The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1873-02-07

1hen puDISned, When 10 senu tueln
to their constituents will cost more
than the trouble of franking. No
better plan could have been adopted
to strike at the promiscuous pubAea-
tion of public documents, than the
repeal of the franking privilege, and
the country will regard it more ia
vorably on that account.
!
The Case of Mr.. Colfax.
The country must have been pro
foundly moved by the extraordinary
revelation made on Tuesday before
the Poland Credit Mobilier Commit
tee, in regard to the case Of Mr.. Col
fax. Probably no other man holds
in higher degree than does he the
confidence and sympashies of the
people, and as the result of such con-
fidence and feeling, all stories about
his being compromised with the
Credit MobiIier affair have deen dis
credited, his positive denials being
readily accepted as truth. Hence,
the great sensation caused by the
testimony of the Cashier of the First
National Bank of Washington, that
Mr.. Colfax had deposited $1,000 in
that Bank two days after Ames de
clares he paid him that sum as Credit
Mobilier dividends, but which
amount of money Mr.. G. had posi-
lively declared he did not have at
that time. The proof now appears
clear that he did personally make
such deposit The only remaining
question seems to be whether he can
explain such deposit independent Of
Ames's statement. 1t is our sincere
hope, as it no doubt is of the country,
that he may be able to do this. 1t
is stated that in the face of all this
circumstaatial evidence he still in
sists that he never had that check
from Ames, and never received its
proceeds. He says he now remem
bers that about that time he received
a sum, approxlmating 81 ,000, from
friend, and he has telegraphed for de-
tails. 1t was after learning OF the
Cashiers testimony, that he called
upon the Senate for an investigation.
While we would not for one mo-
ment shield the guilty in this matter
we still hold that no man of the
standing of Schuyler COlfax, should
be condemned by anything yet pro
dueed. Worse combinations of cir
cumstances than that, have been ex-
planned, and we may well afford to
wait for further prOof..-TotedO Com
mercidg. -T-ers
The case as it rests, certainly
looks bad, but with the Commercial
we have every confidence that Mr..
Colfax will be able to fully excplpate
himself from completely in the Credit
Mobilier business.
WE commend the following article
to the attention of the reader. Itis
about the most common sense view
of the matter we have seen, and is
really the correct manner to look at
it. IF Congressman accepted stock |
as a consideration for their votes,
they were guiltily culpable. and |
should have the seal of public con
demration set upon them. If they
invested in stock as private citizen
might have invested, and the fact
could not have influenced their ac-
ton, they are no more culpable than
the private citizen would have been.
What Is Your opinion2
We have been asked by cores
pondent indignant at the Credit Mo-
bilier developments before the Iu-
vestigating Committee at Washing
ton, "What is your opinionp It a is
fair question, and shall have frank
answer.
We are disgusted with the whole
thing. The matter has been unwar-
rantably magnifed, and exaggerated,
and-We grieve to say it--such ex-
aggeration is due to the follish,
short,sighted course pursued by
some of the gentlemen whose repu-
tations have been called in question.
In the abstract, there was no reason
why member Of Congress should
not invest in the Credit MobHier
stock, so long as it could not infu-
ence his action as Senator or Repre-
sentative, and SO long as the Credit
Mobilier was supposed to be an hon
est institution. In looking at this
thing,we shall plant our feet upon the
stand point they occupied when the
transaction occurred. The Pacific
Railroad was considered the great
est enterprise ofthe age, and its COM
pletion deemed the most important
of cOnsummations. Everything
connected with its early history
seemed straight and square and hon
est.
Now had all these gentleman who
have been drawn into this investiga-
tion, made perfectly clean breasts of
it; had they anticipated 0akes Ames'
version of the matter in such partic-
ulars as have, by corroboratiYe tes-
timony, been shown to be trne, and
had they told, frankly, and without
cross-examination, all they knew
about it, this present tempest would !
have been confined to a tea pot. I'll
a witness desires credit for honesty
before court and jury, he should |
not appear to hold anything back I
for opposing counsel to pump out of
him. We have know Witnesses in
law suits to beat the lawyers on the s
opposite side by letting out every =
thing; thus taking the wind ont of +
5he sail of q cross examination. II
1t is to be regretted, exceedingly :
that such course was not pursued.
No man-at least no generous hon :
est man-believes those gentlemen,
now implicated by this palpable at /,
Tempt at eoncealment, took stock !
from any improper motive; And had :
hey sought to bring out all the facts; E
had they been their own witnesses r
N the case, and left nothing to be !
except what they could I