Daily Kennebec journal., 1884-04-29

1 The following letter in defence of Hon.
James G. Blaine. By Hon. William Walter
Phelps. is addressed to the editor of the New
York Evening Post:
s.On the 7th inst. yoa made formal charges
against James G. Blaine. They are the same
which we're made eight years ago, and which
were, I think, at that time satisfactfIiy
answered. Lest others, however. may, ike
Yourself. have forgotten everything except the
| misstatements YOU must permit me 10 remind
you of the facts. / think l NAV claim
some qualifications for the task have long
had close personal intimacy with Mr.
/ Blaine. and during many years have had that
knowledge and care of his moneyed Interests
which men absorbed in public affairs are not
unapt 10 devoIve upon friends who have had
financial training and experience. do not
,ee how one maa could know another better
\ than know him, and he today has my full
confidence and warm regard. / am myself
.omex hat known in the city of New York,
and think have some personal rank with
| YOU and your readers. Am / claiming TOO
| much in claiming that there is not one among
you who would regard me as capable Of an
attempt to mislead the public in any wav:
With this personal allusion. pardonable under
the circumstances, proceed to consider your
charges.
The first charge is really the one upon
which all the others hinge. / give it in full
and in your own language, only italicising
some of your words, in order that my answer
NAV be the clearer:
The first Of these charges is that in the
spring session of Congress in 1869, bill was
before the House of Representatives which
sought to renew a land grant to the Little
oh and Eavt Smith railroad of Arkansas
in rhieh some of Mr.. Biaine's friends rere
interested; that an attempt to defeat it BY an
amendment was made, and its promoters
were in despair; that at this juncture Mr
Blaine, being then speaker of the House, sent
a me. sage to Gen. Logan to make the point
of order that the amendment was not germane
to the purposes Of the bill that this point of
order was accordingly raised and promptly
sustained by Mr.. Blaine as speaker.
ami the bill was in this manner saved; !;
that Mr.. Blaine pTote at once TO the pro-
moters, calling attention to the serriee he had
rendered them, and finally, otter some nego-
tidtt0aS, secured from heDs as rennrd for
ii, his appointment as selling agent of the
bonds of the road on commission in Maine,
and received number of such bonds as his
percentage; that the leading features of this
transaction appeared in two letters of his
June 90 and October 4, 1869.
Your error is in the facts. Mr.. Blaine's
friends were not connected with the Fort
Smith and Little Rock Road at the time of
the passage of this bill Those to whom you
refer as his friends were Caldwell and Fisher.
The bill passed in April, 1869. In April.
| 1869, Mr. Blaine did not know that there was
any such person as Caldwell. and Fisher,
who was Mr. Blaines friend, did not know
that there was any snch enterprise as the
Little Rock Railroad in the world. The
evidence of these assertions was before Con-
gress, was uncontradicted and is within your
reach. On the 10Th of June, nearly eighty
DAYS after Congress had adjourned, Mr..
Blaine from his home in Maine, wrote to
Fisher and spoke of Fishers "offer to admit
him TO share in the new railroad enter
prise" Fisher had introduced the subject
for the first time a week before at the great
musical festival in Boston. He told him
there that Mr.. Caldwell. whom Mr.. Blaine
had not yet seen, had now obtained control
of the enterprise and had invited Fisher to
join him. At that time Fisher was a sugar
refiner of considerable wealth in Boston, had
been partner of Mr.. Blaine's brother-in-
law, and through him had made Mr.. Blaine's
acquaintance. The offer Mr.. Blaine refers
to in his letter was Fishers oder to induce
Caldwell. if he could, to let Mr.. Blaine have
q share in the bed rock of the enterprise.
Mr.. Fisher failed to do this and Mr.. Blaine
never secured any interest in the building of
the Fort Smith and Little Rock Railroad.
What interest, then. did Mr.. Blaine secure ?
An interest in the securities of the company
| How? By purchase, on the same terms as
thev were sold on the Boston market to all
applicants, sold to Josiah Bardwell, to Elisha
Atkins and to other reputable merchants. lie
negotiated for a block of the securities, which
were divided, as is usual in such enterprises,
into three kinds, first mortgage bonds, second
mortgage bonds and stock. The price |
think WAS three for one. That is the pur-
chaser got first mortgage bonds for his money
and an equal amount of second mortgage bonds
and of stock thrown in as the basis of
possible profit. may be mistaken as then
to the price. but think not. went myself
| at this time into several adventures of the
kind at that rate, snd have always understood
that Senator Grimes and his friends got their
interests in the Burlington and Missouri
Road. afterward the Union Pacific on the
same three-to-one basis. IL was the common
ratio in that era of speculation. Having
made his purchase Mr.. Blaine conceived the
idea that he might retain his second mortgage
bonds as profit and sell the first mortgage
bonds with the stock bonus to attract
purchasers. He believed the first mortgage
bonds were good. and disposed of them to
| his neighbors in that faith and with the de-
termination to shield them from loss in case
| of disaster. Disaster came. The bonds
proved worthless. and Mr.. Blaine redeemed
them all. In one or two cases only was there
any guarantee. In none other was there any
legal obligation, but he recognized a moral
claim and he obeyed it to his own pccuniary
r