Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1880-07-14
A SLANDER REFUTRD.
Cen. oanlstd's ctsar an ExpnsR Deaial NJ ~
Md Any Ceaaeedsa WllA credA
tohHjo6.


uP uAAu hl4WcKOQ OCSCAdAy hAA W1O CuAA8oo
ever made against him. II was speech
that carried convection to all present Of
his utter innocence Of the ofenses
charged, and stopped the mouths Of his
slanderers. Here 10 Whist he said regard
ing the Credit Mobilier charge:
There il large number of people in
the United States who use these words
without any adequate idea Of what they
mean. / have no doubt that great
many people feel about it very much -
the fishwoman at Billingsgate Market
felt when Sidney Smith, the great hu-
morist of England, came along and be-
gan to talk with her. She answered
back in very saucy way, and be finally
began to cali her mathematical names.
He called her parallelogram, hypoth-
enuse, parelloopipedon, and other such
terms, and dshe stood back aghastand said
she never heard sucha q nasty-talking man
in her life never was abused 20 before.
Now, people think they have said an
enormous thing when they say that
somebody had something to do with the
Credit Mobiles. I ask your attention
just for very few moments to what that
thing is, and, in the next place, to nm
derstand precisely what it is that ] am
supposed to have had to do with.
The Credit Mobilier was corporation
chartered in 1859 by the state Of PENN
sylvania, and authorized to build houses,
buy lands, loan money, etc. Nothing of
consequence was done with that COM
pany until ths year 1867, when q number
Of men bought up whatever stock there
was in it and commenced to do very
large business. In the winter Of 1867,
Mr.. Train came to me aud asked me to
subscribe $1,eOO. / should say there
were fifteen or twenty members Of con-
gress ON the list, and many more prOmi-
nent business men. He said that the
company was going to buy lands along
the line Of the Pacific railroad at places
where they thought there would cities
and villages grow up and develop, and
he he'd NO doubt that the growth Of the
country would make that investment
double itself in very short time.
That was the alleged scheme the
Credit Mobilier company had under
taken-a thing that il there y any gen
tleman in Warren who would seel heGi-
fancy in buying it would be because he
did not belive in tho growth of the c0un-
try where the business was "a ~ drne.
That st0Ck wSS offered to me - ! plain
business transaction, with no intimati0n
Whatever that it was offered because the
subscribers were members Of congress,
for it was offered to many other people,
and no better men live than at least q
large number Of the gentlemen to whom
it was offered. Some Of them took it d
once. Some men are clutiOus about
making an investment, others quick t0
determine. To noneof these men was any
explanation made that this Credit M0bi-
ier company was in any way contested
with ring Of seven men who owned the
principal portion Of the stock, and who
had contract with the directors Of the
Union Pacific road for building 600 on
TOO miles at an extravagant price
largely above what the stock was worth.
That was secret held only by those
seven men who owned the principal por-
tion Of the stock. It IL now understood
that Mr.. Cakes Ames, who Was the
centre Of thet company Of seven men,
sought to gain the friendship Of fifteen q
twenty prominent congressmen, with the
view Of protecting himself and the Pa
ciac railroad against any investigation
which might be made; but it was neces-
sary part of his plan not TO divulge that
purpose, or in any way intimate TO them
that he might draw upon them for favors.
Long before any such purpose was
realized, long before any pressure came
upon Mr.. Ames, most Of the men who
had been invited to purchase had pur-
chased and realized, or had purchased
and sold ont. But, in 1872, in the
midst Of the presidential campaign, IN
article was published in the public jour
nale charging that sixteen prominent
members Of congress senators and
representatives had sold their v0tea f0z
money or stock; that they had accepted
bribes. you remember that / was rum
ming for congress- in this district At that
time. When that news came Iwasaway
in the Rocky mountains. ! came home,
and the first day after my arrival in Wash
ington authorized 70 be published :
statement concerning what knew about
the Cakes Ames business. A great
many people suppose now and aay, and
it has been repea2ed hundreds o1 times in
this district, and especially IN this town
during the Int two weeks, thAt 1f.
Garfield hedged and denied any know
ledge of the Credit Mobilier businsgs
until finally the investigation hrought 4
out, I repeat that immediatG1y a my
arrival in Washington made . 1tn4e.
ment TO the correspondent oe the Cincin.
natl Gazette, 81 which the following = I
w.--.n.,,. c..,k.~.ss.. Il snaa