Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1876-06-14
BLAINE AND KNOTT
An Ibnte erc.t,ae ssd Exciting scene.

|
An Intercstins ssd Exciting scene
}g9 oFeA hn9iii =. nGl
Special Telegram TO tho Inter.oceah.
slWAsHINaToN, June There was
very exciting scene in the Judiciary
| Committee room at the Blaine inves
tigation To-day. Proctor Knott Civ.
ing those present an exhibition ol
Plantation manners. Knott is, when
lot alone, "a very harmless creature
and generally means to be decent, but
when suffering under any injury OF
when taught in any scrape is morosc
ugly, and malignant. When Blaine
attacked him, the other day, Knott
was about as angry as any man evel
was, and the Kisses which greeted
his speech didn't improve his temper
During his reply he made use of a
Kentucky bar-roOm menace, that il
Blaine's language to him had been
used by any other person than a mem
bcr of Congress, any other place than
the House Of Representatives, he
weuldahave made Blaine personally
lrepopsible for il. This was passed
unnoticcd. Since then, however, he
has bptiI nursing his wrath to keep il
warm, anu last night he is reported to
have, announced in a saloon that he
was going the Judiciary Committee
| himself I" -tE"N
l"ro GIVE BLAINE HE'LL
If that was what Blaine got to-day, a
few more. doses of it will make
a ma ,ofs
vince the country, if it is not already
convinced, that Knott is a blackguard
Knott came to the committee room
looking very sullcn and CARRYING a
big knotted stick, whichh he kept in his
hand through the entire meeting
Several witnesses were examined
when Blaine, perhaps to provoke
Knott as much as anything else, re-
ferred to his remarks concerning the
appointment of the subcommittee,
and desired that the records be pro-
duced to see If he was right. Blaine
had claimed that the committee was
made up of ex-Confederates for his
especial benefit. Knott pronounced
this untrue. and claimed that the
members were appointed under the
the Luttrell resolution, which pass
the House Jan. 81. The records were
produced and showed that Knott was
wrong. Knott explained that the
records We're wrong; that the clerk
had been negligent in not recording
the appointment of the ex-Confedcr-
ate committee on the 3lst Of January
instead of the 3d of May. The clerk
innoccntly remarked that Mr.. Knott
ncveritold him about the appointment
recorded it, which was the 18th of
May. Knott could have killed that
clerk. ti@
- MURDER WAS IN ms EYE
palmer than the blush of shame on
his cheeks, and this doubled his ag-
gravation. Blaine then went on to
show, by accepting Knotts statement
that the record and the clerk were
wrong, that the committee had been
idle ninety-two days when they
ought to have been investigating.
This made Knott still madder, and he
sat in his chair grasping his cudgei
first with one hand and then with the
other. as it longing for an opportu-
nifty to strike Blaine. But the worst
was TO come. Blaine began TO ques-
ton Knott about the Caldwell tele-
gram. Knott confessed it was the
first cable he ever saw. He said he
had not suppressed it, for he showed
| it to llunton, Lord, Lynde and Me-
Mahon, but he inadvertently confess
ed that he had denied to newspa-
per correspondent having read any
such dispatch, when he had it in his
pocket all the time. Blaine worried
him with questions, and finally re-
marked to Knott that he would not
have concealed the telegram so stu
diously had it pronounced him
(Blaine) guilty. Knott sprang to his
feet in a moment, and approaching
Blaine menacingly, cried out: sDo
you mean TO insinuate, sir, that |
would maliciouslv do you an Unjust
ice p Blaine did not finch nor quiv-
cr, although several surrounding
him started up as if to ward oil
AN EXPECTED BLOW FROM KNOTT.
Blaine replied: 81 insinuatc moth
ing. | say that had Caldwell's dis.
patch been to my dishonor it would
have got to the public quicker than
this one has" Knott approached q
step nearer. His face was as white
AS human flesh can be. The blood
was gone from his lips to his eyes
and he hisscd out his question again
"Do You intimate, sir-do under.
stand you to mean that kept back
that dispatch dishonorably z" Blaine
looked the bully square in the eye
and said very slowly and impressive.
ly: II think if that dispatch had been
damaging to me you would not have
kept it back" Knott was staggered
Many expected him to raise his cud.
gel and strike Blaine, and there were
those who were ready to catch the
blow but the bully dared not. lie
acted like man who was at a loss
how To get out of fight without ap-
pearing cowardly, and he finally
sought refuge in an appeal to the
Chairman that he might not be inter
rupted again. Knott then went ON
with his explanation, which was very
lame. Blaine quizzed him unmerci-
fully. As soon as the discussion was
finished Blaine left the room. After
he had gone Knott went up to Frye
Iof Maine, and in tone of voice aud.
iblc to every person in The room, said
Frye, your friend Blaine is tho
damndest scoundrel in America
g f,-------- . --