The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1873-03-08
Congressman Brooks Writes Saw
age CaTd.-Ho SCaIpS Several OF
The Poland COmmiIlee,

Congressman Brooks Writes a SaV.
age CaTd.-Ho SCaIpS Several Of
the Poland Committee.
WAsu1NeToN, D. O., March .7.-Hon.
James Brooks has proposed the following
address TO his constituents: Enemies
have taken advantage of my physical
prosration to offer up Oakes Ames and
myself, as sacrifices 10 public clamor, IN
which two Vice Presidents Of the United
States, several members OF Sen
ate and other members oil the
House, were more involved than
myself. The sacrai1ce Of d Democrat
was deemed Indispensable TO Offset, II not
to protect them, and hence early in De-
cember the committee was organized,
seemingly on purpose to bring in my
name with theirs so as TO make me re.
sponsible fer 150 shares oi the stock Of
the Credit Mobiller, owned by G. Il.
Nelson. Certificates Of this stock were
VIGOROUSLY in full possession Of Nelson
as long ago as December 12Ih, 1857, (see
evidence, page 59), but OF these certlti'
Gates the committee in January, 1873,
chose to make me tho owner upon the
pretence that he being my son'in.law was
only the apparent owner. The Commit
tee was thus organized say, Tor there
were put upon 1t such men as General
Banks, o "Chevalier D. ndustrie,' for
wears living in q "Chateau D'EspagLe'
because of his known hostility 10 Ames,
who, when asked refused TO sub
scribe with certain rich Bostonians
to treC his Waltham house from
a heavy mortgage, and Merrick, Of Mary
land, an ex rebel Judge of this District
at the opening Of the civil war, whose
court Congress had TO extirpate TO be rid
of him, and who therefor sore and sick,
now, more than ever, hates the whole
human race because Of the defeat OF his
aspirations to reelection to Congressiwith
Niblack, q very small man in the plastic
fingers oil such sly, sleek and crafty
Chairman as Poland, Of Vermont, whose
autecedents in railroads, all Of which are
worse than anything alleged against the
Credit Mobilier. This committee, after
sitting two months and hall, purposely
neglected the exploration Of many rich
mines Of testimony, fercely fell upon me
in eleven different sittiDgs, when my
PHYSICAL prostration was such that the
newspapers daily reported me dying, and
at last SftOr refusing me hearing, which
| earnestly demanded; fact which they
suppressed in the first report Of 52S pages,
which no member Of Congress could
find time to read, 1t being 80 late in the
session when 1t was made, coupled me,
Democrat, with Ames, a Republican,
for expulsion, while they let of thirteen
other Republicans, who, all but one, had
handled the Credit Mobilier when q
share had never come into my hands,
The House and the country from the start
secuted at such an absurd report the
moment they could get at it, by refusing
to vote on expulsion at all. They did not
censure Ames oEOmyfelt, only condemn.
ed an act as old as 1867, in order thus 10
carry OF, as q lightning rod, the electrici'
ty that had been generated by the bate
rles oil the press upon Congress and the
country. But even In this tho House did
me injustice, because was not IN Con-
gress when 1t was alleged my interest be-
gan in the Credit Mobilier, or Il, as alleged,
| had any interest 1t was fully disposed o:
before went into the directory OF that
company. some Democratic members
of Congress assented 10 this injustice in
the belief that they could condemn such
leading Republicans as Dawes, Garfield,
Bingham, Kelley, 6cofeld and Hooper,
but in this they were justly fooled, be.
cause the great intelligence, high charac'
ter and well known Rntccedents OF these
men are such as to make ridiculous the
charge that Oakes Ames had bribed them
or they were his dupes, as the Poland
Committee reasons, and did not know
what they were about"
Mr.. Brooks then says he shall appeal
TO his constituents in person If God re.
stores him TO health, and continues, ~
shall demonstrate to you that neither my
self nor Mr.. Nelson was guilty Of per-
Jury, as Mr.. Poland charges, and that
both oil Us told tho truth when tesliiying
that I had no hand In the Credit Mobilier
dividends, attachments, or profits in any
form" He concludes by reference TO his
official career for the past twenty-five