The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1880-08-24

Z
over this land one OF the great Landmark
Of civilization and civil liberty II the sci
restraining power Of the American Pc
lple curbine themselves and governin
ID Themselves by the limit OF the civil Law
I remind Won OF the fact that the Suprem
II Court unanimously sustained the positio
Itook In that argument. There were som
the court reached the result, but the ruin
: Of the court was unanimous that the tril
had been unauthorized BY law, and tha
the men must therefore be released. Tha
did not release them, however, from III
right OF the Government to try them Il
the civil courts for the crimes with whicl
they were charged. The note that re
Eerred to as being handed to me WAS ths
should explain how It was that !, he
publican and Representative, gave m!
voice and whatever ability possessed as
lawyer, TO save seebl conspirators from
punishment. My answer was, "Hani
them but hang them according TO law
[applause i II you hang them otherwise
You commit murder" Now, II anyone
has any question to ask on this subject
shall be glad TO hear 1t. "a
THE speaker here paused, but there
came from the audience no response to the
request. h, - tr
There are three other things which
propose to discuss two OF them may hard
ly be said to refer to my public career,
one OF them directly 10 my official work.
The first one !, shall reier TO ismy alleged
connection with
THE CREDIT MoBILIRR. ..
There is a large number OF people in the
United States who use these words with
out any adequate idea Of what they mean.
l have no doubt that great many people
feel about 1t very much as the fsh-woman
at Billingsgate market felt when Sidney
Smith, the great humorist Of England,
came along and began to talk with her.
She answered back in q very saucy way,
and he finally commenced 10 call her
mathematical names; he called her a par
allelogram, o hypothenuse, q parrllelopip.
edon, and other such terms, and she
stood'back aghast and said she never
heard such a nasty talking man in her
life-never was abused so before. Now
people think they have said an enormous
thing when they say that somebody had
something to do with the Credit Mobilier.
Task your attention Just for few mo-
ments to what that thing Is, and In the
next place to understand precisely what
1t Is that / am supposed to have had to
do with it. = y - ria-'
The Credit Mobilier was corporation
charted in 1850 by the State Of Pennsyl.
vania, and authorized TO build houses,
buy lands, loan money, &c. Nothing OF
consequence was done with that company
until the year 1867, when number OF
men bought up whatever stock there was
in II and commenced 10 do very large bus.
iness. In the winter OF 1867 Mr.. Train
came 10 me and showed me list OF
names and subscribers TO the stock Of the
Credit Mobilier Company and asked me
to subscribe $1,000. 1 should say there
were fifteen or twenty members Of Con-
gress on the list, and many more promi-
nent business men. He said that the
company was going to buy lands along
the line OF the Pacific Railroad at places |
where they thought cities and villages |
wonld grow up and TO develop them, aud |
he had no doubt that the growth Of the |
country would make that investment |
double itself in very short time.
Credit Mobiller Company had undertaken
"a thing that II there is any gentleman
in Warren who. would feel any hesitancy
in buying,it would be because he didn't
believe 10 the grow tn OF the country
where the business was TO be done. That
stock was offered 10 me as plain, business
with no intimatiou whatever
that 1t was offered because the subscribers
were members OF Congress. Tor It was
offered to many other people, and no bet
ter men lived than at least large number
OF the gentlemen to whom 1t was offered.
Some OF them took II at once. Some men |
are cautious about making an investment
others are quick to determine. To none
of those men was any explanation made
that this Cfedit Mobilier Company was in
any way connected with ring oi seven
men who owned the principal portion OF
the stock and who had contracted with |
the directors OF the Union Pacific road for |
building six or seven hundred miles at an |
extravagant price, largely above what the
work was worth. That was secret held
only by those seven aen who owned the
principal portion OF the stock. II is now
Understood that MIR. Cakes Ames, who
was the center of the company OF
seven men, sought to gain the
friendship OF tiftssn or twenty
prominent Congressman With the
view Of protecting himself and the Pacific
Railroad against any investigation which
might be made; but II vas necessary
part OF his plan not to divnlge that pnr-
pose or In any way TO intimate to them
that he might draw upon them for favors.
Long before any such purpose was re-
alizad, long before any pressure came up;
on Mr.. Ames. most OF the men who had
been invited to purchase that stock and
either declined 10 purchase OF bad pur;;
chased and realized, or had purchased
and sold out. But in 1872, in the midst oil
me Presidential campaign, an article was
published 10 the public journals charging
that sixteen prominent members OF Con:
gress Senators and Representatives-had
sold their votes for money or stoCki that
thew had accepted brides. You remember
that | was running Tor Congress in this
district al that time. When that news
came was away in the Rocky Mountains.
I ,,ame home and the first day alter my ar
iva, at Washington authorized to be
anhiishsd statement concerning what !
snsw about the Cakes Ames business. A
great srss many people suppose now aud say,
and Il has been repeated a hundred times
| in this district, and especially in this town
during the last two weeks, that Mr.. Gar;
6eld hedged and denied any knowledge Of
the Credit MobiIier business, until finally
| The investigation brought IL out ] repeat
mat Immediately on my arrival in Wash
inVton made statement to the cores
pondent OF the Cincinnati GC:si.c, OF which
| The following Is copy:
= "WAsHlNSroN, September 10, 1877. I,
General Garfield, who has Just arrived
here from the Indian country, has today
had the'tlrst opportunity OF seeing the
charges connecting his name with receiy-
ing shares OF the Credit Mobiller from
| oakes Ames. He authorizes the state
ment that he never subscribed for single
share OF the stock, and that he never re.
! eeiyed or saw share OF 1t. When the