Smyrna times., 1880-06-23
Gen, Garfeld'S Defence.

Since the nomination Of Gen. Garfield for
President, the Credit Mobilicr scandal ha,
been revived, charging him with owning
stock and receiving dividends from the
same. He Is asked for his defence, but de-.
cllnes any further statement than what
he has already given, made to his con.tjt.
uents before they reelected him to Con.
gress in IN7i. 1t is as follows:
neither purchased nor agrcsd to pur.
chase the Credit Mobilier stocs, which Mr.
Ames offered to sell me. nor did | receive
any dividend arising from it. This appear,
not only from my own testimony, but from
that first given by Mr.. Amcs, which is no,
overthrOwn by his subsequent statements
and IS strongly confirmed by the fact that
IN the case OF each OF those who did uur.
chase the stock there was produced as cyi.
dence OF the sale either Il certificate Of
stock, receipt Of payment, chccl. drawn
IN the name OF the paycc or entries in Mr.
Ames' diary Of stock account marked
adjusted and closed, but that no one oc
these evidences existed in reference to me.
This position IS further confirmed by the
subsequent testimony Of Mr.. Amcs. who.
though he claimed that did receive S31p
from HIM on account OF stock. vet he
repeatedly testified that beyond that amount
never received or demanded any dividend:
that none was ever offered to me, nor wa,
the subject alluded to in conversation. Mr.
Amcs admitted in his testimony that after
December, ~G7, the various stock and bond
dividends amounted to an aggregate Of
more than 500 per cent, and that between
January, 1865, and May ISL, all these div.
ldends wero paid to several Of those who
purchased stock. My conduct was wholly
inconsistent with the supposition of such
ownership, for during the year 1869 was
borrowing money to build house in
Washington and securing my creditors by
mortgages on my property; and all this
time 1t IS admitted that received no divi.
dends and claimed none The attempt to
prove a sale of the stock to me is wholly
lnconcluslve, Tor 1t rests first on the check
payable to Mr.. Amcs himself, concerning
which he said several times in his testimony
he dld not know to whom it was paid, and
second, upon loose undated entries in his
diary, winch neither prove sale Of the
stock nor any payment on it. The only
TACT from which 1t is possible for Mr.. Ames
to have inferred an agreement to buy the
stock was the loan to me Of $500. But that
| loan was made months before the check Of
| June -, lNGS, apd was repaid in the
! Winter Of 1863, and after that date there
was no transactions Of any sort between us,
and botore the investigation was ended Mr..
! Ames admitted that on the chief point OF
| difference between us he might be mis-.
! taken.
That the offer which Mr.. Ames made TO
me, as understood it, was one which in.
volved no wrong or improperly. l had no
means Of knowing and had no reason for
! supposing that behind this offer to sell me
a small amount of stock lay hidden a
| scheme to defraud the Pacific Railroad and
imperil the interest of the United States
and on the first intimation of the real
nature Of the case l declined any further
consideration of the subject. That what
ever may have been the facts in the case
stated them in my testimony as | have
always understood them, and there la:
been no contradiction, prevarication MOI
evasion on my part.
If there he ctizon of the United State,
who is Wiling to Uuuu,c that for 1929
have bartered away my good name and tc
falsehood have added perjury, these word;
are not addressed to him. If there be one
who thinks that any part of my public life
has been gauged on so low a level as these
charges would place it, l do not address
him. ! address those who are willing tc
believe that it is possible for a man to serve
the public without personal dishonor.
have endeavored in this review to point ou
the means by which the managers of cor
poration wearinga garb Of honorable indus
try have robbed and defrauded a grea
national enterprise, and attempted by Gun
ming deception, for selfish ends, to enlist il
its interests those who would have been tn,
first to crush the attempt had their object
been known,