The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1880-07-16
From the New York evening Mail, June II.

From the New York evening Mail, June II.
If there is lawyer in this country
who has a constitutional hatred of all
public officials who show the slightest
tendency toward corruption, it is
Judge jeremiah 5. Black, a Demo-
crat of Democrats. With full know.
ledge, after thorough investigation
he wrote the following letter, which
we commend to the careful study of
all intelligent and disinterested
readers:
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. Is, 1873.
MY DEAR SIR.-From the begin.
ing of the investigation concerning
Nr. Ames' use of the Credit Mobi-
lier, i believed that Gen. Garfield
was free from all guilty connection
with that business. This opinion
was founded not merely on my con-
fidence in his integrity, but on some
special knowledge of his case. l may
have told you all about it in CONVEX.
satiOn. but desire now to repeat it by
way of reminder.
Il assert unhesitatingly that what
ever Gen. Garfield may have done or
forborne to do, he acted in profound
ignorance of the nature and charac-
ter of the thing which Mr.. Ames was
preparing to sell. He had not the
slightest suspicion that he was to be
taken into Il ring organized for the
purpose of defrauding the public, nor
did he know that the stock was in
any way connected with anything
which came or could come within the
Legislative jurisdiction of Congress
The case against him lacks the scien.
ter. which alone constitutes guilt.
sin the winter of lS69-70 | told
Gen. Garfield of the fact that his
name was on Ames' list; that AmeS
charged him with being one of his
distributes; explained to him the
character, origin, and objects of the
Credit Mobilier; pointed out the con-
nectiOn it had with congressional
legislation, and showed how impos.
sihle it was for a member of Con-
gress to hold stock i'm it without
bringing his private interests in con.
tlict with his public duty. That all
this was to him perfectly new revela-
ton i am as sure us l can be of such
a fact, or of any fact which is capable
of being proved only by moral cir
He told me then the
whole story of Trains offer to him and
Ames' subsequent solicitation and
his own action in the premises,
much as he details it to the COM
mittee. do not undertake to repro.
duce the conversation, but the eff.
feet of it all was to convince me thor.
oughly that when he listened to
Ames he was perfectly Unconscious of
evil. ! watched carefully
every word that fell from him on this
point, and did not regard his nara.
tive of the transaction in any other
respect with much interest, because
in my view everything was signifi-
cant. l did not care whether he
made bargain technically binding
or not; his integrity depended upon
the question whether he acted with
his eyes open. If he had known the
true character of the proposition
made to him he void not have indur-
ed it, much less embraced it.
"Now, couple this with Mr.. Ames's
admission that he gave no explana.
ton whatever of the matter to Gen.
Garfield; then reflect that not a par
ticle of proof exists to show that he
learned anything about it previous to
his conversatioe with me, and | think
you will say that it is altogether I'M
just to put him on the list of those
who knowingly and wilifully joined
the fraudulent association in ques-
ton.
J. s. BLACK.
"Hon. j. g. Blaine, Speaker ofthe
House Of Representatives.: