Arizona weekly citizen., 1884-09-27
HE rosr ssrra BOND FrAsco.


 Ex-Senator Alexander McDonald ot Arkansas, now a resident of New York city, who Is thoroughly familiar with the history of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad has come out with statement showing tine great injustice of the entire story and how baseless nave been the charges hitherto published agaIrst Mr. Blaine.
 This grant was originally AeraRted four or five years before the war. IL was part of the original land-grant scheme of stephen A. Douglas, who originated the giving by Congress oi the Immigrants to railroads, in order to help.the Illinois Central Railroad, which began building in 1856. A number oi the Southern States were brought into the scheme at that time by being given Immigrants. None of them nyailed themselves of thsse Immigrants before the war. The var and its attendant events caused them to lapse.
 The specuistOrs who took up the Fort Smith .S Little Rock grant ,Jund the original grant was for l,OJO,OOO acres of land. They thought there would be no trouble in getting the land- grant restored, particularly if the South ern States shouli mite upon the other grants. The srcJ ment in favor of the restoration oi these Immigrants was most plausible one. The States to which they were granted were impover- ishei by the war, and some sort of ald was needed to stimulate their depressed commercial interests. The party work ing up the plan to revive the FoIt Smith land grant, although 1t had no money, was influential enough to push the mat ter into favorable notice. The Arkan- sas delegation in CoDgTes1 was solidly pledged to II, while all the Southern men were naturally for project which would help their section. The bill to renew the grant came up Tn 1871, two years after Blaine was first elected Speaker. At that time there was not one dollar invested 5p the enterprise. The Little Rock ,S Fort Smith railroad company vRs not organized, and as n matter of course not one bond or share of the stock had been issued. McDou- aid says no one ever spoke a word to MT. Blaine about the bill. There was no need. NIT. Blaine could not have de- feRted the measure If he had so desirei. He might have been able 10 delay It, but he could not have defeated 1t. The bill was passed by both houses without any opposition from auy ne. NIT. B!aine's decision was on point ot order raised in connection with the bill, and was one that any speaker would have been obliged to make fl he had followed the rules.
 After the bill was passed its Arkansas projectors were unable to raise any mOuey in their own State to avail them selves of the land grant, and visited Boston to see what could be done. War ren Fisher was then quite intimate with Adams, and 1t was for the sole purpose ot getting at Adams that Warren Fisher was put into the road. It was soon after the organization of the company that Caldwell made Mir. Blaine the agent for the sale of lhe securities of the road for the State of Maine. He prom ised him a han isome commission, as IS usual in such enterprises. MT. Caldwell had known Mr. Blaine, and knew that be had the confidence of the capitalists of his State. Caldwell made such representations of the value of the road that MT. Blame was induced to place l some of the bonds, and from this dates 1
  all Lis trouble. In selling these bonds 1 he gave what Is Unusual-s personal | pledge Of security.
 Caldwell so overbOnded the road that l II was impossible 10 meet the interest, | and he fist Mir. Blaine knew of this | was the notification from Lot M. Morrill, l that the interest upon his investment | was not being paid. Then it was that | Mr. Blaine put his hand in his own | pocket and began to make good the | losses which were threatened. This | drain upon his private resources to l maintain what only the most scrupulous | honor cOuld nave dictated soon embar- | rassed Mir. Blaine to an extraordinary | degree. At that time bis means were | and thIs failure upon inc part | of the road 10 meet its liabilities meant l tO him simply financial ruin. His l letters to Warren Fisher were not. | therefore, to Fisher as an individual. | but to Fisher as the chief officer of the | road. How much MT. Blaine | lost at the hands of the spectators who handled ihe affairs of | the road is not officially known to MT. but he says he understands the loss to have been in all in the neigh bOrhood of S2O,O0O.