Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1880-10-14
Garfield and Credit Mobilier.

inallty by Gen. Garfield in the Credit
Mobilier affair. 1t is not an easy
matter to prove a negative. If Brown
asserts that. Smith stole money from
Jones, and the story is passed around
until all persons who have a prelude;
against Smith believe it, the stor,
may do him harm. They will repeal
1T, and so many people telling the
same story may impress it upon the
minds of many well.meaning people
as fact And Smith may be IN a
situation that he cannot disIrove it
Jones lost money. Smith was at his
place OF business about the time the
money was lost Brown adds tc
these circumstances, sometime after
wards, an assertion that Smith stole
the money. Prejudice comes in as 8
helper to injure Smith. He is entire.
ly innocent, but how can~>has- prove
his innocence. His denial will satisf,
his friends if they have reason to be.
lieve him honest, but his enemies
haYe an interest in believing the sto
ny and the more he denies, the more
frequently will they repeat it and ado
color to it.
There was Credit MobiIier com
pany. Cakes Ames was a principa
stakeholder. The company took 8
contract to build six or seven hun
dred miles of the Union Pacific rail
road at price far above what ths
work was worth, and the money tc
pay for it was to come out of the
Government. Cakes Ames was 8
Member of Congress. He wanted tc
get the leading Members of Congress
30 involved with him that they would
not ego back on him'-so that wber
the extortlonate sums of money
should be called for they would vote
to give them. He wrote down in his
book the names of members he want.
ed to sell stock to. He talked with
some and some bought. Others did
not buy. He had written down Gar.
fields name as one he would like "a
sell to. He talked to Garfield about
il and offered him the stock. He did
not tell Garfield or the other mem.
bers of Congress about the railroad
contract. The company had been
chartered simply as company etc
build houses, buy land and loan
money" George Francis Train was
its agent He said they were going
to buy prospective city and village
sites along the line of the Pacific
railroad, and there was no doubt the
property would double and treble
and quadruple it's value very RAPIDLY
The railroad construction contrac,
was secret known only to the com.
pany itself and they did not tell it &c
the members o. Congress whom they
wanted to make purchasers of stock
Nobody, not man in the State o.
Wisconsin or any other State, be he
Republican or Democrat, will So,
any member of congress did wrong
In buying the stock thus offered. |,
was thus offered to Garfield but h.
did not buy.
Here is where the difficulty come.
in. Gen. Garfeld's enemies admit
that there could have been no harm
in his buying the stock, but they sa,
he bought it and then swore he die
not buy it. They say Cakes Anne,
swore Garfield bought of him anC
afterwards received of him a 1926
dividend. This swearing was al
done before Congressional investi.
eating committee. That committee
in its report found in Gen. Garfield.
relation to the Credit Mobilier enc
corrupt motive" and that he wa,
mot guilty of any improperly Of
even indelicacy" in that relation, bu,
it held that he agreed to the pnr.
chase of the stock and that he re.
ceived 1929 on account OF it. There
was no testimony on which the com
mittee could base this opinion bu
that of Mr.. Ames and if his testimony
does not foster it therefore should
be dropped. Now, he named in hi,
testimony sixteen members of Con
gress to whom he offered the stock
Eleven of them he says bought il
and Eve did not buy it and Garfield
he sets down smong the FIVE who
did not buy. Ames's own words in
reference TO Garfield are, she did
not pay for it or receive it," "He
never paid any money on that stock
nor received money on account Of
it, These words should be explicit,
enough to remove all faint of the
charge from Gen. Garfield, and we
think they have aud will have that
effect except with those whose preiu.
dices are so strong that they want 10
believe q wrong against the Repub.
lican candidate for President any
way. People will believe John
Smith stole Jones's money if thew
want to.
-.
Tue Northern Wisconsin Apricul.
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