Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1873-03-14

4 inc puOllc statement maze aItcr MS con
versation with me, in which he maintain
| ed that you took the stock and received
| The dividends. and his private statement,
l felt that l must accept the latter, be-
lieving that Mr. Ames, in his former state.
ment, was influenced by some unexpain.
cd motive. In the six years l have rep
resented leading papers East and West at
the capitol, among the very few men in
Congressional life whose integrity new
er heard impeached or called in question,
you are one. The recent Credit Mobiier
investigation has not shaken my judg-
ment, and | feel that when the public ex.
element subsidies and the facts can be
looked at dispassionately, the people will
continue to trust you, as they ever have
in the past. Sincerely yours,
| w. SCOTT SMITH
Mr.. Colfax then explained at some
length the matter Of his bank ac-
count and the remittances from
Nesbitt, with which the public are
already acquainted, and closed as
follows:
Many minor points in this matter
| would like to analyze at length,
but | have referred to those which
have excited the most discussion,
and do not wish to unnecessarily
prolong this statement. The false
hoods that have been tclegraphed
over the country during the investi-
CATION have been persistent and ma
licious. | was astounded when, for
the first time in my life, saw the
as. c." check in the committee room
and found that it was to be charged
to me, and the astonishment was
tclegraghed as the evidence OF my
guilt. Next it was telegraplled that
l was going to try and prove that l
received the $1,000 from Jasper
Shoemaker, Stuart and Bowen, and
when it was found that this was
false it was telegraphed that l had
to change tactics and charge it to 4
deceased man. When | wrote to
the committee in regard to the other
Nesbiit remittanceS, and the desire
of his family, and the decision of
my counsel that they should not be
presented to account for deposit
on certain day in June, it was tel
egraphed that had written to the
committee that had forgotten them;
and when another falsehood was tel
egraphed that l had, after Nesbitt's
death, acted as his attorney, or lob
byist, the Postmaster General Off
cially reiuted it, and showed that /
had done no more than any Con-
gresham could have done without
criticism, and no more than l have
done as to my department business
which any constituent ofmine, friend
or foe, asked me to have decided
justly during the year represented
this district in Congress. could
read you more letters l have receiv-
ed on this subject from confidential
friends with whom conversed more
or less about this generous man.
Here | must close. From first to
last | have stated all the leading
practical points in this transaction,
i'll identical and unchanged Ian
| guage, and am not responsible for
the malicious perversions and twist
ingS of these statements with which
the newspapers have been filled. In
the confidence Of the family circle,
before you here in public speech,
and in the committee room at Wash
ington, have stated what is the
tact-that | never received a dollar
of dividends on the Credit Mobilier
or the Union Pacific Railway from
MIR. Amcs or any one else-on all
occasions. l have stated that while
would be willing to buy it at par
and to hold it as l understood it in
1868, no prospect Of liberal divi-
dends could induce me to buy into
lawsuit. For over four years, by
Mr.. Ames' own testimony, although
we have both been at the capitol,
there has not been a word cxchang-
ed between us as to dividends on
this stock. Could there be stronger
confirmation Of its abandonment?
stand before you conscious of
no wrong doing in this matter in
thought. word or deed. AS was rep
resented to me by Mr.. Ames, l
agreed to buy twenty shares; after
ward and within few months on
my own convictions abandoned it,
preterring to lose what | had paid
than to hold it. 1t never influenced
vote or ruling of mine in the
slightest degree. Mind and heart
and conscience all acquit me Of the
unjust imputations to which l have
been subjected. My record has new
er been stained with dishonor or
Justification, and this extraordinary
manifestation Of mistaken conf
dence and Interchangeable regard by
old friends who have known me
from boyhood answers 4 thousand
malicious attacks and thrills my
heart with a gratitude l cannot cx-
press in words.
At the conclusion of his speech
testimonial signed by 1900 of his
fellow citizens of all parties, express
sive of their undated confidence in
his honesty, truthfulness and purity
Of personal and political life and
character was presented to Mr.. Col
fax, and the following resolution
was unanimously adopted by the
large crowd present:
Resolued, That in welcoming
Schuyler Colfax home to-day after
his twenty years of arduous public
service, in which he has been ex-
oelled by noncsas a model statesman
temperate, judicious and faithful
to principles, we do so with undi-
minished confidence in his honor
and integrity, both rs a public man
and Il private citizen.
Important to Hard Drinkers.
The Supreme Court of Maryland,
setting a; Baltimore, rendered de-
cision q few days ago which estab-
fishes the precedent, that life insur-