Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-08-13

The sons of the late Cakes Ames, stung by
the revival of the Credit Mobilier business
through Garfeld's candidacy, have issued an
address to the American people in defense Of
the memory of their father. Their argu-
ment is that the company organized to build
| the Union Pacific road, known as the Credit
Mobilier, was a legitimate enterprise and
that there was no fraud in belonging to it or
holding stock in it. The manner in which
the exposure was made is thus explained:
| at the time when Mr.. Ames freed to sell
this construction stock its value was largely
speculative and it could not have been readily
sold even at par. But few months later
| when the crisis was passed and the successful
completion of the road assured by the power
| full Intervention of MIR. Ames and his friends
in its affairs, it became evident that large div-
| dends would be realized and the value of the
,tork appreciated. Unfortunately a contro-
versy then took place between Col. McComb, o
Delaware shareholder, and Mr.. Ames, as to 8
| lumber of additional shares which this stock
holder claimed. To satisfy McOonsb that this
stock was all disposed of "where 1t would do
most eood" to the enterprise, MIR. Ames men.
| toned to this gentleman the names of persona
to whom he felt under obligation to assign
bares UPON supposed understandings previ-
| only made. These names included number
of influential Congressman. In a suit ipstitut
ed the following year, in the Pennsylvania
courts. for the recovery of the stock, McComh
furnished an incorrect list of these names
ard, under the impulse of personal feeling
and selfinterest, gave false color to the trans
action. When his litigation became known.
m 'st Of the Congressman to whom MIR. Ames
mad agreed to sell shares, became alarmed.
bo,- 90 ov,l hoa <La..
money with ioterest; some declined it, and
some afterwards denied that they had eusr agreed
to take 1t.
Again the sons say:
But there toas one man IN Congress Who
tCOuld neither lie nor prsWrft1te nor conceal.
Cakes Ames-a man of few words, sturdy and
straightforW ard, upright and downright. con
scio us of bis own r. ctitude, and as ignorant OF
be ways of wropg-doers child-testifed TO
Ger tain agreements made with him by Con.
gressnen five years before to buy interests in
the construction stock, and verified them by
reference to his memorandum book.
The most of this "vindication" appears in
the paragraphs quoted above, and they ap-
ply, by implication, with great force to Gen.
Garfield. The GLOBE presumes that when
Gen. Garfield agreed to take the stock of
Cakes Ames he did not intend to receive
bride. If he had frankly stated, when the
exposure came, that he had taken the stock az
business operation without supposing that it
was in any way connected with matters COM
ing before Congress, but on finding the
manifest intent of the transaction he
had promptly surrendered the stock,
Gen. Garfield would have stood
before the public free from
the Credit Mobilier faint. It is because he is
one of the men described by the sons as
having agreed to take the stock and then de-
MED it, that he is censured. If he could be
ranked as the sons rank their father, as a
man who would not lie, there W ould have
been no offending to rise mp in judgment
against him. His endeavor to conceal his
transaction by falsehood was an admission
of guilt which he cannot efface, and Gen.
Garfield stands to-day, not branded by Cakes
Ames or any one else, but by himself, and
branded SO deep that he cannot "out the
damned spot.''