Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1873-02-20

Hon. u. II. WATSON, OF I0tcQ, 1tcOner'
1 ated from all Connection scith ntt
j $4,000 ghech--C -Colfar Before Judgt
| Poland,s Committee The Vict
| President Eaplains the $1,000 Bank
| Deposit, and Legs Bare all His FRI
j cate accounts.
Special Telegram to the Inter-ocean.
4 WASHINGTON, Feb. IL.
! The testimony taken in Philadelphia
4 yesterday before Hon Jeremiah Will
4 son, Chairman of Investigating Com.
mittee No. 2, exonerates Hon. j. F.
| Wilson, of Iowa, from all connection
| with the Sis, 900 check as sworn to by
the witness Spence, and shows that the
same was paid to Thomas "A. Scott and
was deposited by Scott in the Girard
Bank of Philadelphia to his own cred
| 1t.
i Sidney Dillon, clerk in the Office OF
the Sergeant;at-Arms, was recalled,
and testified that it was his impression
that he paid $1,000 check marked
rs. c." to Oases Ames. He thought
he paid him in two $500 bills. In talk
ing with Ames during the last thirty
hours witness had asked him if he did
not pay the check to him, and Ames
said he thought 1t was very likely
| The witness could not swear he paid
the check to Ames.
| Mr.. Colfax then addressed the COM
mittee as follows:
/ GENTLEMEN Last fall was one
Of n number OF persons in public life
charged with having been bribed with
/ gifts of stock in the Credit Mobilier,
from which enormous dividends had
been received and for which certain
legislation had been procured. re-
piled to these charges in speech at
South Bend, September %, 1872, in
which, after showing that the most
important part of this legislation had
4 been enacted four years before the nj
legged bribery, respondedsto per-
sonal attack as follows, which / read
from the Chicago Inter Ocean Of the
next day: Never having in my life
/ q dollar of stock of any kind that did
not pay for, claim the right to pW-
chase stock in the Credit Mobilier or
Credit Immobilier, ifthere is one. Nor
do | know of any law prohibiting it.
Do need to add that neither Oakes
Ames nor any other person ever gave
or offered to give me one share or
twenty shares or 200 shares in the
Credit Mobilicr or any other railroad
stock, and that unfortunately / have
never seen or received the value of a
farthing out of the 27u per cent. divi-
/ dends, or the 500 per cent. divi-
dends, in cash, stock or bonds you
\ have read about for the past month,
| nor 100 per cent, nor the tenth OF one
| per cent. have said that if twenty
shares Of it could be purchased at par,
without buying into a prospective
lawsuit. it would be good Investment
| if as valuable stock as represented !;
but, never having been plaintiff nor
defendant in court of Justice, want
no stock at any price with lawsuit
on top OF it,"
/ IL will be seen from these extracts
that ! publicly claimed, last fall, the
| right to purchase the stock, and
avowed frankly that I would have
been willing to pay for twenty shares
If | did not buy into a prospective law
snit, but that no possible profits could
induce me to involve myself in litiga-
ton, having over four years before
this speech voluntarily abandoned q
contract TO purchase at a rate 1 had
stated. and on the very grounds l had
stated. Having no certificate, no
ownership OF stock in it, my answer to
the charges then made are the exact
truth; and then l frankly accepted,
also, whatever odium might attach to
4 willingness to purchase and to hold
us stock as | then understood 1t. l
VIII add that what SAID last Septem-
per, That neither Oakes Arnes nor ai,y
fotiiar person ever gave or offered to
give me any Of this stock has been re-
peafediy printed during this session,
Wild the essehtiai WORD gre omitted,
entirely chan glng its sense. Ames
haVins sworn, Deecinoef tnh, IN ms
onglhai statement before the commit
Tee, Whieh ne declared (see page Il OF
evidenee) embodied the exact facts,
thal he could not. remember having
pala me any DIVIDENDS, now declares
that IN June, 1868, check payable to
me intiais, %. 4. or Dearer, for
$I,1oo, bnt moi endorsed by me nor
any one else, was paid by lim to meas
cash dividend OF Credit Mobilier. In
answer TO this charge repeat again
that have not the slightest knowledge
or recoiiectlon or beilefthat ever saw
TINS check or any other check OF Ames'
Till he presented 1t before this commits
tee, rthat have ever been paid or
preiiered by him, directly or indirect-
~, IN cheek, stock or bends, Sl,20o or
one hundred, or one dollar. or any
amount whatever. further state thai
4 J have not the slightest knowledge.
recolection, or beiietthat ever heard
4 there was, or could be. any cash divi-
dends,sof the Credit Mobilier till the
discussion OF last fail, and ! am as pos
luve as can De OF any TACT IN the past
that Ames never spoke to me of this
lastdividend, and never paid or prof.
fered to me in person. or through any
other channel, any check, or money, OF
bonds, ON that Or any other account. =
itseems to me impossible and incredi.
bic that l should have received tht
check without remembering that addi
ton to.my income, and especially in q
/ check drawn so singu'arly as to initial.
, and not containing my name at all, no.
could have talked to him when HI
lnd n q II n Al n bAn lnt txAs &.