Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-10-16
Inc Defender of Andersony,,,e
Akes Up the Cry Of Fraud in
Londer Tone Than Has
Hem Heard Before,
Astonishment Expressed at Hilps
Turning From q Warm Ad.
mirer Of the President to
q Bitter Foe. n
4 Document that Will Likely Cast
the Democrats . Good Many
Thousand Votes In the
November Elections.
BEN. MILLS LerTeR.
A SENSATION.

nous his once Dy crime, the perpl
traitors Of which he re ewarded. il
says that "Andy johnson becam
PRESIDENT by crime, but that the pel
Retrators were al hanged, and wit
them An innocent woman. Had John
son rewarded Booth for making hiu
President, he woald have been N,
more guilty and despicable tina,
Hayes is now. Every man." says Hil]
"of the guilty gang, who has not beef
satisfied with the office offered hin
has confessed the frauds. Every MAJ
who has not confessed the frauds ha
been kept Satisfied with office,n
The letter is two columns long ant
CALLS FOR THE REMOVAL OF PREs1DEN,
HAYES,
and the punishment of those who
made him President. He concludel
as follows:
"There is but one step between on,
free Institutions and destruction
The government has become identi
fled with fraud. and is administered
by the authors of fraud. II the peo.
pie shall fail to repudiate the fraud
and its authors, abettors, and reward.
ers, then We shall have entered on
that phase Of our career when the
Offices and immense patronage Of thia
richest Of countries will take the
form of glittering prizes offered to
induce the commission Of crimes
against the popular will. Asssssin1
Will be made heroes and the Rreatest
criminal will become the most enti.
tied to enjoy the honors and live on
benefactions Of the government. Be.
yond that, the man who talks of the
safety and purity Of popular govern
ment will be . lunatic."
THE LETTER CAUSES CONSIDERABLY
COMMENT
here, and 10 considered especially
significant from the fact that Hin is
not . stampeder, like Springer
but is regarded % more hon
est and sincere in his convic.
tions than most Of the Southern
Democrats, and it appears now
that . sober, reasoning man like Hill.
who has always been warm sun.
r6Nf f4mpekanhe6l, that there 10 some-
thing more than talk in the scheme.
1t is stated that everybody believes
that Hill 10 honest. If he is honest
now was he honest when he defend
ed Andersonville? Was he honest
when he opposed filibustering, when
he went to President Hayes and con-
graduated him on restoring q row
ernment Of natives to the South,
when he asked the appointment Of .
Confederate as Marshal Of Georgia,
because criminals in that State would
not allow Yankee to arrest them
when he recommended . Democrat
as Collector of Internal Revenue, be-
cause Illicit distillers believed the tax
on whisky was form of Yankee op-
preston, and would not pay il to q
Republican Was he honest when
he said that the Burchard resolu lions
declaring the decision of the electo-
rial commission final should be in
dorsed by the Democratic party, and
when he said that the Potter investi-
CATION was unwise and impolitic 7?
Says Hill, alluding to the Presidents
action In appointing members Of the
Returning Board and others to Office :
"lf allowed to 60 unpunished, it will
elevate perjury into virtue, forgery
into an art, and will reduce usurpa.
tion into Q science"
Hill fs slow man to move, and un-
til this letter appeared
EVERYBODY IN WASHINGTON BELIEVED
THAT HE WOULD BE THE LAST MAN
To ENTER THE SCHEME
for impeachment. His repeated de-
fense and championship of President
Hayes in the Senate has attracted ma
tional attention. When Conklina
and Blaine and Howe attacked the
President for not serving his party, II
was Hill who eulogized him. He
has never, up to the publication of
this letter, lost An opportunity to
champion President Hayes, and has
been 10 ready and vehement a. to
cause the President some annoyance.
A member of the Cabinet once said
to your correspondent when q con-
test arose between the President and
Senate last winter: "The President
10 right; but 1t hurts him to have Ben
Hill sustain him so eagerly"
SENATOR HILL WAS ONE OF THE FEW
PROMINENT DEMOCRATS WHO rHo'T
FAvoRABLy OF KEYS
acceptance Of . Cabinet position. So
recently as the 9th of June, in relat-
Ing the reas0ns and circumstances OF
his opposition to the filibusterinR
movement during the counting of the
electoral vote, Senator Hill said: II
don't believe President Hayes was In
any manner connected with, or re-
sponsible for, the frauds or irregu-
larities. On the contrary, consider
him An honest, pure, and upright
man. If anybody attempts to inau-
gurate . revolution, tho ex-rebels
will put 1t down. We will not allow
it." Now Hill says: "Hayes is %
bad man % johnson would have
been had he rewarded Booth with Q
seat in his Cabinet"
Private Secretary Rogers said to-
day that this letter is the frat word
heard from Hill Of q character un-
complimentary Of the President.
Hill had never has reason personally,
said Mr.. Rogers, to dislike the Presi-
dent and he was sure the President
would be surprised when he reads
what sort Of an opinion Hill SCENE 10
have Of him now. Rogers said II
was not true, - asserted In Hill's let
ter, that he had never recommended
any one to Office, but the contrary
was true. Several appointments had
been made ct Senator Hills solicita.
ton. Rogers was inclined to regard
the Hill letter very seriously. Hill
was An earnest man, he said, and Il
was an indication Of something behind
him when he appeared 90 suddenly
with letter like that. There seemed
to be no occasion for writing il; 4
WAS . forced utterance, uncalled fol
by any demonstration or interroga
tory, but seemed to be . premsdifa
ted and deliberate expression OF ma
tured opinions.
A MEMBER OF THE CABINET,
who has nsver regarded Senate
Hilps intimacy with the Preeider
with favor, renAeked that he wishe
the letter haA beeA published II :,
cry town u Ohio, indiana, and low
to-day. IL would have been wo,l.
many thousand votes, and il w,yn.ve .,
On important effect upoA D. '''"
ber elections.
~ N-The repu ubltcAns
nT. Louis, Odistrict have nomaina-
81 tne eexssn eexsn for congress.
ted Mccspstch from Dallas, Texas,
4 4 heavy robberies OF money and