Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1880-07-16

There is large mum Der of people in the
United states who use these words Credit Mo-
bilier) without any adequate idea of what they
mean. have no doubt that great many peO-
pie feel about II very much as the ishwoman
at Billingsgate market felt when Sidney Smith,
the great English humorist, oamc along and
in q very saucy way, and he finally began to
call her mathematical names. He called her a
paraleogram, hypothenuse, a paralellopp-
edOn, and such other terms, and she stood
back aghast and said she never heard such
nasty y-talking man In her lifc-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. ask your attention, Just for
few moments, to what that thing is, and,
inthe next place, to understand precisely what
IL is that am supposed TO have had to do
with il.
The Credit Mobilier was a corporation char
tered in 1859 by the State of Pennsylvania and
authorized to build houses, buy lands, loan
money, etc. Nothing of consequence was
done with that company until the year 1867,
when number of men bought up whatever
stock there was in It, and ommenced to do a
very large business. In the winter of 1867,
Mr.. Train came to me and showed me list of
names and subscribers to the stock of the
Credit Mobilier Company, and asked me TO
subscribe $1,000. l should say there were fif-
list, aud many more prominent business men.
He said that the company was going to buy
lands along the line of the Pacific Railroad at
places where they thought there would cities
and villages grow up and develop, and he had
no doubt that the growth of the country would
make that investment double itself in very
short time.
That was the alleged scheme that the Credit
Mohlier Company had undertaken--a thing
that If there is any gentleman in Warren who
would feel any hesitancy in buying il would be
because he did not believe in the growth of the
country where the business was to he done.
The stock was offered to me as plain business
proposition, with no intimation whatever that
1t was offered because the subscribers were
members of Congress, for 1t was offered to
many other people, and no better men live
than at least "a large number of the gentlemen
to whom it was offered Some of them took it
at once. Some men are cautious about making
an investment, others are quick to determine.
made that this Credit Mobilier Com
pany was i'll any way connected
with ring of seven men who owned the prin-
cipal portion of the stock, and who had con-
tract with the Directors of the Union Pacific
Road for building 900 or 700miles at an extTay-
agant price-largely above what the stock was
worth. That was a secret held only by those
seven men who owned the principal portion of
the stock. Ii is now understood that Mr..
Oakes Ames, who was the center of that COM
pany of seven men, sought to gain the friend
ship of fifteen or twenty prominent Congress-
men, with the view of protecting himself and
the Pacific Railroad against any investigation
which might be made; but it was necessary
part of his plan not to divulge that purpose, or
in any way intimate TO them that he might
draw upon them for faVors.
Long before any such purpose was realized,
Ames, most of the men who had been invited
to purchase that stock had either declined to
purchase or had purchased and realized, or
had purchased and sold out But, in 1877, in
the midst of the Presidential campaign, an
article was published in the public journals
charging that sixteen prominent members of
Congress-Senators and Representatives-had
sold their votes for money or stock; that they
had accepted bribes. You remember that
dstc running ,bs for SaD %9ngress tbi in this
came was away In the Rocky Mountains.
came home, and the first day after my arrival
at Washington authorized to be published
statement concern ing what knew about the
Oakes Ames business. A great many people
suppose now and say, and II has been repeated
hundreds of times in this district, and especial
ly in this town during the last two weeks,
that Mr.. Garfield hedged and denied any
knowledge of the Credit Mobilier business un-
til finally the investigation brought it out. L
repeat that, Immediately on my arrival in
Washington, made statement TO the cor
respondent of the Cincinnati Gazette, of which
the following is a copy:
"wAsHINGToN, September Is, 1872.
General Garfield who has just arrived here
from the Indian country, has to-day had the
first opportunity of seeing the charges con-
meeting his name with receiving shares of the
ICES the statement that he never subscribed
for share of the stock, and that he never re-
ceived or saw a share of it. When the Com
pany was first formed, George Francis Train,
then active in il, came to Washington and eX-
hibited list of subscribers, of leading capi-
talists and some members of Congress, TO the
stock Of the company. The subscription was
described as a popular one of $1,000 cash.
Train urged General Garfield to subscribe on
two occasions, and each time he declined.
subsequently he was again informed that the
list was nearly completed, but that a chance
remained for him to subscribe, when he again
declined; and to this day he has not received
any share of stock or bond of the Company"
Now, want my audience to understand that
In the midst of that storm and tempest, and
accusation, and only Il little while before the
nlRpf1nn I 90 hFAA1nnGf
the daily press that l did know something
about the Credit Mobiier; that had been in
vited to subscribe to it; that had on two oc-
casions discussed the matter; thai had taken
II into consideration; and that finally had
declined to subscribe; that never had owned
or held share; had never seen certificate of
the stock. Now, am not asking you at this
moment TO discnss the truth of that state
ment, but only to say that stated II long be-
tS tSae mere was y any Investigation TAXED or
ing any knowledge of the subject but at the
first declared plainly and iully what l did
know about it.
When Congress met Speaker Blaine and the
rest of us whose names were concerned in it
at once, on the first morning of the session.
demanded a Committee of Investigation to go
through with the whole subject from begin
ming tO end. l want those gentlemen who talk
about Mr.. Garfield being got after by commit
tees Of investigation to know that no investi-
CATION into any public affair has been held in
the last three years in Washington that have
not helped to organize and bring about. lap
plause.l
Now, what was the investigation? You will
remember that before the Investigation had
gone far feeling of alarm and excitement
swept over the whole country that has hardly
been paralelcd in American history. Some
men whose names were connected with the
charges of the Credit Mobilier matter, shocked
st the terrible charge of bribery thrown at
them, in the hurry of the moment so far for
got themselves as TO give eQuiyocal answers
as TO whether they knew anything about the
matter or not, and the impression was made
throughout the country that the most of them
had denied that they knew anything about it.
The fact was that the country waS settling
down to the belief that the whole thing was n
mere campaign slander, and had no foun-
dation in fact. Looking at the subject from
this distance, am inclined to believe that the
impression left upon the American mind is that
the faults of those who were charged withbuy-
ing stock was not that they did anything
wrong In reference TO the stock, but that aft
erwards they prevaricated or lied about it.
Now, without discussing anybody else, L call
you TO witness that l stated at once what l
knew about IL, the first time that l knew the
talk was going the rounds of the newspapers.
When the Committee of Investigation came to
make up their report there was one thing in
that report TO which personally took eXcep-
tions, and only one. Understand that gen
tleman occupied this room few nights ago
who undertook to make the impression upon
his audience that Mr.. Garfield was found guilty
OF some improper relation with the Credit
MObilier. Let me read you sentence or two
from that report The committee says:
"Concerning the members TO whom he has
sold or offered 10 sell, the stock, the commit
tee say that they do not find that Mr.. Ames,
in his negotiations with the persons above
named, entered into any details of the rela-
tiOns between the Credit Mobilier Company
and the Pacific company. or gave them any
specific Information as to the amount of dVi-
dends they would be likely 10 receive, further
than has been already stated--viz; that in
some cases he had guaranteed profit OF ten
per cent. They do not find as TO the mem
bera of the present House above named
that they were aware of the object of Mr..
Ames, or that they had any other purpose
in taking this stock than TO make O profitable
Investment. They have not be en- able
TO find that any of these members of Congress
have been affected In their official action in
consequence. They do not find that
either'of the above named gentlemen in CON
tracing with Mr.. Ames had any corrupt mo-
tive or purpose himself, or was aware Mr..
Ames had any, nor did either OF them sup
pose nc was guilty of any impropriety or in
dolioacy In becoming purchaser of this
stock And. finally, that the committee find
nothing In the conduct or motive of either Of
these gentlemen In taking this stock that calls
for any recommendation by the commit
tee Of the House, ISee pages 3, o and l0.l
In Mr.. Ames' first testimony he names six
teen members of Congress TO whom he offered
the stock, and says that eleven of them bought
IL, but he sets Mr., Garfield down among the
five who did not buy Il. He says; He Gar
field did not pay for IL or receive II.
Ha s.a.yar natA arnv nnnaN an that gtoaL nor pa