The Portland daily press., 1884-04-28
Comments of the Evening Post ON MIR.
Phelps Letter.

Comments OF the Evening Post ON HKr.
Phelps Letter.
New YORK, April 26.-The Evening Post,
in its comments upon Mr. Phelps letter, re-
views the evidence taken before the Judiciary
committee of the House in May, 1876, conoerrs
ing the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad
matter. In April of that year Mr.. Blaine in
sisted the railroad could derive no benefit from
Congress, and had not been affected by Con-
gressional action since its bonds were put on
the market. In answer, the Post prints letters
written by Blaine in June and July,
1869, to W. Fisher, Jr., of Boston, promising
him that IN case ne 6eeaPGgs iHntsr Interested in the
intimatfng that he saw various chanfAse.sa IS
which l could be nseful..i The Post iniers
from letters from Blaine to Fisher in October
expressing gratitude Tor favors that he (Blaiuel
had got the bonds at bargain OF the chargt
that Blaine turned his deprecated bonds
over to Thomas A. Scott and got $22750
more than their market value, the Post
says: "The witness Atkins, director of the
Union Pacific, testified before the judiciary
com mittee, that the seventy-fve Little Rock
and Fort Smith bonds were bought by the Un-
ion Pacific Railroad Company for 1854, 600
when they were only worth $37, 800 Up. CD The
witness Mnlligan testified that Atk ms told
him his belief that the bonds came from Mr..
Blaine to Mr.. Thomas A. Scott, and that
he got the Union Pacific to take them
off his hands at the high rate
Up. Co., Atkins denied this. but did not question
Mulligan'S Veracity. The witness Harrison.
government director of the Union Pacific,
testified that on discovering the seventy-fVe
bonds among the assets of the company he
moved an investigation, bat was taken
aside" by Mr.. Rollins the Secretary and
Auditor OF the company, and asked TO with
draw his motion, as it would injure Mr..
Blaine; and that he subsequently found it i'm
possible to have the matter inquired into (pp.
IS to Ply. The witness, Rollins, could not
remember who told him the bonds came from
Mr.. Blaine and found his memory would not
work on this point, but he did not know why
the company shonld have bought the bonds Of
anybody (pp. q, 28.) TIE witness, Thomas A,
Scott, testified that he bought the bonds Of
Caldwell (Blaine's friend) at eighty cents on
the dollar and sold them TO the Union Pacific
Company at the same price he gave eighteen
months later, when they were worth only fifty
or sixty cents on the dollar. The reason the
company made this very peculiar investment,
by which it paid 500, $50 more than the market
value of the securities, was. he said, that it
owed him considerable amount for salaries
aud other services, (pages AZ. 50.)
Concerning the Northern Pacific transaction,
the Post reproducas Blaine's letter to Fisher,
of Nov. %, 1870, and the comment upon 1t,
| printed in the Posts original article of April
| 7th. The Posts comments close as follows:
aThe charge Of having obtained the letters
from Mulligan by pedging his word of honor
to return them, and then breaking his pledge,
Mr.. Phelps, We take it for granted, confesses
on his friends behalf, so thai no more need be
said about it, except that we are sure there are
enough voters who feel strongly about 1t to
| make it certain that 10 man who has figured
| in such transaction shall ever sit in Wash
| ingsons chair. On the other points discussed
| by Mr.. Phelps he has nothing new to offer, ex-
| cept that he does not agree with the Evening
Dar~ hat ha1s
| Blaine's railroad transactions have no further
| interest for the public, and we do not mean to
return TO them. What gave us or any
body any interest in them was the chance OF
his being nominated for the presidency, which
has now, We believe. paseaa away"