Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1876-03-24
Mr.. endletOn's silence.

The Baltimore Gazette Succlnctly
states the case:
1t is very much to be regretted that
the New York World, which considers
itself the leading Democratic paper,
should attempt TO handicap the party
by the defense of Mr.. George b.
Peud4eton. Mr.. Pend teton cannot be
defended by any body but himself. He
must clear his own skirts unaided-if
he can. At present the case stands
thus against him. He bee .me executor
of a will, and as such became the legal
representative of a large number of
shares in a railroad. Thus far ali was
right He voted those shares and thus
secured his election as president of
that railroad, which WAS lawful but
perhaps not nice. Being president he
took up claim of the road against
the United States that had been twice
rejected as bogus, and urged it upon
the Treasury. He got this &C aim"
allowed by BeIknap. and got the
money, Sl48, 900, $4,000 of which he
took as bis fee.
Now either this claim was q good
one or fraud, AID either way is bad
Tor Pehdieton. Ii it was good claim,
fair and just, it was his duty to press
it without any fee. It was a part of
his function, a president OF the road,
to collect It's just claims. He could
not, as president, decide it to be a des-
perate claim, and make a contract with
himself, as attorney, to collect it on
commission of one half 1t was his
business as s:dent, and his duty as
representative OF the shares that he
held in trust capacity, to charge no
fee at ALL Common honesty at least
required that the fee should be a rea-
sonable one, aud not $75, 900. This is
on the hypothesis that it was a just
claim.
If the claim was a bogus one, that
also is bad for Mr.. PendIeton, for it
had already been rejected twice as
fraudulent, and so Mr. Pendleton was
on his guard. Now getting bogus
claim passed and paid, and charging
seventy-five thousand dollars for the
service, looks very pad, especially
when the man who passed it was Bel
KNAPP. Mr.. Belknap is practical
man." He takes a true republican
administration view of the transaction
of public business. Belknap is no
entimentalist, no day dreamer. Bust
ness first and pleasure after has
always been his motto He did not
care to listen to any bnt the most con-
viucing of Mr.. Pendleton's arguments.
He was practical man." a man lin
side politics." Mr.. Pendleton having
a fee of seventy-fve Thousand dollars
in immediate prospect, dependent
Only on the decision of Belknap, could
doubtless advance the most oonvinc-
Ing arguments in his discussions with
Belknap. Belknap was a mere child
in his hands. Belknap of course fought
hard to protect the Treasury of the
United States against Mr.. PendIeton's
clairn, but what could h. do against a
man of Mr.. Pendleton's grasp of in
teliect and seventy-fve Thousand dol
lars. Bclknap evidently was defeated
in argument by the gigantic mind of
Mr.. Pendleton, and the claim, of
course, was passed.
And now the public wants Mr..
George Fl. Pendleton to rise and ex
plain everything that he did with that
seventy-five thousand dollars. 1t
wants to know exactly how and where
he invested every cent of it, and par
ticulariy whether he invested any of it,
and If sd. how much il b kunp.
Until be does this the Democratic
p'r'y NUT decline 70 carry around his
ppl,tlcl corpse 'rhe Democ~ at c par.
~ has for its working capital in the
coming national .mpajgn nothing but
its personal and political purity, and it
cannot afford TO let the slightest suspi-
cion fall upon 1T The ..fall'' of Bel
KNAPP, Babcock, Schenck. Delano, and
the others did not hurt the Republican
pa ty 80 much as their defense. The
fact that Morton, Logan. Blaine, Pier
repent, Fish and Grant have all worked
to defend these knaves is the thing
that hurts the party most Now Dem
ocracy cannot defend Mr.. Pendleton.
1t must, on the contrary. take the iu-
itiative against him, or atleast, it must
leave him TO clear up the charges and
we'll founded suspicious against him by
the fullest explanations.