Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1884-09-25
THE MULLIGAN LETTERS.

THE MULLIGAN LETTERS.
The True Inwardness OF their Publication.
From the New York Tribune.
Malice has over-reached itself at last.
The new letters published for the pur-
pose OF injuring Mr.. Blaine 60 far to
yindicate him. When Mulligan and
Fisher ransacked their correspondence
Mr.. Blaine's reputation their cold and
now published. If there were then in
him harm we may be sure those would
now printed, though they contain no
tends to sustain any old charge, do con-
tain much that is of the greatest value
to Mr.. Blaine. For that reason his ac-
cussrs, when cool, were shrewd enough
to suppress them. But now they see
public OpiRiOn moving forward with re-
sistless sweep t0ward Mr.. Blaine's cleo
ton; they are maddened and desperate;
they hunt their pigeOA-holes again for
the dregs OF ancient scandal, and In their
fury they brand themselves with false
hood, and for the first time disclose the
true character OF the transactions be-
tween Mr.. Blaine and Mr.. Fisher.
The new publication embraces that
very letter Of October Gath, 1871, which
Mr.. Blaine has for eight years been &C
cused of suppressing. As the Sun showed
with great clearness, the Oft-reiterated
charge was reduced at last to this one
letter, which was named in Mulligan's
memorandum. but which Mr.. Blaine de-
clared was not in tho package received
and publicly read by him. Continually
the Times, the Post and other papers
have repeated that Mr.. Blaine lied, and
had deliberately suppressed this letter.
Yet now the laundering rage of his BAT
fed accusers produces 1t from their own
stock, and makes one thing clear. Eight
years Mulligan has seen Mr.. Blaine
falsely accused OF suppressing this let.
ter, and has known all the time that the
charge was false. because he held in his
possession the proof. Yet he has kept
back that proof, and silently allowed the
lie to 60 on doing its dishonest work,
and thus has made that lie his own, in
Blaine. In the light of this fact, who
told the truth, or his accusers, self-cOn-
victed Of falsehOodp And why was this
letter then suppressed? Because, as it
now proves, Fisher and Caldwell had
failed to make good pledges upon which
Mr.. Blaine had borrowed $4,000 for
their benefit.
The great fact which the new letters
establish Is that Mr.. Blaine was the VIC
tim of Warren Fisher, deceived by him
from the start, induced to involve him
self and his friends In an undertaking
In which they all suffered, crippled by
the refusal Of Fisher to keep his word,
persuaded when disaster came to borrow
money for the enterprise upon his per-
s0nal credit, and finally left in the lurch
by his profsssed friend, who reasoned
that, Mr.. Blaine being q public man,
could never afford to demand what was
Justly due him for fear of scandal.
The letters Of June, 1869, previously
Published, prove that Fisher then made
proposition to Mr.. Blaine, which he
hesitsted to accept, uncertain whether
1t might involve larger resources than
he could command. The new letters of
October and show, what has been ev-
ident all along, that he had closed the
arrangement with Fisher to take from
him certain bonds in order to raise
money for the enterprise, and that he
uu nVV PiVVo uoouuoau' uut PVlivhM-
cd his part to the letter. He not only
took bonds and placed them to lift the
enterprise over obstacles, but had "dis-
posed Of $685. 00' before the letter was
written. making mention of the ruling
In Congress. Thus he has been infa-
m0usly slandered all this time by the
charge that he referred to his ruling in
order to get into the concern; he was in
1t already, as the new letters prove, and
had placed all the bonds he was expected
to place. But these new letters also
prove chat privacy about that neg0tia-
ton was urged, not by him, but by Fish
or, who was at that time negotiating
with Caldwell. 1t may be inferred that
Fisher did not then want Caldwell to
know that the enterprise had been in
such straits; he it was who wrote about
1.-THE importance Of keeping all quiet"
and to him Mr.. Blaine wrote: "NO ono
will ever know from me that l have dis
posed Of single dollar in Maine. So
there need be no embarrassment in talk.
ing with Mr.. Caldwell" There was not
thing in the transaction of which Mr..
Blaine had reason to be ashamed; he had
taken at his own risk block of securi
ties, and by his personal credit and per-
sOnal reputation with friends had placed
them, receiving, as both Mulligan and
Fisher admitted, the average rate Of per-
centage that others received. Thus:
May 81, 1876, Warren Fisher, Jr., tes-
titled (Misc. ID. 176, pages SO and 89):
Q.-Was any other bonus besides stock
ever given In the purchase of those
bOndsp
A.-No, sir.
Q.-Wsre not land grant bonds some
times givenp
A.-0h, yes; If l sold $4,000 of these