The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1882-02-24
THE SOUTH AMERICAN COMPLI-
CATION.

The effort of the House OF Representatives
to get to the bottom of the gigantic scheme of
the Peruvian Company" to use the American
Government as means of gobbling Peru.
mas not yet proved successful. Government
has laid before the House complete tran
scripts of the letters indicated in the resolu-
ton of request of the 9th inst, and has also
supplied the suppressed parts of the letters
previously laid before the House. Most of the
letters furnished were written by the chief of
the Peru speculators-Mr. Jacob r. Shipherd-
to Minister Hurlbut. They are epistles of
most extraordinary character. They rep
resent Shipherd, in his character of
chief agent of the Peruvian Com
pany, as having the most intimate
and confidential relations to large number of
distinguished public men ana great capitalists,
Among the former were .. s. Grant. John
Sherman, j. D. Cameron, koscoe Conkling,
Senator Blair, Senator Eugene Hale, Senator
Dawes, Collector Robertson. ex-senator Eaton
George s. Boutwell,, Scott Lord, A. S. Hewitt
and Marshall Jewell. Among the latter we're
E. D. Morgan, Hugh Mccullough, W. 81. Van.
derbilt, w. L. Scott, Sidney Dillon, W. w.
Aston, Howard Crosby, and fifteen or twenty
other notable capitalists, bankers, etc. 1t is
not represented that all these persons stood in
the relation of share-owners or as having any
direct interest in the Peruvian Company, but
that such of them as were not were expected
to become interested. TWAS by their enlistment
that the Peruvian Company was to be made
strong In its personnel" as the great pro-
jector wrote to Marshall Jewell.
1t appears to have been thought essential
that the great Peruvian Company should be
not only "strong in its personnel" but strong
also in the number of its newspaper organs, of
which it was to have had one in Chicago, one in
Cincinnati and two in New York.
The conspicuous men who are represented as
being drawn into the scheme, by an interest of
some sort, are George s. Boutwell,, Senator
Blair, Scott Lord, ex-senator Eaton, .. S.
Grant and Roscoe Conkling. For the satisfac-
ton of Mr. Hurlbut who probably had ex-
pressed doubt of the responsibility of the Peru
Wan Company, Shipherd informed him that
no our staff of counsel included the
above-named gentlemen. Boutwell, "has pre-
pared conclusive brief in support of all our
demands" Blair is ''the intermediary be-
tween the Secretary [of STATED and myself
when | am away from Washington" The spe-
cial Office of Grant seems to have been that of
guide, philosopher and friend. "Most radical
suggestions of policy as yet suggested have the
hearty autograph approval Of Gen. Grant, who
is now one of us. The significance of this you
need no aid from me to estimate" Judge
Lord had also prepared a brief for the compa-
ny. in which Boutwell, concurs and Eaton
substantially concurs. What active service
the other members of the "staff of counsel
performed does not appear.
Minister NOrtOn'S Name Involved.
A Washington dispatch says: There are daily
new developments in the South American COM
.,iiaosson some days since there was pub
isxhpd, from advance sheets of the Chill Fesa
correspondence, q letter from Levi 2. Morton,
United States Minister to France, from which
it appeared not only that Mr.. Morton was very
anxious that Peru should not be dismembered,
but was comforting with President Greyy with
view to o possible union between France and
the United States to protect the respective in
terests of French and American citizens in
Peru This letter OF Minister Morton bears date
Aug. II, 1884, Mr.. Blaine, in reply, rejected
any entangling alliance with European pow
err 1t appears that ten days after Minister
Morton had sent his letter to Mr.. Blaine, the
firm of Morton, Bliss q Co., Of which Minister
Morton is the senior and chief member, en-
tered into a contract, in the city of Paris
France. with Pedro, Louis and Henry CANT
reau, of Paris the representatives of the So
cete Generate de Credit Industriaie ct Com
mercial, for the sale of the guano
and nitrates coded to this company by
the Peruvian Government. This contract
was negotiated through Robert E. Randall, of
Philadelphia, brother of the ex-Speaker. 1t
provides, in substance, that Morton, Bliss &
Go. shall become agents of this French COM
pany for the sale of the nitrates and guano
ceded to that company by the Peruvian Gov
ernment
For this service Morton, Bliss & Co. are to
receive a commission of 5 per cent. It's need
less to say that unless Minister Morton can ex-
plain this extraordinary contract with his firm,
the Emma Mine scandal is likely to prove in
significant in comparison with the guano-ni-
trate contract of the United States Minister to
France.