The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1876-06-08


that a candidate like this can retain any such
elements of strength as would Justify the
serious discussion of his nomination"
Taking the record of Mr.. Blaine as it is writ
ten by himself and his friends we cannot
see how he can be seriously considered at
Cincinnati. Grant that he was the victim of
what he himself calls 1.-THE last outrage" in
the use which Mulligan and Fisher made of
his private correspondence; grant that he is
under the duress of Confederate" commit
tee who would destroy him for his loyalty;
grant that his defence was gallant, brilliant
and all that party could expect from a
leader; grant that he has with him the SYM
pathy of every one who loves fair play and
detests meanness; grant that he is the repre-
sentative Of the advanced radical sentiment
of the republican party; grant everything
his friends claim as the result of his defence,
so plainly put by the Times, that he is not an
available candidate for the Presidency.
Mr.. Blaine's exact position in this unfortu-
nate controversy cannot be understood with
out recalling for moment the circumstances
under which he found himself in corre-
spondence with Mr.. Fisher. At the close of
the war the republican party, in fuiflment
of o pledge made at the outset of its power,
and for the strengthening Of the distant Sec
tions of the Union, made the building Of the
Pacific Railway one of its objects. To this
end, and it was certainly . noble one, the
credit of the government was freely given.
Bills were passed giving to corporations
more money, land and credit than was
necessary to build the roads twice over.
This money was not devoted to the roads, to
the strengthening of their facilities, the in
crease Of rolling stock, the development of
the country, as was intended by the govern
ment in its generosity, but was divided
among a ring of jobbers in and out of Con-
gress. Democrats and republicans formed
this ring There are resolutions expelling
some Of them from the Senate and the House
on the journals of Congress which were only
lost from the want of time. This ring not
only divided the money and bonds and lands
roads, but laws were SO framed governing
the railways that the government, according
to decision of the Supreme Court, has
been robbed Of from one to two hundred
millions Of dollars. There was never more
iniquitous series Of acts passed by legis-
lative assembly. We suffer to-day in every
money market of the world because of this
legislation and the evil consequences which
flowed from it in the Southern and Western
States.
We repeat that the whole chapter Of Paci-
fic Railway legislation is the most disgrace
full in the history of Congress. At the head
of the men who fastened upon the govern
ment this series of Ubiquitous acts we find
Mr.. Blaine. His correspondence with Mr.
Fisher shows that he was a leading spirit in
the railway ring which at that time ruled
Congress and still has vast power; that as
Speaker he made decisions for the purpose
of aiding jobbers like CALDWELL; that he
called attention to these decisions as rea-
son for pecuniary advantage and that he did
have advantage. How can such a man ex-
pect to be the candidate for the Presidency
How can any amount of genius or the posses
sion of the rarest personal qualities atone for
the dereliction of duty which made James G.
Blaine, as the Speaker of the House, the
agent Of railway corporations, who, under
pretence of developing the. country, were
robbing the government? All this talk
about Andersonville and the Duke of Alva
and the rebellion-all this pretence Of ex-
treme loyalty is the merest moonshine when
compared with the record which on these
railway questions he made for himself, the
record of q man who did not hesitate to ally
himself with the most corrupt set of scoun-
drels that ever lived upon the bounty of
the government-with the railway rings
which controlled Congress during the
Speakerships Of Blaine and Colfax, and
which now would control the conven-
tons of both the parties. 1t may be, and
we are willing SO to deem it, that Mr.. Blaine
in taking part in the rush for bonds and
lands which swept over Congress o few
years ago did not feel that he was doing
wrong. He saw around him leading demo-
Gratis and republicans who took their divi-
dends from Cakes Ames-men much older
than himself and candidates for the Presi-
dency. As young man he may have felt
that example consecrated the deed We are
willing to think so, for Mr. Blaine has SO
many fine traits of character and he is SO
brave and interesting champion that we
would much rather regard him as one who
had suffered from early indiscretion than as
a deliberate robber like some Of the others
who had been stealing and preaching moral
ity through their lives.
If, therefore, we do not consign Mr.
Blaine to the limbo into which Colfax, Pat
terson and others have fallen, it is because
we consider the temptations of that extraor-
binary period and the fact that he was then
among the youngest men in public life. We
can we'll understand that if in the flush of
his young ambition he could have seen