New-York tribune., 1873-01-09
RPIREPY or RUSINESS.

business, and provided he can escape expul-
sion he seems TO care very little what becomes
of his accompces. He occupied, indeed, If
we can believe his statements, the position of
the tempted rather than the tempter. For
long time he had been beset by the clamors
of impOrtunate Congressman wanting stock.
He had promised it, right and LETT, when 1t
was worth no more than par, and purchasers
were hard TO find at any figure; and when the
trustees of the Credit MObiler placed 375 shares
in his hands, in January 1868, 1T was to en-
able him to meet these engagements, and sat
isfy these hungry legislators. He had no
thought of bribing anybody. The Company
asked nothing of Congress, having got all that
il wanted several years before. The transac-
ton, therefore, was simple matter of busi-
ness.
But Mr.. Ames's story is inconsistent with
his own evidence He writes to McComb,
few days after receiving these S75 shares,
"You say | must not put too much in one
"locality. I have assigned, as far as | have
"given, to four from Massachusetts,; one from
New Hampshire; one, Delaware; one, Ten
"nessee two Ohio; two, Pennsylvania; one,
"Indiana; one, Maine and hare three to
"place which shall put out where they wiH do
" most 0ood TO us. / am here on the spot, and
"can better Judge where they should CO." In
his second letter TO the same person he says
"You do not understand by your letter what
81 have done and am to do with my sales OF
"stock. You say more to NewYOrk. | have
"placed some with New-York or have agreed
"to. / hare used this 1Chere ii lCiH pro-
"duce most 0oOd to us / think And i'll his
third letter he writes: 81 want that $4,000
increase of the Credit Mobilier to sell here.
" We aoaat more friends in this Congress. and If
~ man will look into the law, and IL IS diW-
"c,.lt to get them to do ii unless they hare an
"interest to do so, he cannot help being con-
"vinced that we should not be interfered with"
There is not word here OF promises or
engagements and when we come to inquire
into Mr.. Ames's dealings with particular
individuals, we see at once that his story
is utterly incredible. The first person men
toned on McComb's list was Speaker Blaine.
Mr.. Blaine testiies that he never had but one
offer of the stock, and that was in the Spring
of 1863, when Mr.. Ames asked him to take
ten shares, and he refused. Ames was present
when the testimony was given, and acknOwl-
edged it to be correct. There was no previous
engagement, therefore, in this case. Mr.. Col
fax testIfies that Ames brOached the matter to
him "about the time of the holiday recess
d" five years ago." that is to say at the
close of December, 1867, or the beginning of
January, 1868, and the Vice-President then
agreed to take twenty shares. Mr.. COlfax did
not even know, up to that time, what the
Credit Mobilier was. No previous engage
ment, therefore, in that case. The suggestion
that Senator Wilson should be let into
the ring came, according to Alley, from
Mr.. Ames, and Wilson held the shares
some MONTHS returning them in cOnse-
duence of the scandal of the McCOmb suit.
AS the papers in this suit were filed in Novem-
Der, 1863, the transaction with Mr.. Wilson
doubtless took place when the rest of the
stock was "placed where it would do most
good" and there was clearly no previous
engagement in that case either. Mr.. Dawes
went to Ames to bay an Iowa railroad bond,
and was induced to take Credit Mobilier
instead; no previous promise. Mr.. Eliot was
solicited to take it, and declined; no previous
promise. Mr.. Boutwell, was solicited to take
it, and declined; no previous promise. Sena
tor Bayard was solicited to take it, and de-
clined again no previous promise. Ii we go
through the whole list, we shall probably find
that in no case was there any such agreement
as Mr. Ames pretends. Mr.. Merrick saw the
discrepancy in his statements and asked
whether he had given promises to all the Con-
gressmen named in the list, and if not to all,
then to which Of them; but Mr.. Ames could
not remember.
Now for what reason did this astute man of
business sell at par shares worth from 300 to
600, to men with whom he had no previous bar
gain, and even carry them for those who could
not payq He confesses that he wanted to Sc
cure friends in Congress" He wanted to fix
matters so that the road need not be "inter-
fered with" He wanted to place the stock
where the Company would get an equivalent
ig some kind Of service nom the holder. He
acknowledges In his testimony that the Com
pany chad been threatened with Congress
sional Investigation; that cofip,sint bad
been made of excessive charges for freight
and transportation; and that Mr.. C. C. Wash
burn had openeds an attack in the House
upon the enormous land grants to
the Pacific Railroad. Mr.. Ames proposed
to meet these menaces by giving toI
as many Congressman as possible a
pecuniary interest in the Company. '' have
" found" said he, that there is no din 'culty
sin inducing men to look after their .'wn
&" property" AS soon, therefore, as he had a. =
signed the. shares in Washington, he wrote to
McComb, al do MT fear any investigation
" here . and when Mr.. Washburn undertook to
convince the House that the Company was
making too much money out of the Govern
ment, Mr. Ames undertook to answer him by
no less a device than dividing that money |
among the members. In view of Washburn's |
move here, go in for making one bond |
:" dividend in full"