Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1876-06-07
BLAINE.

I
Monroe, 5; Wapello, 10.
BY order. OF the Congressional Committee:
VAL MENDEL. Chairman.
BLAINE.
James G. Blaine has. within the past
three weeks, decidedly took the lead
as the probable Republican candidate
for President. State after State, Of
late, has taken position in the Blaine
column. may be safely said, if we
under gnd the position Alright, that
commencing with Ohio and dropping
out Hayes i'll that State, and in Indi-
ana, Morton, James G.. Blaine is the
especial fayorite of eight out of ten
Republicans in all the old free States
from Ohio to the Pacific coast. TAX
ing the balance of the Northern States
and he is by far the leading candi-
date. Besides this. taking the whole
South. Blaine stands only second to
Morton among Republicans in that
quarter, and all those prcfcrring
Morton could easily, and would read
lily drop off OH to Blaine. Such was
clearly the state of feeling up to the
first of the present month. This de-
cided and overwhelming preference
for the man of Maine, ripcncd
into such enthusiasm as 10 pretty
clearly indicate that there would be
no struggle in the Cincinnati Con-
vention; that the first ballot would
determine who was to lead. and that
the leader would be Blaine. Such a
ripening of public opinion and GEN.
,ering of it upon one man before the
national convention, was having n
grand effect, and hence it became nee
essary, it became vital for the Con-
fedcrate clement, or what is the same.
the Democratic party, to SHE into the
public forum some dark and mystcr-
ious story to check and stagger, if
possible, this growing and over
whelming public enthusiasm for
Blaine. In this. the Democracy may
be, and probably are aided by the
Bristow Club of Boston. The prom
inence of Blaine had hushed all pro-
cecdings and all talk of other candi-
dates. The mule and other kindred
stories touching Bristow; charges
against Morton,and against Conkling,
we hear nothing Of Tilden makes
no explanation of the charges made
against him of pocketing large sums
of railroad bonds; Hendricks won
derfully profitable water works stock,
sleeps in oblivion, and the public gets
no information on the subject. But
Blaine is put under the harrow, and
steadily kept there. As he said nearly
two months ago, when this story of
the $4,000 Of railroad bonds was first
started, he dislikcd to call for an i'll
yestigation, because it would be de-
layed TO his detriment; and so il has
proved. But finally, four weeks ago,
the investigation was started. and
no less than three directors of the
Union Pacific company have testified
that Blaine had no connection with
the $4,000 bond transaction, and Tom
Scott, the king of railroad enterprises,
came forward and said he owned the
bonds, and that he sold them to the
Union Pacific Railroad company, and
that Blaine had no interest in them /:
yet the committee could not report.
One Caldwell, from whom Scott
said he got the bonds, must be sum-
moned from Europe, and meanwhile
time passes on. and the 18th day of
June, the day for the Convention at
Cincinnati, is at hand. At last, not
obtaining Caldwell, somebody fishes
up a man by the name of Mulligan, q
bookkeeper for Warren Fisher, a
leading business man Of Boston. 1t
seems that this man had possession of
certain letters written by Blaine in
business transactions between him
and Fisher. 1t certainly appears to
MS that, remembering the letter which
Aquilla Adams gave to the public
sometime ago, that those fellows of
the Bristow Club, who have been
sending Bristow documents for pub
ication to the journals of the West,
have had some hand in this Job of
getting this bookkccpcr to divulge
the existence of these letters, and to
drag Blaine's private correspondence
for a quarter of century past, be-
fore the public. Mu!ligan contra
diets his employer, Fisher, in all ma
tcrial points. His testimony is also
in direct conflict with that of Elisha
Atkins, of Boston, director of
the Union Pacific Company. Multi
gan tcstifies that Blaine almost got
down on his knees in begging for the
letters in his possession, and talked
Of the letters running him, and even
referred 10 suicide. Fisher and At
kins directly contradict this, stating
that Blaine exhibited no excitement,
other that that Of pacing across the
foo Of the room. Plainly Mulligan
,sf,t lied in making such representa-
tons. Besides, Mulligan first testified
that Blaine and lac were alone when
this interview took place, and yet, in
two minutes after, upon being Gucs-
toned closely he acknowledged that
shey were not alone.
The sum and substance of it is.
therefore, that Mulligan stands upon
one side in regard TO the $4,000 in
bonds, and Col. Scott, strongly COR
roboratcd by several directors of the
Z. p. Company, and Warren Fisher,
Mulligan's employer, on the other
side. Next comes the letters which
Blaine declines to submit to the COM
miItec. 1t should be remembered
that the only letter Mulligan says
relates to the $64, 600 Of bonds, Blaine
does not refuse to submit to the COM
mittce, but returned ii to Mulligan.
Besides this, he submitted all the let
tcrs to the Hon. J. S. Black and
the Hon. Matt Carpenter, and they
both declare there is nothing in them
touching the matter under invcstiga-
ton. They further advised him to
private correspondence npon entirely
different subjects, and that It would
be the grossest tyranny to force them
before the public. Certainly, in fol-
lowing one inquiry, it is only ncccs-
sary. aud is only right to introduce