Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1884-07-17
Strut County Ncrald.
Ahnut those ..Charges y

paign; nor does it recognize any noces-
sity for over and over again DENYING.
explaining or answering the slanderous
and abusive stories and charges in
vented and uttered in the hope to pre-
ljudice the public against James G.
Blaine. These will spend their force
before the canvass is half over. Stu
dents of history know that George
Washington was assailed in the same
way; and that the same is true of the
wisest and best among our Presidents
and statesmen from Washington's day
to the present. OF later years it is
sufficient to cite in illustration the out
rageous and wicked treatment to which
Lincoln, and Hayes and Garfield were
subjected. Rarely indeed has the Chi.
nese stinkpot method of warfare had
any other effect than to arouse the
American spirit of love for fair play.
and to prompt the people to arise and
vindicate the victims of SANDER, to the
shame of their false accnsers. So it will
be again. The American people are
not such fools as to believe that either
of the great parties in this country
would deliberately nominate either an
IDIOT or scoundrel for the highest Office
in the Nation. If anyone thinks to
make party capital on that line, in the
name of all the SAINTS let him work at
it unhindered.
Much has been said in a vague way
about charges against Mr.. Blaine.
OF course charges will be brought
against any man who holds a prom
inent position in public life, or who is
candidate for such position. We do not
remember any public man who has not
been assailed with charges by his per-
sonal or political enemies; and the more
commanding his character and position,
the more reckless and yenomous his
slanderers. 1t is alleged that MIR. Blaine
became interested in railroad that was
substantially benefited by ruling that
he made while presiding officer of the
House of Representatives, that the rul-
ing was made on point suggested by
him to the friends of the road, that he
referred to his action in letters subse-
quently written, and that these letters
were so compromising in character that
he secured them only upon pledging his
word of honor that they should be re-
turned, but instead of returning he de-
stroyed them.
The facts in the case are that Mr..
Blaine did rule, while Speaker of the
House, in such a way as to promote
the advantage of Southern railroad;
and that he wrote letters about it-even
the dreadful "Mulligan letters" That
is true; but that in so doing he in any
way compromised his character, or that
he afterwards destroyed these letters.
is wholly and wickedly false.
AS to his ''ruling," it is sufficient to
say Ihot hopouJ, 81 idI as We nave ever
heard, ever raised question that the
ruling was correct and just. So far
as that goes, Mr.. Blaine simply did his
duty, and did it well We presume that
no lunatic will rise to claim that, even
had Mr.. Blaine then been personally in
terested in that railroad, he should
have given wrong decision in the rul-
ing for the sake of doing injustice to
the road and injury to his own interests!
But the truth is that Mr.. Blaine had
then no intesest in the road. nor the
slightest expectation of becoming so
interested, nor did he know who the
parties in interest were, or what they
proposed or desired to do!
These facts are made perfectly clear
by the letters referred TO as destroyed
well substantiated by the evidence of liv-
ing witnesses. The letters were not de-
stroyed = though their power for mis-
chief was, by their publication. And
that's where the rock of otfense crops
out The letters in question were in
the hands of Mr.. Blaine's personal en-
envy, who had obtained them dshonor-
ably, and designed to use them for pur-
poses of blackmail and to iniure Mr..
Blaine's character.
Detached extracts of these letters
had been given to the public out of
their proper connection, with the ven
omous purpose above indicated Mr..
Blaine managed to regain the letters,
and instead of 'destroying, he publish
ed every one Of them! When they ap.
peared, it was seen that as a whole thew
contained nothing improper, and the
suspicion was at once raised that Mr..
Blaine must have withheld and sup
pressed the bad ones; but when he de-
clared that all had been given to the
public, and challenged Mr. Mulligan
(who had sworn that he had made a list
of them) to state if any were missing,
Mulgan was forced to admit that they
had all been printed!
Mr.. Blaine offered to return the let
ters, after they had been printed; but
then Mulligan did Mt want them. His
purpose had been to mislead and deceive
the public and injure Mr.. Blaine by pub
fishing garbled pieeemeal quotations;
and that scheme was frustrated by the
full! publication.
OF course Mulligan was mad, and he
hasn't got over it yet.
That is what there is about Mr.. Blaine
and the ''Mulligan letters. The bill
touching which Mr. Blaine gave rul-
ing. and which he thus helped to pass,
was good one, undoubtedly-at any
rate nobody has charged that it was a
bad one. 1t passed both Houses of
Congress and became law.
Judge Black, than whom it would be |
difficult to cite better legal or better De-
mocratic authority, put himself on rec
ord concerning the. Mulligan charge, |
that MIR. Blaine's letters proved that
the charge was not only untrue, but inn |
possible"
That at a later date Mr.. Blaine-hay-
ioU bod his alienation d,a,,-,, =. a.