New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-04-29
POINTS IN A LONG LIBEL.

of 1869 made ruling in favor of q railroad bill
in which some of his friends were interested.
To this Mr. Phelps replied that when the ruling
in question was made Mr. Blaine did not know
that there was such man as Mr.. Caldwell and
that Mr. Fisher did not know that there was
such an enterprise as the Little Rock and Fort
Smith Railroad. The ECeRing Post in its three
column reioinder produces documentary evil
dcnce which proves that Mr.. Phelps was right
II publishes two letters from Mr.. Blaine to Mr.
Fisher written six months after the ruling was
made and containing a clear account of the mar
row escape Of the bill. Mr.. Blainc's words are
/" At that time | had never seen Mr.. Caldwell,
"but you can tell him that without knowing it !
Z" did him great favor" Now il Mr. Caldwell
and Mr.. Fisher were the friends whose interests
Mr. Blaine openly consulted in saving the bill,
why should he have written so silly false
hood in a private letter to one of thcmg If the
service had not been rendered accidentally and
unconSciously, why should he have said so II
he was making that service the ground for ask
ing special reward, rs he ErcHipg Post pro-
fcsses to believe, why should he have bCiittled
lis claims by insisting that he had no acquaint-
ance with Mr.. Caldwell and bad aided him un-
Intentionally
This point is vital. The country is not con-
cerned with Mr.. Blainc's sock purchases and
railroad investments. Was his vote ~ 4 MEM
Der or his ruling as Speaker OF the House inn
properly influenced by financial interests on
any occasion That Is the sole question which
concerns his honor as legislator. In making
the ruling which separated an Objectionable
from an entirely unobjectiOnable measure and
- a., l.Kr .,-u. hn
financially interested i'll the rcsultY THE Fee
ming Post does not venture TO make the charge.
But it has asserted that his friends were in
tcrcsted in the enterprise in April, 1869, when
the ruling occurred. The charge is wholly un-
true. Nh Fisher did not know anything about
the enterprise until June of that year. Mr..
Blaine, as he wrote in October following did
not know that there was such man as Mr..
Caldwell and that he had obtained control of
the railroad
The Erening POST continuing its malevOent
assault, charges that Mr.. Blaine, as soon as the
ruling was made, wrote to the promoters OF the
enterprise, calling attention to the service rem
dered them, and finally after some negotiations
with them secured from them rs a reward his
appointment as selling agent Of the bonds on
commission in Maine and received a certain
number of the bonds as his percentage. The
"date" it Comedies on which he madcsthc offer
L" is not proved BUTT must have been soon after
" the passage of the bill" Mr.. Phelps shows
what we're the real facts Of the case. The offer
came from Mr. Fisher, who had become aSsoci
ated with Mr. Caldwell III the construction of
the railroad. IL was made late in June 1859,
and in replying favorably Mr.. Blaine did not
,I,o ho lof in
April. Mr. Caldwell, however did not ac-
quiesce and the proposition to admit Mr..
Blaine into the construction scheme was re-
iected What Mr. Blaine obtained was the
privilege of purchasing n block of stock on pre-
cSrly the same terms that were open 20 other
shrcwd and entcrprising operators. After he
had disposed of the stock in August and Sep
tcmber, he wrote the letter OF October T. in
which he referred to the narrow escape of the
land grant act in April and to the service he had
rendered unconsclously to Mr.. Caldwell This
letter was not, as The Erening Post has
charged IN open bid for a reward. 1t was not
written until Mr.. Caldwell had refused to make
him a partner in the construction scheme and
the stock in question had been purchased and
sold to Mr.. Blaine's friends.
There was nothing in the entire transaction
that was dscreditable to Mr. Blaine. There
was everything in his subsequent dealings with
those to whom the bonds were sold that was
honorable to him; for rather than bave his
friends suffer from the deprecated value of the
bonds he took them back. But The Erening
Post will not allow him credit for this generous
conduct 1t insnuates that the bonds which
were returned were transferred with the aid of
II a. If,,... D...t O.. u
double their real value. 1t admits that the evil
dence is not conclusive, but assumes that there
is every reason to believe that there was some
terrible act of corruption and dishOnOr. Honest
men and the friends of honorable journalism
will not be so mild and reticent as Mr.. Phelps
has been in demonstrating that there is abso-
lutely no proof that the purchase of bonds by
the Union Pacific MAS for Mr. Blaincs interest.
They Will nave a strong opinion respecting The
EprninG Posts recklessness and faulty and will
have no hesitation in expressing it.
The Ereniag Post had repeated the stale
calumny that Mr.. Blaine had suppressed I'M
pOrtant evidence discriminating himself. 1t dis
tinctly charged him with getting possession of
the Mulligan letters and subsequently reading
such of them as he pleased to the House. Mr..
Phelps reminded it that Mulligan had indexed
the letters, and that when they were read In the
House the number and contents cOrrespOnded
to the entries In Mulligan's list. This was
known at the time TO all members of the House
The charge that Mr.. Blaine suppressed incrimi-
mating evidence IL as foolish as II is mendaci0us
Yet The Erening Post will not recall or modify
it, Even yesterday. when ii was knocked COM
pletely out of wind by tho counter-charges
against Mr.. .Edmunds 1t exclaims that its own