Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-02-27


was only proof of his extreme dellcacy
in not wishing to be connected personally
with the matter, while he was govern
ment director. Besides it was the most
natural thing in the world for man to
look after the interest of his own kith
and kin. The people had been told SO
very often within the past
year in respect to persons higher
in office than Brooks. daughter
If this transfer to Nelson had been an
attempt on the part of Mr.. Brooks to
cover up a bad transaction, he never
would have selected his son-in-law. No
man, he was going to say, with sense
necessary to be member of Congress,
and that was not putting it very high
naughter)-but with sense enough to be
a country Justice of the Peace, that was
better aughter)-would ever have re-
sorted to so flimsy dodge, as to select
his son-in-law, in order to cover up a
bad transaction. To his mind it was not
a badge of fraud, but badge of fair
dealing, and it would be so regarded by
every sensible, judicial tribunal in the
land. He did not wish to be understood
as approving of this matter in all its
lengths and breadths. He thought that
the purchase of Credit Mobilier stock by
members of Congress was very i'm
prudent thing, but he did not propose,
himself, TO cast a stone at those who did
it. He did not think that it was pre-
cisely the right thing to continue that
sort of machine that might have been
iniquitous. But if so, the House should
go back and punish the men who made
the controversy Let this man, who
connived at the iniquity, be taken up
and expelled if there are such in the
House, instead of eXpelling one man,
because he bought it. After passing
eulogies on the character of Messrs.
Ames and Brooks, he remarked that it
had been said that ISLANDER loves shin
ing mark" 1t was so in this case. Men
who had been chairmen of committees
of the House, who had been regarded
as leaders of the House, and whom he
had always believed, and still believed
to-day, to be among the best men of the
House, had been singled out in this case.
He had had many bout with some of
these men, had had many a sharp en-
counter with them in debate, but the
sharp words, uttered on either side, had
been forgotten and forgiven. He was
not, as he was about to leave the hall,
going to throw stones at these men. 1t
was most deplorable that such men
should be singled out for these shafts.
He reminded the House that some men
confessed their sins because they are
compelled to, and then denounce those
others, and so the vicious people, men
not half so good as those they condemn,
would compound sins ten times worse,
and would justify in their consciences
the sins they commit if they could but
drag down to their own level a bright
and shining mark This question, after
all, resolved itself into the single ques-
ton whether the stock of the Credit
Mobilier was contraband property, was
it, in and Of itself, Ubiquitous, so as to
corrupt the man who held it? The COM
mittee did not anywhere pretend to the
affirmation of that proposition. On the
contrary, Ames was one of the largest
holders of Credit Mobilier stock, and
yet it was not proposed to punish him
because of that fact. The House was
permitted to take it for granted that
that property, as property, did not cor
rupt or faint the holder, and they were
then driven to examine the conclusion
of the committee, to wit whether there
was bribery? On that question he would
say no more. After a few further re-
marks the hammer fell.
Mr.. Merrick, one of the Democratic
members of the select committee, took
the floor He expressed regret at finding
himself in the painful position of defend
ing the report of the committee, particu-
/ larly that part of it in which the COM
mittee was supposed to have whitewash-
ed other members who had received
Credit Mobilier stock. He who so read
that report, totally misunderstood its
scope and purpose. The committee had
not attempted to exculpate those gentle
men; on the contrary, the committee
had pointed out, as al lesson for them, the
course of Senator Bayard of Delaware,
in refusing to touch that stock. 1t has
been the object of the committee, so far
as it could do so within the limits of
their power, to strike blow and cast a
censure on all of them and if these
members knew it, there was no evidence
of the fact before the committee, that
they had been aware of the enormous
dividends that were to grow out of the
contract they made with Ames, but
there was no evidence that they did
/ know IL
Mr. Eldridge remarked that they must
have known it, when they received the
large dividends.
/ Mr. Merrick asked whether the gentle
man from Wisconsin had read the testi-
mony at all and, if so, did he not well
know that the contract with each of
these men was made in the months of
December and January, and that the
dividends, spoken of, were not made till
the nth of June following. How then
could they know that which did not take
place till six months afterward? He de-
clared that every member of the COM
mittee felt that it was a solemn duty to
find verdict of not guilty with refer.
ence to those whose guilt had not been
established, and to render the painful
verdict of guilty in reference to those
whose guilt was proved beyond the pos.
sibility of a reasonable doubt The acts
and conduct Of Cakes Ames, with re.
terence to these members not included
in the condemnatory action of the com.
mittee, in inveigling those gentlemen
,,,t. r. r. ~ ,ob