Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1873-03-21

A oSsna ovation at south Bend, ina.
soUru BEND. March a.

-.
South Bend, making their way to the citv
In all kinds of conveyances, on horseback
ana on foot These arrivals, Joining the
residents OF the city, thronged the streets.
rendering locomotion rather difficult on
the business thoroughfares. A large
NUMBER OF houses were decorated with
nags, and the city generally assumed n
sort OF Fourth of July appearance. Mr.,
Ccltaxs name was on every tongue.
coupled with expressions of svmpathv
ana regard. A platform ard seats had
peen erected on the Court House porch,
an9 tne old seats Ia the square In front,
Wnlcn had done duty in many an exciting
meetlng oIring the last political cam.
pa.gn, lad been refltted for the accommo-
1atl,Cn of the crowd. The train which
2 lore the ex-Vice.President was to arrive
at 1885, and as that hour approached the
people made their way to the depot and
: crowded around that structure until il
was almost shut out of sight. At noon
the manufactures closed, and crowd of
employees numbering not less than 1900
Joined the people at the station, making
II serious question whether Mr.. Colfax
would De able to reach terra firmd with.
OUT walking over the heads of the crowd.
Az ~ 80 the train appeared, and as it ran
into the station loud shout of welcome
rose, from the assemblage, mingling with
the strains from the band Of "Home,
Sweet Home"
a procession was formed, and the
. large ooncourse of people marched to the
court House square, when the following
sooress of welcome was delivered by
Mayor Miller:
Mr.. CoLFAx: In behalf of your towns.
men and friends 1t Is my pleasant duty to
speak the words that but family express
your welcome home The city, county aud
district of which, from childhood, YOU have
oeen resident, the constituency you have
so long and worthlly represented, and the
friends who, from youth to manhood, have
looked with pride upon your success in life,
p al oid you welcome, and bid me express to
you tnelr confidence and undiminshed re-
gard You are no stranger here. The cti-
zens who first saw and appreciated the strug-
gles, perseverance and honorable ambition
OF your early life; who have had long asso-
ciatlon with you as neighbor and fellow
cltisen, who have with jealous pride seen
and felt the results of your constant efforts
on the side Of the principles OF justice and
OF rlgnt, as their immediate representative,
conceive themselves best qualified to give
the estimate of your character, and render a
JUST verdict upon your conduct. That ver-
olct mas been by them freely, promptly and
Justly given. Neither the insinuations of
insidious foes nor the charges of open enc
mics can change 1t, nor can calumny nor de-
y traction rob you of the well-deserved es-
TEEN OF your friends and neighbors. That
confidence in your integrity, ever felt by
them, and earned and won by consistent,
: plameless and serene private and public life
cannot be destroyed by the Vaccinations
Ssir art ianrd eE aohonlias hSeistsrs ia i'm
pair OF impede your course of usefulness to
your country aud your future advancement
TO the highest donors by the Republic to its
.Worthlest citizens. We shall ever, as here
toiore, whether as public representative, a
private citizen, or the future recipient of
sun higher honors, gladly welcome your re-
turn TO our midst, keeping unimpaired our
Iuli trust in character for truth, integrity
ana patriotism which has been SO well mer-
lted, and retaining that affection for your
person and character that has led, and will
q ever lead us, to proudly call you our own
After three cheers were given for
Schuyler Colfax, the ex-Vice-President
spoke as follows:
Mr.. MAYOR. NEIGHBoRs AND FRIENDS:
NV heart would be cold and callous indeed
IL 1t did not throb more quickly and happily
at such a welcome home as this one with
winch am houored and the gratitude for
which 1t would take a lifetime to exhibit.
Here you have known me from childhood
my goings out and comings in have been be-
fore your eyes. My character has been
formed in your midst, and you know whether
for paltry sum of money l could be in
duced to wreck it, When you come hither,
therefore, by the thousands, spontaneously,
and, as am glad to be told and to know,
not confined to political friends alone, but
participated in by prominent and lifelong
2 political opponents, to honor me with such
unmistakable manifestations of your un-
abated confidence and affectionate regard,
feel 1t due to you, as we'll as to myself, to
expose the utter injustice of the cruel
nharQpa I cd
during the past winter. If l had been con-
fessed and wicked criminal could not have
been pursued with more malignity by por-
tion OF the American press and their Wash
ington correspondents. Day after day every
possible circumstance has been exaggerated
and telegraphed as absolute proof of gNilt
day after day it has been demanded that /
should explain this or that or the other
point, but when explained the same mali
eious enemies have tortured and perverted
and misrepresented the explanation, de
termined If possible that the reputation OF
the man they hated should be destroyed
and as day by day they thus poisoned the
public mind they rejoiced almost with shouts
of exultation at having effected, as they
hoped, their work of ruin. The frank ex
posure of all my financial affairs did nc
good; the disclosure of the sacred con
6dence of the dead only gave them fresh op
portunities for cavil and Justification
Q The testimony of my step-father and sister
unimpeachable as you here so we'll know
them to be, was denounced as unworthy o.
belief. These enemies were determined OF
having their victim; but conscious of my
entire innocence of this cruel and wicked
charge, and confident that He who knowetf
all things will in His own good time max
that innocence manifest to all, l hav
stood unmoved amid this tempest storm o
villihcation and Injustice, willing to bide m,
time for the complete vindication | know
30 certain to come.
Let me read from the Inter- Ocean of Chica
go, of September 20, 1872, the following ex
previous day. 1t was made, you will remem
Der, In reply to the charge that was one o
the twelve apostles who sold out to tn
Credit Mobiler at $4,000 apiece, who ha
been bribed by gifts of stock on which en-
ormous dividends had been paid, and 70
which certain legislation has been enacted
Never having in my life dollar OF stock of an
kind that did not pay for, | claim the right I
purchase stock in the Credit-Mobilier or Credi
lnmobilier, II there is one; nor do know Of an
law prohibiting 1t. Dol need to add that neithe
Oakes Ames nor any other person ever gave @
offered to give me one share or twenty shares G
200 shares In the Credit-Mobilier an
other railway stock and that unfortunately hav
never seen or received the value Of farthing OF
ofthe 270per cent dividends or the s0O,per cen
dividend in cash, stocks or bonds you have rea
about the past month; nor 100 per cent, nor tn
tenth Of one per cent. have said that II twent
shares Of it could be purchased at par withou
good investment IL as valuable stock as represen
ed; but never having been plaintiff or defendar
In a court of Justice, want no stock at any pric
with lawsuit on top of it."
Although thus publicly claimed the righ
to purchase this very stock, and avowe
frankly my willingness to buy and hold twen
ty shares of 1t If / could do 1t without buyin
into lawsuit and thus accepted all the od
um there could attach to purchasing 1t, as
then understood II, l have been charge
with prevarication because did not go o.
and state that had withdrawn years befor
d from an incomplete contract to buy twent
shares, losing what l had paid on account
/! II had supposed that denial or explana
tion of an entirely different charge tha
that was answering would be required o
me- j should certainly have done so, as
would have strengthened instead of weak
ening what was stating-but that l coul
not foresee.
-lf An eminent divine once said, rather irrev
erently: ''If mans foresight were only a
good as his hindsight he would be but iii