St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-10-29
Garfield in His own Defense.
From his review of the charges against him mi

From his review of the charges against him made
/ neither purchased nor agreed to
purchase the Credit Mobilier stock
which Mr. Ames offered to sell me, nor
did receive any dividend arising from
it. This appears not only from my own
testimony, but from that first given by
Mr.. Ames, which is not Overthrown by
his subsequent statements, and is
strongly confirmed by the fact that In
the case of each of those who did pur-
chase the stock there was produced as
evidence of the sale either certificate
of stock, receipt of payment, check
drawn in the name of the payee or en-
tries in Mr.. Ames' diary OF a stock &C
count marked, adjusted and closed, but
that no one of these evidences existed
in reference to me. This position is
further confirmed by the subsequent
testimony of Mr.. Ames, who though he
claimed that L did receive 1929 from
him on account of stock, yet he repeat
edly testified that beyond that amount
never received or demanded any div
idend; that none was ever offered to
me, nor was the subject alluded to In
conversation. Mr.. Ames admitted In
his testimony that after December, 1867,
the various stock and bond dividends
amounted to an aggregate of more than
800 per centum, and that between jan
uary, 1868, and May, 1871, all of these
dividends were paid to several of those
who purchased stock. My conduct
was wholly inconsistent with the suppo-
sition of such ownership, for during the
year 1869 1 was borrowing money to
build house in Washington, and Sc
curing my creditors by mortgages on
my property and all this time it is ad-
mitted that l received no dividends and
claimed none. The attempt to prove
sale of stock to me is wholly incOnclu-
sive, for it rests first on check paya-
BILE to Mr.. Ames himself, concerning
which he said several times in his tes-
timony he did not know to whom it
was paid, and, second, upon loose I'M
dated entries in his diary, which nei-
| Their prove sale of the stock nor any
payment on it. The only fact from
which it is possible for Mr.. Anes to
have inferred an agreement to buy the
stock was the loan to me of $500. But
the loan was made months before the
check of June 20, 1868, and was repaid
in the winter of 1869, and after that
date there were no transactions of any
sort between us, and before the investi-
CATION ended Mr.. Ames admitted that
on the chief point of difference between
us he might be mistaken.
The offer which Mr.. Ames made to
me, as l understood it, was one which
involved no wrong or improperly.
had no means of knowing and no rea-
kInk hi I'D hi off
to sell me small amount of stock lay
hidden a scheme to defraud the Pacific
railroad and imperil the interests of the
United States, and on the first intima'
ton of the real nature of the case | de.
clihed any further consideration of the
subject. That whatever may have
been the facts in the case, stated then
in my testimony as have always un.
derstood them and there has been nc
contradiction, prevaricatiOn nor evasion
on my part.
If there be citizen in the United
States who is willing to believe that fol
1929 have bartered away my good
name and to falsehood have added per.
jury, these words are not addressed tC
him. If there be one who thinks thai
any part of my public life has beer
gagged on so low level as these char.
ges would place it, 1 do not address:
him. 1 address those who are willing
to believe that it is possible for a man
to serve the public without personal
dishonor. l have endeavored in this
review to point out the means by which
the managers of a corporation wearing
the garb of honorable industry have
robbed and defrauded great national
enterprise and attempted by cunning
and deception of selfish ends to enlist
in its interests those who would have
been the first to crush the attempt, had
their objects been known. If any o.
the -scheming corporations or corrup
rings that have done so much to dis
grace the country by their attemgts tt
control its legislation have ever fount
in me a conscious supporter or ally il
any dishonorable scheme, they are a
full liberty to disclose it. In the dis
cussion of many grave and Difficult
questions of public policy which have
occupied the thoughts of the nation
! during the last IL years, 1 have born,
, some part and confidently appeal t.
the public records for vindication o