The Portland daily press., 1880-07-05
Accounted For.
The Secret OF Charles A. Dana's Malig-
nant Hostility to Garfield.

A gentleman living at Warren, Ohio, aud
knowing all the facts in the case, says:
"Mr. Charles A. Dana is a native of Trum-
bull county, Ohio. His father and numerous
collateral relatives reside there STILL Trumbull
county is portion of the nineteenth Congress
sional district of Ohio, and, therefore, was rep
resented by General Garfield in Congress for
many years. As Dana was from Trumbull
county, he kept sort of eagle-eye upon the
patronage in that section. and desired to par
eel it out to those who would do him the most
honor. At first he was exceedingly fattering
to General Garfield; could not administer taf-
fly enough, and expected to catch and conquer
him in this way. But the General and his
friends both believed that ''the Greeks were
to be feared, even when bearing gifts" They
considered aattery from so corrupt a source
more dangerous than censure, and paid no at
tention to the matter in any way Finally,
certain petty appointments in the county did
not suit Mr.. Dana, who though great in some
respects, has mind just large enough to notice
and keep abreast of all such matters, and vim
dictively pursue man who has independence
of soul enough to do what he considers right.
regardless Of the wishes or dictations of any
one. These little matters were settled to the
entire satisfaction OF the majority Of the peo-
pie of the neighborhood; and that General Gar
field considered more important than suiting a
man who desired to rule from New York both
him and his constituents. This was to Mr..
Dana crime of the most heinous character,
and he took upon himself the job of infictng
punishment therefor. He understood that
there was little coterie of ambitious politici-
ans in the district, who, backed up by a few
incompetent and disgruntled aspirants of the
rofn foIl tha ofr
that were floating about to keep themselves on
the crest of the wave and drag better men
down. With these men Dana plowed. Not a
paper or printing-office in the district would
furnish the documents which the disgruntled
fellows desired to distribute for the purpose of
showing Garfeld's alleged pertidy.
Dana proffered the smut-mills of the Sun,
and the ambitious fellows thought it would be
much more effective to have their stuff printed
in the columns of a great metropolitan journal
outside the limits of the district. Dana would
print the matter very cheaply-almost for
nothing. They were to pay the freight on the
printed matter, and distribute it after it was
received. So the slander mills were set at
work. And they did not grind like those of
the gods. They produced the grist fast The
amount of matter that was produced and
shipped may be understood when it is known
that only small supplement Of the paper was
sent, and the freight alone on this was $50 A
man from the ranks of the ambitious ones was
selected as a Congressional candidate The
Democrats selected man from their ranks.
Garfield was charged with tho most unmiti-
gated crimes. Every place where there had
been the least dissatisfaction lover the appoint
ment of a postmaster was hunted up, and the
disgruntled ones were nursed into open oppo-
sition, and used tools for the distribution OF
the Sun supplement.
The General practically permitted the whole
matter to take its course. He explained in q
straightforward way how he had borrowed q
sum of money from Oakes Ames on his return
from Europe, when he was in debt and needed
1t for a short time; how Ames was at that time
respectable and respected, and a gentleman
known to be always in the possession of money:
how AmeS had marked this down as dividend
on stock in the Credit Mobilier, and had in
insisted that this was the understanding he
had of the matter; how he (Garield) had un-
derstood nothing Of the kind, and had insisted
on paying back the money he had received, in
full, to Mr.. Ames.
All of these misunderstanding as they did
from gentleman of the known integrity and
honor Of General Garfield, on the one hand,
and from man who, ON his own statement of
the case, was attempting to bribe members of
Congress and other high officials from the bas-
est OF motives, on the other-were readily
shifted, the truth from the falsehood, and the
result was triumphant vindication Of Gener-
al Garfield, and his return to Congress by
large majority.
The only needed refutation iof the charges
that are again Matched up against the General
is the fact that the very men in his district
who howled 'thief'-in 1874 are to-day the loud
est to cheer him for President. They do not
to-day believe single word of the lies OF 1874.
Even General Jack Easement, who was SO
thoroughly defeated as the independent candi-
date in 1874, is said to-day to be supporter of
the regular ticket, and recently, in a public
way, extended congratulations Is it probable
that these men would thus act if they still con-
sidered General Garfield thief? If Mr.. Da-
mas lies of 1880 make no deeper impression up
on the nation than those of 1874 did upon the
people of the nineteenth Ohio district, we can
get ready to cheer great Republican victory
next November.