St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-08-15

Ilc duIullteu sale Oh Fort Sinful UOuuS Ill
| his letter to Fisher, but he would not give
any particulars regarding this transaction to
the house, before which he was attempting
vindication of his course. The vital point
he left untouched Now, Tom Scott in the
investigation which preceded this speech,
had testified that he himself sold these bonds
to the Union Pacific; that he bought the
bonds Of Josiah Caldwell at 80, or for $780,
900, and sold them to the Union Pacific for
! $4,000, in lieu of his salary as president of
that corporation. But what becomes of d.
rector Harrison's statement regarding the
admission OF Rollins that the transaction
concerned Blaine, and must not be pried
into? And if Tom Scott had a private tran
saction in Little Rock s. Fort Smith bonds
with his own corporation, why should the
money have been in Mr.. Blane's possess
| ion, if only for 4S hours? Harrison, Rollins,
| Fisher and Atkins seem to have believed
that the bonds were Blaine's aud were taken
by the Union Pacific to benefit Mr.. Speaker
| Blaine.
BAD INVESTMENT.
Mr.. Blaine had told the house that he had
never parted with any of his Little Rock 81
Fort Smith securities, aud if this was true;
as seems probable, then the transferred
bonds were not Mr.. Blaine's own bonds, but
were taker by the Union Pacific to help
Caldwell or some other friend of Blaine out
| of bad investment, the motive being to
oblige an influential man. When Mr..
Blaine wrote to Mr.. Fisher, under the seal of
privacy, that the sale of bonds was not for
his own benefit, he probably spoke the truth,
but when he told the house that he never re-
ceived dollar from the Union Pacific for
himself cor for a'aother,' he puts strain on
the credulity of the most credulous. Mr..
Blaine had fine opportunity to clear up
this matter when he was commenting on the
letter in the house. He might have given
the truth to the country, but that truth
might have sadly damaged him. At any
rate, he did not make any satisfactory ex-
plantation.
Mr.. Blaine relied on Tom SCOTS state
ment to clear him before the coentry. But
In itself Tom Scott's testimony had a bad
look He swore that he bought S75, 900 of
the Little Rock 81 Fort Smith bonds of Josiah
Caldwell in August, 1870, as an investment,
also. Mr.. Scott could not, on his own show
ing, have been very good financier, for the
bonds were then selling at so, and s., 000,-
600 of them were on the market at that time.
| In December, 1871, when the Union Pacific
kindly relieved Mr.. Scott Of his bonds at &c.
they were selling in open market for from
% to 40. The Union Pacific seems to hay e
been very kind to Mr.. Scott.
BLAINE AND LITTLE ROCK & FORT SMITH.
The four most important of the Mulligan
letters prove Mr. Blaine's connection with
! Warren Fisher, Jr., and Josiah Caldwell in
the matter of the Little Rock s. Fort Smith
road. Out of Blaine becoming holder OF
the securities Of that now famous corporation
grew the Union Pacific scandal which has
just been discussed. The history of Mr..
Biaine's investment in Little Rock & Fort
Smith is an interesting and instructive one.
In his explanation, offered in the house on
the oath of April, 1876, he said:
''The absurd rumor has lately appeared in
certain newspapers that was the owner OF
from $3.50, 900 to $3.50, 900 of the Little Rock
81 Fort Smith railroad bonds, which received
without consideration, and that it was from
these bonds that Thomas A. Scott received
his $4,000. The statement is gratuitously
and utterly false.
1.-The Little Rock & Fort Smith company
received grant from the state. X
Finally, toward the close Of 1868, a company
of Boston gentlemen, representing con-
siderable capital, undertook its construction.
In raising the requisite means, they placed
the bonds OF the road on the New England
market in the summer of 1869, offering them
on terms which seemed very favorable to the
purchaser, and offering them at a time when
investments of this kind were fatally popular.
I'm COMMON WITH HUNDREDS OF
| OTHER PEOPLE IN NEW ENGLAND AND
OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, !
|
a VERY LARGE AMOUNT-PAYING FOR
THEM AT PRECISELY THE SAME RATE
THAT OTHERS PAID"
''oPEN AS THE DAY"
81 never heard, and do not believe, that
the Little Rock mpaDy-which I know is
controlled by highly honorable men-ever
parted with bond to any person except at
| the regular price fixed for the sale \
| Ny whole connection with the road has been
open as the day. If there had been anything
to conceal about it, | should never have
touched it. Wherever conceament is de-
sirable, avoidance is advisable, and l do not
know any better test to apply to the honor
and fairness Of a business transaction.
| ''Instead of receiving bonds of the Little
Rock 81 Fort Smith road as gratuity, / never
had one except at the regular market price,
and, instead of making large fortune out
Of that company, have incurred severe
peeuniary loss from my investment in its
securities, which / still retain. And out of
such affairs as this grows the popular gossip
of large fortunes amassed in congress!' ~
1t will be noticed here that Mr.. Blaine told
the house that he never received any bonds
as gratuity, and never lad one ''e1cept at
the regular market price," X "pay
ing for them at precisely the same rate that
others paid" But in the following letter he
refers to Mr. Fishers offer to admit him to
participation in the new railroad enterprise
az generous" one. Here is the letter
which Mr.. Blaine, after Selling from Mr.
Mulligsn, read to the house,
mot DEADHEAD."
AUGUSTA, June 80, 1869.
Ny Dear Mr.. Fisher thank you for the
article from Mr.. Lewis. 1t is good in itself,
and will do good. He writes like man of
large intelligence and comprehens sion.
Your offer to admit me to a participation in
the new railroad enterprise is in every re-
spect as generous as l could expect or desire.
| thank you very sincerely for it, and in this
! connection / wish to make suggestion of a
somewhat selfish character 1t is this: You
| spoke of Mr.. Caldwell's offer to dispose of q
| share of his interest to me. If he really de-
sires to do so, | wish he would make the
| prososition definite, so that / could know
| just what to depend on. Perhaps if he waits
| till the full developmentof the enterprise he
may grow reluctant to part with the share !;
| and do not by this mean any distrust in
him; do not feel that l shall prove a dead
head in the enterprise if | once embark in
| it. | see various chan nels in which / know
can be useful. Very hastily and sincerely
| your friend, JAMES G.. BLAINE.
| Mr.. Fisher, India street, Boston.
\ few days Mr.. Blaine writes Mr.. Fisher