The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1880-07-01
Good Testimony TO General Garfield's
Innocence. And all from Democrat.

Innocence. And all from Democrat.
Nobody, we suppose, doubts for
moment the simon-pure Democracy of
]. s. Black His record is made, and
he is known everywhere as a truth
loving, truth-speaking, honest man
whose chief fault lies in his being
Democrat.
Mr.. Garfield has been and is now
charged with guilty connections"
with Oaks Ames' grand Credit Mo-
bilier scheme. We call the attention
of Democrats and Republicans alike
to the following letter written by Mr..
Black in 1873 to Hon james G.. Blaine
who at that time was speaker of the
House of Representatives:
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. Is, 1873.
MY DEAR SIR-From the begin
ming of the investigation concerning
Mr.. Ames' use of the Credit Mobilier,
[ believed that General Garfield was
free from all guilty connection with
that business. This opinion was
founded not merely on my confidence
in his integrity, but on some special
knowledge of the case. l may have
told you all about it in conversation
but desire now to repeat it by way of
reminder.
l assert unhesitatingly that, what
ever Gen. Garfield may have done or
forborne to do, he acted in profound
Ignorance of the nature and character
of the thing which Mr.. Ames was
proposing to sell. He had not the
slightest suspicion that he was to be
taken into a ring organized for the
purpose of defrauding the public, nor
did he know that the stock was in any
manner connected with anything
which came or could come, within the
legislative jurisdiction of Congress.
The caseagainst him lacked the
Scicnter which alone constitutes guilt.
In the winter of 1869. 20 [ told Gen.
Garfield of the fact that his name was
on Ames's list; that Ames charged him
with being one of the distributes; ex-
planned to him the character, origin
and objects of the Credit Mobilier;
pointed out the connection it had with
Congressional legislation, and showed
him how possible it was for a member
of Congress to hold stock in it without
bringing his private interest in con
tlict with his public duty. That all
this was to him perfectly new revel-
ations. L am as sure as I can be of
such fact, or of any fact that is cap
able of being proved only by moral
circumstances. He told me the
whole story of Trains offer to him
and Ames's subsequent solicitation,
and his own action in the premises
much as he details it to the commit
tee. do not undertake to reproduce
the conversation, but the effect of ital
was to convince me thoroughly that
when he listened to Ames he was per-
fectly unconscious of anything evil.
[ watched carefully every word that
fell from him on his point, and did
not regard his narrative of the trans
action in other respects with much
interest, because in my view ever
thing else was insignificant. I did
not care whether he had made a bar.
gain technically binding or not; his
integrity depended upon the question
whether he had acted with his eyes
open. If he had known the true
character of the proposition made to
him he would not have endured it.
much less embraced it.
Now, couple this with Mr.. Ames's
admission that he gave no explanation
whatever of the matter to Gen. Gar
field, then reflect that not parti Gle of
proof exists to show that he learned
anything about it previous to his con-
versation with me, and / think you
will say that it is altogether unjust
to put him on the list of those who
knowingly and willfully joined the
fraudulent association in question.
JEREMIAH S. BLACK.
Hon. j. G. Blaine, Speaker of the
House of Representatives.
New York Times: "The situation
in all imnortont raSpactc p,nx, lo ,o