Iron County register., 1880-07-01
JUDGE BLACKS CHARITY FOR A
FALLEN FRIEND.
His Letter ON Garf1eld's Case,
Written Three Days Before
the Report of the PO.
land Committee.

from the N. Y. Evening Mail, June H.
IF there is a lawyer in this country
who has a constitutional hatred of all
public officials who show the slightest
tendency toward corruption, it is Judge
jeremiah s. Black, a Democrat Of DEM
ocrats. With full knowledge, after
thorough investigation, he wrote the
following letter, which we commend to
the careful study of all intelligent and
and disinterested parties:
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. Is. 1873.
"HY DEAR SIR: From the beginning of the
invese(gation concerning MIR: Ames's use of
the Creait Mobilier, believed that Gen. Gar
field 1free fr om all guilty connection with
that business. This opinion was founded not
merely On my confidence in his integrity, but
on som3epecial knowledge of his case. Imay
have told you all about 1t in conversation, but
l desire now to repeat it by way of reminder.
Il assert unhesitatingly that whatever Gen.
Garfield may have done or forhorne 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 Ring
organized Tor the purpose of defraudiug the
public, nor did he know that the stock was
In any way c)nnected with anything which
came or could come within the legislative
jurisdiction of Congress. The case against
him lacks the scienter, which alone consti-
tutes guilt.
''In the winter Of 1869 20 told Gen. Gar
field of the fact that his name was on Ames's
list; that Ames charged him with being one Of
his distributors: explained to him the charac-
ter. origin, and objects of the Credit Mobilier;
pointed out the connection it had with Con-
gressiOnal legislation, and showed him how
impossible 1t was for a member of Congress to
hold stock in 1t without bringing his private
interests In confict with his public duty. That
all this was to him perfectly new revelat'o on
am as sure as can be of such fact, or OF
any fact which is capable of being proved only
by moral circumstances He told me then the
whole story of Trains offer to him and Ames's
subsequent solicition and his own action In
the premises, much as he details it to the COM
Inittee. / do not undertake to reproduce the
conversation, but the effect of it all was to
convince me thoroughly that when he listened
to Ames he was perfectly unconscious of any
thing evil. watched carefully every word
that fell from him on this point, and did not
regard hfs narrative OF the Transaction in any
other respect with much interest, because in
my view, everything else was insignificant /
did not care whether he made bargain tecni-
upon the question whether he acted with his
eyes open. II he had known the true charac-
ter of the proposition made to him he would
not haye been endured it, much less en-
braced It
"NoW, couple this with Mr.. Ames's admis-
sion that he gave no explanation whatever
of the matter to Gen. Garfield, then reflect
that not . particle Of proof exists to show
That be harmed anything about It previous to
his cenreSsation with me, and think you
win say that it is altogether unjust TO put
him on the list of those who knowingly and
wilfully Joined the fraudulent association in
question. j. 8. BLACK.
''Hon. ]. G. BLAINE. Speaker of the House of
Representatives"
If the Herald and the Sun had any
sense of fairness they would let their
readers see this convincing testimony
of a lawyer distinguished for his acute
ness in detecting guilt-incipient or
committed.