Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-08-16
COOLEY AGAIN.
His Crooked Record Mercilessly Laid
bare and his Defenders COMPOUNDED.
A "RICH" REVELATION,

HAD OAWVAOW 1eOCVAU NAOA OAACccAy AIuAu
bare and his Defenders COMPOUNDED.
A ERICH" REVELATION,
The Dubuque Herald of Tuesday
morning, contains q letter from Jacob
Rich over two columns in length, in
which that gentleman again addresses
himself to the consideration of Mr..
Cooley's claims as candidate for the
Congressional nomination. 1t is in an
swer to the painful effort Of the Du-
buque Times of one day last week, to
patch up some sort of character for
integrity for Cooley, which it hoped
might hold together until after the
McGregor convention. We give below
that portion Of Mr.. Rich's letter that
contains the charges against Cooley's
integrity, and the facts adduced to con-
firm them. We submit that it fully
justifies the BULLETINS position in the
contest, and veri6es its judgment Of the
character of D. N. Cooley, and his unfit
ness to. become the nominee of any hon
est constituency. Mr.. Rich says:
Mr.. Cooley says that he was not in
solvent when he went into office 0ndian
commissionership), but in truth was
worth upwards Of 10000" and this, he
declares, was in lands which he had
bought when he first came to Iowa in
1854, and had held throughout all the
panic of 1857 3d. and which afterwards
brought him $4,000.
VIII Mr.. Cooley now inform the voters
of this district, whose support he asks,
by what process becoming an honorable
man, he held lands that became worth
$4,000, in Iowa, for eight years, when
during all that long peoiod his notes
notes were floating in Dubuque in sums
of thousands of dollars, absolutely with
out value? twenty-five or thirty thou
sands of dollars of Mr. Cooley's notes,
were bought up for him here, through
various agents, after he acent to WASH
inqton, and up to 1866, at ten cents up
on the dollar, and the holders, through
all of these long years, had been told by
Mr.. Cooley, that he had nothing, was
bankrupt, and was execution proof.
And yet it now seems that he had thou
sands acres of land-land enough to
bring him afterwards $4,000. know
of one estate, to which now several
widows are heirs, and doubtless need
every dollar honestly due their estate.
While Mr.. Cooley stood at Washington,
,oorth, at the time, as he now says, $780,
600, the needy father of these widows
was compelled to sell to an agent of Mr..
Cooley, $500 Of Mr.. Cooley's paper at
10 cents on the dollar, as the best he
could do. A score of instances of a
similar character can be mentioned,
known to all the old residents of the city
of Dubuque. and now passing from
mouth to mouth. Was this the act of
an honorable man, Mr.. Cooley? Can the
republicans of this district go to the
people on that explanation of your
wealth? Can they stand on your own
declaration, that you did not cheat the
government, but that you did cheat your
own neighbors and friends-old men and
needy understanding them take ten
cents on the dollar when you were worth
$4,000.
wish Mr.. Cooley would be little
more specific as to the location OF this
$4,000 worth of land. He says that
between 1866 and 1870 he realized on
these lands about $4,000, leaving him
nearly 1000 acres which he still owns"
Let us know, Mr.. Cooley, where they
were situated, and we can test this state
ment. confess | am incredulous, for
this reason: Hon. j. K. Graves was your
near friend and business confidant in
those troublous times when you were
getting up your dishonored paper, being
then your banker. In conversation
some days ago between Mr.. Graves, DIR.
Lull aud myself, Mr.. Graves stated that
your lands were almost entirely in
Fayette, Buchanan and Blackhawk
counties, your Delaware county lands
having, am told, being bought after
wards. He then stated that he bought
all of your Fayette county lands-about
1000 acres-at $3.50 or $500 per acre,
in trade he then made with you. This
purchase I find Was made, for the
records of Fayette county show that on
Feb. 4, 1864, you conveyed to j. K.
Graves $50 acres Of land-consideration
$2,5OO-and that you conveyed no other
land in that county up to and including
1870. Your Fayette land did not, there
fore, cut much of figure in this $780,
900. Then l have an abstract of the
sale of your lands in Buchanan county,
from April 80, 1864, to Jan. !, 1874, and
they amounted to $4,34O. Then have
an abstract of your sales of land in
Blackhawk county from 1864 to Jan.
1871, and they amounted to $4,840.96
Then have similar returns from Della
ware, Clayton and Bremen counties, and
[ find no sales during similar period
If your business agent at that time is
correct about the location Of your land
land l think he isl then, instead of real
izing, as you say, $4,000. between 1866
and 1870" you didn't realize but little
more than fifth of it. Please let as
have the location of the remainder of the
land
You say that you entered upon your
practice at Washington before the court
of claims in January, 1867, and that you
earned therein $4,000 per year. Early
in 1870 you bought the controlling inter
est in the First National Bank of Du-
buque, then bank of 100000 capital,
paying for the stock ten per cent. prem
ium. You also bought in 1869-7O and
held in 1870, as appears from the record,
real property in the city of Dubuque, to
the amount of more than $4,000, and I
am told your property in Delaware
county was also bought before that time
This shows an investment in the year
1870, in this city and vicinity, of nearly
or quite 100000. Your practice in the
court OF claims, as you say, yielded you
for the three years up to 1870, $4,000
per year, or $45, O00 Your sales of land
in the six counties | have named up to
and including 1869, amounted to ST.
68O96. According to this your total re-
ceipts from both sources was $50, 68O96.
Out Of this you had to live, and in
Washington, to my certain knowledge,
you lived expensively, quite extensively
enough, most people believe, to absorb
the major portion of your $15, 600 year
income. Will you tell the republicans
of the Third district how they can show
satisfactorily to the people that it was
for you to live for three
years out of a total income of $57, 900
for that period, and yet have money left
to make investments in this vicinity
alone of nearly 100000 in 1870?
One other point just here. have as
sumed that you did make SIS, 600 year
out of your practice in the court Of
claims, as YOU stated. But if this is