The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1875-02-25
LETTER FROM BILL KING.
EHe Refuses to Resign, and Calls sem
Names. etc.
To the LEGISLATURE of Minnesota:

GENTLEMEN SENATORS AND REPRESENTA-
r1vEs--It has been my good fortune tQ
come into possession Of cory Of certain !
"Joint Resolutions, relating to myself,
which resolutions are said to have been
passed by the House of Representatives
on the Both day of January last, and by
the Senate on the 5th day of February,
1875.
Aside from any bearing these joint
resolutions may have upon myself, they
are, as coming from your body, very ex-
traordinary in character. They are, gen.
tlemen, very extraordinary in so far as
they SO correctly illustrate your lack OF
knowledge of the common proprieties
and decencies of official position, Of your
painful disregard of truth, in your OIL
cial action, and Of your false and hypo'
critical pretences Of virtuous regard tor
the sshonor of the State of Minnesota
In dealing with you and your joint reso-
luton, therefore, | shall, gentlemen,
speak of you as | know and understand
YOU. paying no regard whatever to that
official greatness you so pompously as
sumo. during the brief sixty days allotted
YOU wherein to fit and complete your
selves for that undying political fame and
immortality which each of you, no doubt,
supposes himself to have been born to.
AS for your oint resolution, gentlemen,
in which you so indirectly assume the
falsehood that accepted money as a
consideration for his ing services in aid
ing the passage of the subsidy bill to the
Pacific Mail Steamship Company they
are. interpreted in other and more COM
mon language, Legislative Lies. They
are lies in double sense, inasmuch as
they not only charge me, by the broadcast
implication, with having accepted money
for my services" etc, but i'll asserting,
also, by that same broad implication, that
/ have refused to appear before the COM
mittee of ways and means to testify as
to nv connection with and knowledge of
the passage of the Pacific Mail subsidy
bill. For now again assert, what two
years ago truthfully asserted under oath,
that never accepted or received one
dollar as reconsideration for my services
in aiding the passage of that bill, while
took great pleasure in appearing before
the committee, at the very opening OF
this investigation, and testifying fully as
to all knew concerning the matter.
Therefore it is, gentlemen Of the Legs
lature, that | thus distinctly charge you
with having spread upon the records OF
your respective Houses, fragrant ard au'
dacious falsehoods concerning myself; an
act which, to use your own language, IS
calculated to least dlshonor upon the es
cutcheon of Minnesota unless you shall
have the deccncy to ''at once rectity your
positions" by expunging these disgraceiu
falsehoods from your journals.
But, gentlemen, who are you, and wha1
are you, that you thus pompously Sc
Yourselves up as my masters, and ASSUME
to instruct me, private citizen, Tor an
only such, as yeti, in this or any othel
matter! Who constituted you either my
masters or my Judges, that you thus I'm
pudently presume to issue instructions u
me and impose penalties for non compll
ance with your insolcnt demands! Max
hasty answer, pray you, for almost be
fore this letter can reach you. you VII
have disappeared into that position Q
"nothingness' from which you were onl
lifted by one Of those political accident
of annual occurrence in our State. An
the only reply / have to make to tn
impudent demands Of your JOINT resolt
ton is, that in this, as in all other maj
tiers, nv action will be governed by IN
own sense Of duty, of right and OF pre-
priety.
Under what arrangement | did rece,v
large sum Of money about the time {
the passage of the Pacific Mail subsid
hill. isa matter which do not propos
to disclose to the world except in my ow
rood time. nor until evidence which l al
unable to reach now can be secured,
the end that the exact facts in the cas
can be presented to the public, which WI
bring to me the fullest and most Con
plete vindication against the falsehoo'
which you have spread upon your r
spective journals. Until that time, whie
l trust is not far distant, have only
say that not one dollar Of the money r
ceived bv me, Of which so much has be-
talked and written. was ever intended Il
or applied to the influencing of vo
upon the Pacific Mail subsidy, and !
word or line Of all the evidence that h
been taken during this long and mo
searching investigation even points
any such conclusion. And so, conscio
of nv own rectitude in this matter, al
pausinr here to tender to that one Re
resentative who was just enough towar
me to refuse his assent to your lyi1
declarations, my grateful thanks, pa
on to some other points which | propo
to present to your and the publics co
sideration.
In perusing the proceedings Of 20
very distinguished body land the farth
away from home its name goes the me
distinguish it becomesl upon Il
matter, l notice that. in the presentati.
discussion and adoption Of these 'Jo'
resolutions very many OF you spo
and voted as my ''friends. Even I
gentlemen who introduced the resolutio
into the House and demanded such has
and immediate action upon them, thou
political opponent professed to spe
and act ''in no partisan spirit, but -
personal friend" Let me not be so
grateful as to intimate that this statem'
was any more false or Crooked th
are the resolutions themselves. For
sake Of the argument, will concede Il
it was not. And 50 Of others; II