earnings out of CO..,
Government business. Mr.. Dawes, S''ii
Hartman of committee of Congress, stal
reed to report, and voted for law to
ow the roads to postpone the payment T
the interest" -
---~s"-- thil
II the opening of the Tweed CAGE in ;n,,
W York, yesterday, Mr.. Cassidy, for s,,S suS
farOaannfinFa +l,k / ~