The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1884-09-20

lie shows by the famous deadhead" letter
of Oct. 4, 1869, how he had by ruling as
speaker Of the house saved the railroad
from having its land grant forfeited, and he
tells Fisher and Caldwell that he does not
propose to be dead head in the enterprise
but saw various channels in which las
speaker he could be useful. In other words,
Mr. Blaine carried his official power as
speaker to market and traded upon it, rea-
lzng, in this single venture, $4,000 in
Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad bonds I,
But" says the Chicago JoaRai "the de-
cision Of Nr. Blaine was correct, as parlia-
mentary law" That is true. The amend
ment to forfeit the land grant was offered to
a bill on another subject, and Blaine ruled it
out correctly, rs not germane, But was
that reason why, few months later, he
should demand pay Tor it, with an implied
threat, if the pay was withheld, he might
next time rule differently?
But, iutimares the Jouuol, neither in the
old batch Of the Mulligan letters or the new
ones is there any proof that Blaine trans
action, with the Fort Smith railroad enter
prise were not Legitimate matters of bust
ness, in which no fayors were shown him,
&c Is this so? Is it not fatty contradcted
10y Blaine contract with Warren Fisher, ir,
and his own memorandum acknowledging
the receipt of .SlG2 600 in bonds for which
he was not to pay cent, rs shown by the
old batch Of letters and is this not doubly
fortified by the letter in the new batch Of
Warren Fisher, jro of April lG, 1872, in
which he tells Blaine;
OF all the parties connected with the
Little Rock and Fort Smith railroad, no one
has been so fortunate as yourself in obtaining
money out of it, You obtained subscriptions
from your friends in Maine for the building
of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad
Out Of their subscriptions you obtamed a large
amount both Of bonds and money!, free Of cost
10 you. | have your own figures and know
HyofttvH,
yoa rcre gbis 10 rorf Of aH Of your bonds at
n v0y hgh price, Would your friends in
Maine be satisfied if they knew the facts ?'
But more shameful and damning still, in
the way Of proof of Blaines bold lie to the
house about his never having owned dollar
of Fort Smith bonds except what he had
bought in open market and paid for, is the
letter in the new batch written by
Blaine to Fisher April IL, 1876, on the eve
of the investigation TO which Mulligan had
been summoned as a witness, asking Fisher
to copy and sign letter, written for him by
Blaine, in which Fisher was to solemny GER
tify that Blaine had never had any of the
Little Rock bonds but $4,000 that he had
purchased of myself Fisher con pre-
cisely the same terms that every other buyer
received" &C. The cheek of the man. In
order to bolster up his impudent lie to the
house but week or two before, he asks
Fisher to sign and father this daring false
hood Of his never having had but $50 600
Little Rock bonds, when Fisher had in his
own safe the contract for the delivery of
$4,000 of those bonds to Blaine and
Blaine's acknowledging that he had re
ceived them and never paid cent for them .
The new batch of letters not only affords
conclusive proof, where before it was imper-
Feet of Blaines bold lie to the house, but
hey explain how he was able, owing to his
political position, to sell his bonds to veal
by parties in New England and pocket the
money, and how, when the interest on the
ponds became due, he insolently and
demanded of Fisher and Caldwell
money to pay interest. They also show how
lie was ready to avail himself of his political
position to make himself useful in other
such as procuring the removal of
he restrictions on the railroad to sell its
ands only to actual settlers, and to procure
If Comptroller Knox for Fisher and Cald-
we'll charter for $500 900 National bank
1t Little Rock, such charters being ga
natter Of favoritlsm, and at is in my power
o cast an anchor to the windwyrd for you"
IN short, the new batch afford not only Gu
nuative but conclusive proof of Blaine's
utter rottenness as a public officer and of
his constant and greedy readiness to prosti-
ute his influential and important position
n the most shameful way to private gain.
The decision of the managers of the We
lOna Fair 70 exclude cattle from their eyhi