National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-05-10
PRESIDENT GARFIELD.
HIS Connection VITA tIse star Route Con-
-iraciors-That letter


When last years political campaign was
at fever heat Gener al Garfield wrote the following
letter to Hubbeli, chairman of the Republican
campaign committee at Washington:
MENTOR, ONO, August D, 1850.
Hon. J. 4. HuG0cU, BdShingtOH, ID. C.:
MY DEAR HrRgELL: Yours of the 18th instant
received and contents noted. Please say to Brady
that hope he will give all the assistance possible
think he can help effectualy. Please tel me how
the Departments generally are doing. As ever yours
j. A GARFIELD.
The prineinal duty of the Hubbell committee
was to levy assessmentson Office holders and other
Government dependents, and to place the proceeds
where they would do the most good. The above
letter shows that General Garfield was watching
this disreputable business very closely He wanted
the Department." generally to understand that
he had an eye on them, and that deinquents would
be made to suffer.
Brady wanted some guarantee from Garfield that
the star-route contractors would be protected
under him as they had been under Hayes. Hub
bell asked Brady to assess them for Indiana and
Ohio, where the decisive battle was raging. Brady
refused to do this without written request from
Garfield. Hubbell wrote to Garfield, explaining
the situation and, after showing his consciousness
of the ticklish nature of the operation by taking
several days for grave consideration, and sup
plementng that by conference with Dorsey,
lnS cdnuiuate responded Us aDONe. 1ISnSc Sdl tO
Brady that hope he will give all the assistance
possible. think he can help efectually." Hav-
ing seen the extent of the star ring, and colse-
gently of Bradys resources developed by the in
vestigation in the House. of which he was a MEM
ber, Garfield knew precisely how he could help
efectually." Besides it is to be presumed that all
this had been further explained by Hubbell in the
communication to which the above letter was an
answer.
Now General Garfield admits the genuincness of
this letter. He does not dispute the evidence of
his own handwriting, as he did that OF Ames
memorandum book. He also admits that to have
accepted or demanded the contributions of the
star-Toute men would have been very dissraceful;
and TO have conceded their terms would have
been rascally. He does not deny, nor does he pro-
duce Hubbell TO deny, that the contractors did ac
tually come to his rescue on the strength of this
document. 3 But Garfield declares that
he never thought of the contractors; those
powerful knaves never entered his innocent
head. But he had heard that Brady had been
making money on telephone stocks and he
thought he ought to divide with tie party He does
not explain how he and Hubbell acquired tine
right to assess Brady's honest telephone profits
any more than the dishonest gains of the contrac-
tors. If Brady buying immunity for himself
alone, it made no difference which fund he drew
upon, telephone or contract money; the result was
the same. But if General Garfield had understood
that he was assessing the Republican spectators
in telephone stock he would have asked Hubbell
totell him how the telephone companies generally
are doing" instead of how the Departments gen.
orally are d0ing'-Ee1r York Sun.