San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1880-09-25

character oil tue wllncssrs ""v - IT,
fore them, the manner IN when 'ney
tcsulied aud all tho circumstances ol
shs case The Nation" tails into INC
same vein, although at hrsl !! spuno o. 7,
tho conduct Of Con. Garfield in tais c a.
fair as having at tho time very x. un, ,,s
tunatc appearance, and sala NC ~" ~.
,lcubtodiy bore himself badly when inc
unroar began, and he discovered what 2
very serious view the public took o.
Ames' dealings with Congrsssnsss, :. ~ -
now strongly acccntuates teo pau 'non
ory Of Mr.. Amcs, indulges 70 seve,a'
charitable suppositiops as 10 nc e con,
dnct and motives Of General Garheiu,
and tcudcrly weighs the charSss asa,ns'
him ia tho light Of his good character ,,n !,
about which, il should remenbsr'r ,n "a y
opinions arc very greatly divided, Incsc
organs likewise overlook certain clrculh-
stspiiai statements made by Mr. Ames
beiorc The Committee, on the2y,h OF
January, which in fairness sao ~ :. nav, y
been noticed in their review Of !ho .l aua,
action. lie then testified tolne oheI'
that General Garfield. 10 interviews ~.
ter the investigation had begun, dld no,
nretend that any money had been loaned
him that he admitted that EAU were
due him in stock and bonds tnat nc
said this affair would DO very Injurious
10 him, and was cruel thing that nc
was in very great distress aud haraly
raom MAT be aid soy and that he said
he wanted to say as little about ING al
fair as no could, and get OH as easily as
possible. These statements related 70
recent conversations, and can not DC got
rid Of on the plea OF the bad memory OF
Mr.. Ames. They wear tho appearance
Of truth and if they were false tney
deserved a point blank contradiction py
Mr.. Garfield on his oath before tbc
Committee. But he never made that
contradiction. lie failed TO confront
Mr.. Amcs as witness respecting these
statements, and subject himself to tho
wholesome test Of truth taforded by n
cross-examination, but contcnled MN.
self with an OK partc printed statement
NJ his defense several months later and
niter Amos had died These facts do
not favor the theory Of his conscious
Innocence. | will not brand him as
guilty, but the very utmost that can
be claimed in his behalf 10 that his
wrong doing is mot proven lie Is
entitled to tho benefit Of all reasonable
doubts, aud to q fair and impartial
h caring on tho appeal now taken to the
public from the finding OF the Poland
COMMITTED but the public will re-
member that this appeal is asked seven
years after his conviction, and in inc
midst of n National canvass in which
the fate of his party is involved in his
yindication, and it will not tail to weigh
the evidence accordingly. l freely give
him credit for his ingenious and ella
boratc defense of himself 10 response ia
the popular clamor in the spring Of
1873, but the truth is, after oil, that nc
stands before tho Nation under the
shadow of suspicion That shadow
can not be removed by calling Judge
Poland, General Banks and Judge Mo
Carty as witnesses to impeach their own
record. 1t can not DO removed by the
opinion of Senator Thurman that his
Guilt is not demonstrated by the cvi
dencc. 1t can not be removed by the
friendly letter OF Judge Black. express,
Ing the strong assurance OF Genera
Garlield's ignorance Of tho criminal
purposes Of Cakes Ames, but leaving
iinnoticcd tho conflict between his
sworn statement aud that Of Genera
Garfield respecting his agreement t.
take ten shares Of stock. iNor can !
be removed by the alleged action Of hi
immediate constituents in condoniol
his errors. They have ssastsr Sasffofa Hi
iority was 1884, but inlS74 it was re
duced to 2,526. while in his last cleo
ton, when the memory OF this transac
ton had considerably faded out of the
public mind, his majority was still 1851
less than his full party strength
OTHER AND GRAvER CHARGES.
But must pass now in conclusion t
other and still grayer charges Genera
Garfield wns one Of he"ylsiting statesmen
who repaired to New OrleaA soon ate
the Inst Presidential .eloctied, in Response
to the invitation Of President Grant, fol
the osrcnsible purpose o. securing "a fail
count" OF ITO vote oil LOUISIANA. The Pres
idcnt ordered to that statc nm imposing
military force to preserve the peace, nn(
rec that the Returning Board OF tho State
was unmolested in the performance Of i'll
duty: but as he had already destroyed the
civil government here by the bayonet the
necessity for this military order was moi
apparent, unless some new Outrage wa:
contemplated. The situation was critical
and feeling Of uncertainty and alarm
prevailed throughout the country. The
Chairman of the Democratic Nationa
Committee invited several rcprescn.
tatiye public men, Of both politica
parties, TO visit New Orleans in the
interest of peace and the furthcranc(
OF the faithful performance of its duty
by the Returning b, ord: and on their ar.
rival in the city they proposed to Sena
tor Sherman, General Garfield, and
their Republican associates, joint con
ference and friendly CO operation with
u view to a just and satisfactory settle
ment of the threatening controversy
But this proposition was snmmariy re.
jected, on the pretext that these repre-
sentative Republicans had no legal au
thority to interfere with the vote of the
State, or the actions OF It's officers in
canvassing it. To this it was replied
that no such authority had been
thought of. and that the proposed con
ference contemplated only such moral
influence as it might be able to exert.
In response to this, the Republican,
disavowed any authority or wish to in
ierlere with the Returning Board, even
II that extent, and hereby left the pub
lie completely in the fog as to the mean.
ing of their mission. There could,
however, be but one explanation. since
n single earnest word on their part 10
the interest OF fair play would almost
certainly have been needed. while their