The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-02-06

| brought il into existence Stock that PAID d,i-
demo OF thousand per cent is not to be had every
day, and Colonel McComb had subscribed ror some
shares IN the Credit Mobilier his liend FAINT OF
Richmond, which ne thought ought TO be given MIN
out OF the peculiar" stock allotted to Ames TOT
| the purchase OF Congressman. Ames resisted this,
| and suit was the consequence. The papers In
the case implicated a number OF prominent men,
and the sorry is that they were stolen from Ames'
lawyer. The theft was engineered BY w. p. Wood,
the detective, and the papers we've placid IN
the hands OF Marshal Murray. the expenses being
| borne by several leading democrats In New YORK
| whose names have not yet been revealed. Murray
secured their publication, but, apart from the con-
fdence reposed In the word o! the accused PERSONS
ofwnich have already spoken. the effect OF the pub
| LEGATION was deadened not only by the mistake OF
Murray IN the vehicle he chose TO make them puolic
but by the TACT that MccOmb's list was evidently a
| list OF persons whom Ames intended to bride, aud
| whom ir was by no means certain he mad bribed,
admitting the Intention. In the end 1t turned
out that the list was only partially correct Blaine
was on 1t. Ames offered him some OF the stock,
but he determined to sleep upon the oner and slept
to such purpose that he was able 10 decline it.
Boutwell, was also on the list but he de-
clined the offer as soon as it was made 1t was
thus that these two escaped, and their places we
taken by James F. Wilson and W. b. Allison, Of
had yielded to the temptation which ne escaped SO
narrowly; bnt he knew there suIiicent truth
in the charges to make it UNSAFE for HIM to rest
| under the tmputatons.
THE TUB TO THE WHALE.
Under all these circumstances 1t was necessary
4 that something should be done to keep public
| opinion from becoming excited over an apparent
| assent to the truth OF these accusations. Though
1t was impossible for the country at first TO believe
knl No h4NA okaI
| all OF whom had still before them brilliant pros
poets OF honor and useiulness-had been SO base,
| the charges were so specific and the accusa-
tons SO straightforward and concise that they
could not be passed by in silence. II the allega-
tons had been by iRnuendo they could have been
answered by lndirection and without the interpo-
siton OF a whitewashing committee. 1t Is in this
that Speaker Blaine is justified before even the
most INSCRIPTIONS OF his party friends In asking
for the investigation, though he is not the man to
waste many regrets Ii his political rivals should be
destroyed by the machinery which alone could save
them. II they were out OF the way his own path
wOnld be clear, and IL they were rescued both they
and the party would owe him debt OF gratitude.
To him IL was six of one and half a dozen OF the
other and think he was more disposed to rescue
than to destroy them. The most murderous OF
rings have always preferred an abiect and obedient
Save to the necessity of attaining safety or sue
!
Il III. type OF statesman-a most magnificent
NJ and able Richard 1t must be confessed willing
sither to condone or destroy, and Colfax and the
rsst might have licked his hand and lived II they
had not been imprudent enough to gOad Cakes
Ames to fury. The Speaker knew, as everybody
else knew, that Ames was not anxious to expose
anyone beyond the narrowest limit " hich the ne
cessities of the situation required The necessities
or the situation were felt much by the party as
tla O. dad
States hat Is and that Is to be, the Secretary Of
the Treasury, the Speaker Of the House, the Chair
man OF the Committee on Ways and Means the
Chairman OF the Committee on Appropriations,
| one or two Senators and a number OF Representa-
| tves were accused OF bribery. Blaine knew that
he could go before committee, tell his story and
have Ames corroborate it. He was not bound
to inquire whether Ames could woud
corrobOrate the others. He was lnn0-
cent and they might take their chances;
so, looking out upon the Of his own future, he
saw that resolution OF inquiry would be safety
Tor himself and tub to the whale for the rest. lie
scarcely imagined that they would attempt to
make Cakes Ames the scapegoat OF their sins, or
that he should be pursued by them after their
regulations were destroyed. Now they and their
| friends are cursing him as the cause OF their
destruction, though he did for them everything 1t
was in his power to do. He gave them CON-
BILE to apply the brush. 1t Is a rumOr at the capt.
taI-very annoJing to Mr.. Cox, but, whether true
or false, believed 10y many leading men on both
sides OF the House-that Blaine dictated the COM
mittee Cox only doing his bidding. representa-
tive, peculiarly We'll informed on this
! whole subject. told me i'll so many words
that the Speaker only consented that Cox
should take the chair after seeing the
names of the committee. The committee itself was
| unobectlonable to the accused, and, whether
Blaine dictated it or not 1t has exactly suited his
purposes. 1t is In no sense a smelling committee.
The only man upon it who is really in earnest is
Merrick, OF Maryland. Banks, who, as a liberal re-
publican helds the balance OF political power in Its
organization, has absented himself from its sittngs
and from Washington during much OF the time 1t
has been at work. The rest the party friends of
the accused, accustomed to look upon the alleged
| criminals as their masters. Their investigations
have been conducted as we would have expected,
the only good thing they have done being the
opening OF their doors when they were coerced into
opening them. In itself the committee has been
singualy inert. From the beginning till now
1t has industriously sought to do nothing. 1t has
| moved only as 1t was moved, but 1t was always
| true to this one purpose-to learn nothing and to
do nothng-and has most unwillingly recorded the
| testimony of willing witnesses Poland has been
| constantly surprised that where he dipped for
| lime mud has covered his brush, and the good man
| from Vermont is bewildered at the results SO is
Blame and so is everybody. But the often quoted
remarks about the best laid plans OF mice and men
| explain 1t all. Some overvirtuous persons relied
too much upon the esteem which their ostentatous
| virtues secured for them. "1hey told lies about
me-" says Ames, "tn could stand 1t no longer"
so he turned upon them like rat flashing his pur
suers They would have derived all the benefit
from the HERALD's jokes upon Hoax If Christian
resignation had been among Hoax's many fine
! qualities Hoax was at first anxious only to for
get; hut when he walked mp at last he played hand
as iull of trumps as All SIMS sleeve in the famous
| contest with Truthful James and BIZ Nye.