Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-03-13
MIR. BLAINEs CARRIAGE.
1t Was Not Fired Into-Why the story
Was Told

was Told.
A special dispatch from Washington
says: An inquiry of Mr.. Blaine about
the shooting" story telegraphed Thurs
day night by the Associated Press, and
TOLD Ill an extremely sensational way by
a Washington paper yesterday morning,
brought the following note:
DUPONT CIRCLE, Friday noon.-Dedr
-ur. -: The whole story about the
shooting is Munchausen. / think Won
Will find your inquiries quite fully an
swered in statement which authorized
in the Star of this afternoon. A reporter
OF the Republican called at my house late
last night and learned authoritativeIy
that there was no ground whatever for the
sensational rumOr that had been shot at,
but this did not deter that paper from its
alilterated talsehOOds this morning Very
hastily, JAMES G. BLAINE.v
Mr. BlaIne's allusi0n is to a column ac-
count of the matter in the ReDubLicdn, of
this city, written in highly sensational
way. That it was evidently intended to
annoy Mr.. Blaine is sufficiently indicated
by the head lines, which were as follows:
"A punctured pane, which suggests that
an attempt has been made at assassina-
tlon. A bullet crushes through a car
rlage window at ten o'clock at night"
Further inquiries reduced the alleged
assassin to probable boy with sling.
+.
Blaine drove down from the capitol.
Thursday night of last week, with Con-
gresham Mckinley, of Ohio. The car
rlage is one which Mr.. Blaine hires bv the
month. 1t stopped at the Ebbitt House
to let Major Mckinley out, and after going
on some distance it went back. as Mr..
Blame remembered something he wanted
to say TO Mr.. Mckinley. Then he went
home, keeping the carriage at his door as
usual until he found whether any of the
family were still out and wanted the car
rIage. The style of the account in the
Repu9Icdn is further indicated by the
statement that Mr.. Blaine was so ''fright-
ened' when he got .hoPBn leave the porte
alloW the :, 1"lt VI as safe in the house.
NE next morning the stable keeper call
ed and asked who was to pay for the bro
ken pane of glass, and when Mr.. Blaine
asked for an explanation, the driver said
the window had been 'EshOt through
while the carriage was passing Judiciary
square. Mr.. Blaine was naturally aston
ished, and went to Major Mckinley to
find out whether they had been SO busy
talking that they had not noticed such
tritlipg circumstances as bullets smashing
through the windows and scattering the
pieces over them, and under them, too,
for the driver said the seats were ali
covered with glass. Major Mckinley re-
ported that if he had been Shot he had for
gotten 1T, and Mr.. Blaine, not being able
to find any bullets about his own person,
declined to pay the stable-keeper for the
glass. 1t is hardly worth while to 90 into
all the details. The probability is that
the window was broken by a stone thrown
while the carriage was on its way from
the house to the stable, which is through
negro neighbOrhoOd, where the driver
may have got into some difficulty. His
story disposed of itself. He did not stop
the carriage when the alleged shot was
fired, and did not mention the fact
to Mr.. Blaine when he reached home.
The alleged bullet disappeared.
All the windows We're shut, but no other
window was touched, and there is no
mark of the bullet in any other part of the
carriage, A correspondent look took at
the carriage. The hole, instead of being
clean hole such as bullet might make,
and such as the Republican described it to
be, is ragged hole, just such a one as
might have been made by stone with
sharp point, which had not been thrown
with force enough to pass through the
thick plate glass: About the hole the
glass is so frayed and split off on the in
side as to make whitened disc of some
size, and out of that run several large
cracks. Doubtless the colored coachman
and his colleague, the Republican, will do
better next time.