Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-05-21
Rich, Rare and Racy.

w. S. King, the Republican member
of Congress from Minnesota whose seat
Ignatius DOnnelly contests, has written
the following open letter to Donnellv.
1t will be remembered that the latter
told the Springer Investigating Com
mittee that he believed King wrote the
letter offering Springer $4,000 if he
would seat the contestant. Mr.. Kings
letter is rich, rare and racy reading.
After referring to the charge Mr.. King
says:
In the investigation which you have dc
manded am with you "heurt and hand"
DOnnelly, and ii shall be no fault of mine if
the guilty author OF that wicked letter is not
discovered aud punished as he should be.
therefore make haste to anticipate verbal or
written request or subpoena and forward for
the joint use and benefit of yourself aud the
Committee of investigation extended spcci-
mems OF my handwriting, which you will read
lily recognize, for the purpose of comparing
the same with yours-f beg pardon, with the
letter written to Mr.. Springer. In furnishing
you with this specimen of my handwriting,
cannot refrain from expressing the grptifca-
tiOn feel ut the evidences you afford me of
your most remarkable reform i'm this matter
of bribery and corruption" There was
time, recOllect, when there was great danger
that you might become rs bad in those mat
tiers as ordinary mentor instance, when
you was making your Senatorial cam
patgn, some years ago, and invited me
into your back room, where you rendered me
alHrge package of money, containing, you said
5000, which you begged me take and bribe a
state Senator 10 vote for you for United States
Senator, plcdging yourself to give me 5000
additional and your written promise that Il
friend of mine should be appointed Surveyor
General of our State i'm the event of your
election, which / heartlessly refused to do
My cruel refusal to aid you i'm brihng mem
bers of the Legislature to vote for you on
that occasion was, | well recOllcct, very aggra.
waiting to your feelings, but my conduct was
not so perfectly soul-harrOwing to you as that
OF Il member of the Legislature whom you
personally attempted to bribe, and who, upon
consultation with his friends, " tied up $500
of your money, but did not give you his vote.
~, after the election was over, demanding the
return Of your money, and have often laughed
AT the ludicrOus terms of the settlement final
ly made between you. / might, perhaps, stop
right mere but lest you and the inyestigatinE
committee might think the foregoing speci-
men of my handwriting was not sufficient for
exhaustive comparison, and as you publicly
declare yourself so strongly Of opinion that l
am the author of the letter you sent there it
is again, Of the letter sent to Mr.. Springer,
viii add to the specimens farther by refer
ring, in pleasant and friendly way, to some
of those other little trilles in your Congress
ional experience, which will remind us both,
in the most striking manner, of your great
change of heart. in the matter Of bribery
and corruption" from which your vir-
tuOus soul now shrinks with such unaffect-
ed horror For you will recOllect, DOnnelly,
you did not always play on one side alone Of
this "brihery and corruption" business TO
which have referred, by no means, us too
many could IL they would only testify. When
you was in Congress, Mr.. DOnnelly, and held a
pretty strong hand on a certain committee be
fore which important interests had come for
legislation, how you did use to make 1.-THE
blood tiy;" how you followed parties through
the halls of the house into the "Speakers
room" TO their hotels, and even to neighbOr-
ing cities, demanding money of them for the
great services you claimed you was render
ing. i rcccollect the time, as | am sure
you viii, also whom party upon whom you
you aud were out" but supposing you the
representative of my district, and that we
were personal and political friends, sent
draft or check of S2,J0O to me with the request
that hand the same TO you, which did; and
| also remember how, amid the thickening
bushes which colored 70 deeper rcd your
rosy checks when handed you that tell-tale
letter aud inolosure, you generously offered
nay, more, fairly besOught me to Hccept-a
portion of the money, to which l replied
same, l could not and did not accept.
But, Lord bless us, Mr.. DOnnelly, what was
$500 TO you ia those days2 Why, | recollect
being told by party In interest Of your once
levyng an assessment of 5000 on the agent
Of party desiring action on a bill which was
in your hands, Acting under the demands OF
necessity, he paid You that amount, when Won
quietly jumped on the cars and, running over
to New York, struck that agents principal for
5000 more. Not having been advised of the
agents action, this principal gave you a check
for another 5000, which he made PAYABLE to
the order OF his agent In Washington. When
you won't back 20 the agent 70 get his indorse-
ment, how he did swearl Called you u swindler.
a double-harreled blackmailer, a pirate, and
all such naughty names, and stubbOnty re
fused TO indorse the check, putting you to the
trouble of another trip to New York TO mako
the best explanations you could. But then il
came out all right, and you got your extra
$4,000. There are many other instances, which
might be recalled, of your sleepless and vir-
tuous vigilance in guarding the purity Of leg
islatiOn, and your peculiar methods of Op-
posing bribers and corruption when a member
OF Congress, but / must fOrbenr, as 1 am
now acting only in obedience to courtesy and
friendly desire to aid you in detecting the
infamous scamp who wrote yOur-Of course
mean the letter 70 Mr.. Springer. Neither you
nor the committee can reasonably ask for
more copiuus or extended specimens of my
handwriting to-day, but, la the meantime
Donnclly, YOU may assuredly rely upon my
best efforts TO aid YOU in this matter so long as
you wish to continue the search for the authOt
OF your-ot the letter 20 Springer. You need
not look in the directory of Canada for me.
III be at home now, tn you and your inVesti-
eating committee, until tho authorship OF
your-Of that-vie letter 10 Mr.. Springer Is
satisfactorily settled. Don't doubt me lgna-
titus, I'll stand by you 10 tho last and if YOU
wish any more specimens of my handwriting
draw on me at sight. Yours FOR Reform"
WM. s. kING.
P. ST. rely upon you, of course TO hand
mittee of Investigation, for whose use il Is In.
tended. am sure you won't forget TO do Il
W. s. X.
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