The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1884-09-06
TRUE STORY OF THE MULLIGAN
LETTERS.

| the Republican candidate for President of
| the United States recalls the famous and
| exciting scenes of june 1876-over eight
| years ago. Blaine was then a candidate for
| the Presidential nomination. He was a
member of the House of Representatives.
| He was acknowledged to be far in the lead
| in the Presidential race and but for the ex-
| posure of what are known to history as the
Nullgan letters he would probably have
| been nominated.
| THE BEGINNING OF THE PLOT.
| Some time i'll April or early in May pre-
| cedlu9 the June III which the Republican
| convention met at Cincinnati, Mr.. J. d.
| Harrison, of Indiana, an lmplacable enemy
| then as now To Blaine, caused to be printed
| IN the Cincinnati Commercial IA charge
| which very seriously affected Mr.. Blaine's
| integrity. Harrison was director, repre-
| senting the United States, of the Union
| Pacific Railroad The burden of the
| charge briefly stated was that the Union
| Pacific Railroad had charged to some one
| S64, 600 of the bonds of the Fort Smith
| and Little Rock Railroad of Arkansas, and
| that the real beneficiary was James G.
| Blaine A quadrilateral of newspapers,
| which are now, strange to say, ZealOusly
| supporting Blaine because they believe
| that his innocence has been fully estab-
| hshedI, rung the changes on the charge
| until public opinion forced Blaine to ask
| for a committee of Investigation. The in
| yestigation was ordered by the Judiciary
| Committee of which the Hon j. Proctor
| Knott, of Kentucky, was Chairman. As the
| Investigation proceeded a sub committee
| took more active charge of it, of which the
| Hon. Eppa Hunton, of Virginia, was Chair
| man.
Nothing of any special importance de-
| Velopcd until one Warren Fisher of Boston.
| and the now famous Mr.. Mulligan were
summoned. Fisher had in his day been
| quite a prominent speculator in railroad
| securities. In the Little Rock and Fort
| Smith Railroad transaction he acted as the
| confidential agent of Josiah Caldwell, who,
| 1t was charged, was the man that gave
Blaine the SG4, 000 of stock. Caldwell was
at the time IN Europe, and it had been i'm
possible to secure Il service upon him.
Mulllgan, of whom more hereafter had
been bOokkeeper for Fisher Up to the
time Of the arrival of Fisher and Mulligan,
Blaine had met every accusation against
him. and the bent of the investigation COM
mlttee was to make a report of exoneIation.
Fisher was first placed on the witness-stand
1t was evident at glance, whatever might
have been his capacity therefore,, he was re-
duced through alcoholism to almost
wreck. His mind seemed to be gone His
memory was impaired, and his testimony
wholly unsatisfactory
MULLIGAN.
Then came Mulligan. As his name indi-
Gates. he was terrier chuck full of Celtic
blood. He was a spare built man, with
malicious look Ill blue eye well back in
his head, Il small red face more oval than
angular, with an intensity of expression de-
I.,+.. 1
tion was to be eyasive. Then questions
were put to him which gave evidence he
had been We'll coached. He was itching to
unload, but his cunning had planned 50 as
t. make 1T appear that secrets were being
eNtorted rather than confessed. One day in
the course of his testimony he Indicated he
had some very interesting documentary tes-
tlmouy Following this a day or two after
Mf Muihgan made his appearance before
the committee in state of great excitement.
tie SAID that Mr.. Blaine had twice called
upon him at the Riggs House; that at the
first meeting Blaine, ON his bended knees,
had besought him to give him the letters he
had III hlS possession. This was Il CORE
spondence between Blame and Warren
Fisher which Alulligan, as Fishers book
keeper, had stolen ont of the latter's safe.
After some hesitation, and upon the prom
lSc that Blaine would return the letters,
AIuligan gave them to him. Blaine kept
them few hours and returned them. The
succeeding night Blaine again asked to see
the letters to refresh his memory as to the
contents of one of them. Mullign
again gave them to him, when Blaine placed
them in his pocket and refused to give
them up.
When Mulligan made this statement to
the committee it created a sensation.
Blaine did not deny that he had taken the
letters, but he justified himself ON the
ground that the letters, having been stolen
by Mulligan, were not his property. They
belonged either to himself or Fisher
and the latter declared that he was anxious
that Blaine, and not Muliigan, should have
them.
THE INVESTIGATION.
The committee, then, through Chairman
Eppa Hunton, demanded the letters.
Blaine first asked time for consideration.
day was given him. The demand was
again repeated, and Blaine plumply refused
to give them up. Then it was that the
quadriaterl of organs now supporting
Blaine. which then We're bounding him, ad-
Judged him guilty because of his refusal to
expose his correspondence. The commit
tee. too, had a long executive session, and
had agreed to report Blaine to the House as
a recalcltTant witness. Thus matters stood
until the 4th day of June, 1876. when
Blaine made a dramatic scene in the House
of Representatives, which suggested to Bob
Ingersoll his term of the "Plumed Knight" "
afterward applied to him in his famous
speech mt Cincinnati. Blaine arose in his
seat to question of privilege. He was
the very embodiment of rage and passion.
His face was pale and bloodle.ss No one |
who sat within his hearing could
have failed to surmse that something
Tbnrar,,,,r, h., Il
cessfully what he deemed his persecution ut |
the hands of the Judiciary Committee, his
refusal under legal advice, to give up the |
Mulligan letters, and said:
When the famous witness, Mulligln,
came here loaded with information in re-
gard 20 the Fort Smith Road, the gentleman |
from Virginia drew ont what he knew had |
no reference whatever to the question Of |
investigation. He then and there insisted |
on all of my private memoranda being al |
lowed to be exhibited by that man in refer |
rnce to business that had no more connec- |
ton, no more relation, no more TO do with |
the investigation than with the North Pole. |
And the gentleman tried his best also. |
though | believe that has been abandoned, |
to capture and use and control my private |
correspondence. This man had selected out |
of correspondence running overa great many |
wears letters which he thought would |
bt lt'tuEulN utiH'tIiHS " ult. ne
came here loaded with them. He came
here for sensation. He came here prlmed.
He came here on that particular errand. | |
was advised of it, and | obtained these let |
ters under circumstances which have been
uotoriously scattered throughout the United |
States. and are known to everybody. ! |
claim | have the entire right to those let |
ters. not only by natural right, but upon all
the preccdcuts and principles of law, as the
man who held these letters IN possession |
held them wrongfully. The committee that
attempted to take those letters from that
man to Use against me proceeded wrong
fully. They proceeded III all boldness to a
MOST d.tjaat violation of the ordinary prl-
waite and personal rights which belong to
every American citizen, and | was willing
e. sttud aui meet the Judiciary Committee
on this floor / wanted them to introduce
it. | wanted the gentleman from Kentucky
aud +Ia caYt + Ier,gu from NiruiOia IN intro