Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-09-20
The Blaine Scandal Manly Letter OF
Explanation.

NEW YORK, September l9th.-Hon VIM.
Walter Phelps takes the responsibility Oh
giving TO the public the following private
letter, addressed TO him nearly two weeks
ago: 100,
AUGUSTA, September 6, 1854.
M Dear Mr. Phelps I have your favor of the
4th, advising me that the continuous invention
and wide circulation of evil reports render 1t
advisable, in your judgment, not to wait the
slow process of law, but to speak directly 10 the
public in my own vindication. In this opinion
many others, on whose judgment rely, concur
l shrink instinctively from the suggestion, al
though feel sure that l could strengthen the
confidence ofal who feel friendly to me by bring
ing to view the simple thread Of truth which
is concealed in this endless tissue OF talsehOod.
You can imagine how inexpreSsibly painful il
must be to discuss ones domestic lie III the
press, although l think with you that under the
| circumstances l could count upon the generosity
of the public to Justify statement which other
wise might seem Objectionable can in any
event safely commit the facts TO YOU for per
sonal communication to those frienls who have
taken so delicate and so considerate an interest
in my affairs. The leisure hours Of. to-day,
when our campaign is ended and we wait only
for election returns gives me an opportunity for
this prompt reply, and for the following essen
tial details: At Georgetown, Kentucky
in the spring of 1878, when l was but
eighteen years of age, l first met the
lady who for more than thirty-five years
has been my wife. Our acquaintance resulted,
at the end of six months in an engagement
which, without the prospect of a speedy mar
rage, we naturally sought 10 keep to ourselves
Two years later in the spring OF 1880, when
was maturing plans TO leave my profession in
! Kentucky and establish myself elsewhere,
was suddenly summoned to Pennsylvania by
the death of my father. 1t being very doubtful
if l could return to Kentucky, l was
threatened with an indefinite separation from
her who possessed my entire devotion.
Nv one wish was 10 secure her to myself by an
indissoubletie against any possible contingency
in life, and on the 30th day of June 1850, Just
prior to my departure from Kentucky, we were,
in the presence of chosen and trusted friend,
united by what ! know was, in my native State
of Pennsylvania, perfectly legal form Of mar
rage On reaching home found that my fam
lily, and especially my bereaved mother,
strongly discountenanccd my business plans, as
Il
kindred. l complied with her wish that l
should resume, at least for time, my occupa-
ton in Kentucky, whittier I returned in the lat
ter part of August. During the ensuing winter,
induced bymisgivings which We're increased by
legal consultations, l became alarmed lest Il
doubt might be thrown upon the validity Of our
marriage by reason of a noncompliance with
the law of the State where it had
occurred, for I had learned that the
laws of Kentucky made q license, certified
by the Clerk Of the Comfy Court, an in
dispensible requisite of a legal marriage. After
much deliberation, and with an anxious desire
to guard in the most efrectual manner against
any embarrassment resulting from our position
for which alone was respOnsible-we decided
that the simplest and at the same time the sur
est way was to repair to Pennsylvania and have
another marriage service performed. This was
done in the presence of witnesses il the city OF
Pittsburg, in the month of March, 1851, but was
not otherwise made public for obvious reasons
1t was solemnized only TO secure an indisputabe
validity, the first marriage being by my wife
and myself always held sacred. At the mature
age of ST, l do not defend the wisdom or pru-
dence of Il secret marriage suggested by the
ardor and inexpcrience of youth, but
its honor and It's purity were inyiola;e,
as I believe, in the sight Of God, and
cannot be made to appear otherwise
by the wicked desire of men. It brought to me
! a cOmpanionship which has been my chief hap
piness from boyhoods years to this hour and
has crowned me with whateverof success have
attained in life. My eldest child-a son-was
born in his grandmother's house on the 18th day
of June, 1851, in the city Of Augusta, Ne, and
died in her arms three years later. His ashes
repoSe in the cemetery of his native city, be
meath a stone which records his name and the
limits of his innocent life. That stone, which
has stood tor almost an entire generation, has
been recently defaccd by brutal and sacrilcgious
hands As a candidate for the Presidency |
knew that ! should encounter many forms of
calumny and personal defamation; but 7 con
fess that l did not expect to be called upon to
defend the name of my beloved and honored
wife who is a mother and grandmother. Nor
did I expect that the grave OF my little child
would be cruelty desecrated. Against such
gross forms OF wrong the law gives no adequate
redress, and ! know that III the end myNmost
effective appeal against the unspeakable out
RACES which resist must be to the noble man
hood and noble womanhood Of America Your
friend, very sincerely, JAMES G. BLAINE.
/ Candidate selected-Blame's Visit to
Philadelphia.
PHILADELPHIA, September 18th. - The
Conferees appointed to select a Republican
candidate for Congress in the Seventh Dis
trict nave agreed upon James l. Everhart
Chairman Cooper, Of the Pennsylvania
State Committee, has completed arrange
ments for Biaine's visit to Philadelphia on
Tuesday next He will be received by the
Union League. 1t is expected also that
there will be d torchight parade of all the
| Republican Clubs OF Philadelphia and the
neighboring towns Of New Jersey and
Maryland,
Earthquakes in the West.
ToLEDo, September 19th-Reports from
various points III this vicinity show that
the shock of earthquake which occurred
this afternoon was quite general through
I northwestern Ohio and southern Michigan.
The duration Of the shock was from ten to
thirty seconds, and the course was appar-
emily rom southwest to northeast 1t was
the most violent at Defiance, Ohio, where
the aging Of the buildings created such
CONSERVATION that the people hastily aban-
| Ioned their houses, and the Methodist
Conference. in session at one of the church.
| cs, Immediately adjourned to the street A
meeting Of the Ladies Missionary Society,
in progress at the time, was also quickly
dismissed. Glass was broken in a number
of buildings but no serious damage was
done. Al Cecil, Ohio, the goods in a store
were thrown from the shelves, and passen-
gers at the railway station ran out, think
ing train had struck the building At
Napoleon, Clyde, Bryan, Archibald, Fos-
terra and intermediate points the shock
| was IistIDptlV fplf TatTliOU Windows and
crockery, but as far as reported, doing no
material damage. In this city, the large
building occupied by the Milburn wagon
factory was considerably shaken, the en-
ployes supposing it to have been caused
by the moving Of heavy machinery. a
noise similar TO that produced by distant
explosion is said to have been heard in
some parts of the city, while in other por
tons the shock was unnoiccd.
SECOND DIsPATCHI
CLEVELAND, September 19th.-Three dis