The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1884-09-06
CARL SEIZURE REPLIES TO
HOAR.
What the Senator Got for Trying to De
fend BIaine-The Mu1Iigan Letters.

Senator.-ln the newspapers ma ietter
addressed by you to friend, the principal
object of which seems to be to discredit some
of the statements made by me in a speech
recently delivered at Brooklyn. You will
pardon me for pointing out TO you some seri-
GUS mistakes into which your zeal for your
friend, Mr.. Blaine, seems to have betrayed
you. Among them the following are the most
important:
i. On June 90, 1869, Mr.. Blaine, then
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
wrote to Mr. W. Fisher, thanking him for
having admitted him Speaker Blaine) to a
participationin ''the new railroad enterprise,
the Little Rock road, and expressing strong
desire to have Mr.. Caldwell also dispose of
a share Of his interest, to him Speaker
Blaine), adding that he felt he would mot
prove a dead head in the enterprise and
''saw various channels in which he knew he
could make himself useful Mr.. Caldwell
hesitated to comply with Speaker Blaine $
wish. Thereupon Mr.. Blaine, three months
afterward, on October 4th, wrote Mr.. Fisher
two letters in which he related quite circum-
stantially how he Speaker Blaine) had,
without knowing it, and in correct way,
done the Little Rock road and Mr.. Caldwell
a great favor by an exercise of his power as
Speaker. At the same time he reiterated his
'sanxious'' request for the share of Mr.. Cald-
| well s interest III the enterprise spohCH vi
three months before, suggesting to Mr. Fisher
to tell Mr.. Caldwell about the "favor."
The question is what Speaker Blaine meant
when he said that he would not be dead
head in the enterprise, and that he saw various
channels in which he knew he could make
himself useful and also what the object was
of the letters of October 4th? You say
Speaker Blaine meant simply that he was
acquainted with many capitalists, and had
peculiar facilities for placing bonds. Does it
not occur to you that if Mr.. Blaine had meant
this it would have been the most natural thing
for him TO say so? But he did not say so.
He did sag something else. l expressed the
opinion that Speaker Blaine meant to point
to the exercise of his official power as the
channel of his usefulness. | think this, for
the simple reason that this was the thing,
and the only thing, he did point at in two
letters written on one day, requesting that
Mr.. Caldwell be told of it, and at the same
time repeating his urgent demand for share
in Mr.. Caldwelfs interest. On which side
do we find the evidence, the only evidence
there is? On yours or on mine?
.. You say this was, after all, a very limo
cent matter, for sit is one of the most crafty
ing things in life to a man charged with legis-
lative duties to encounter person to whom
he has fairly rendered a service" and to
IL W Iiistb IL 10 vi
uncharitableness to see anything wrong in
it. Very well. Let me adopt one of your
illustrations. You meet an old soldier and
say my old friend, have worked to get
you your pension, and did get it for you. 1t
has given me great pleasure This is vir-
tuous and pleasant. But how would it be il
you said ''My old friend, got your pension
for you, and now | want 20 per cent of it?''
When the Speaker says to II railroad man
81 rendered you and your road in perfectly
proper way great favor, and l am glad |
did it, That is one thing. But when the
Speaker says to railroad man: II did you
such and such service by the exercise OF
my power, and nOU / rant you TO gire me a
ratmaJle interest in your eHteIprize; | know
am not going to be dead head in it, and
| see various channels i'll which | can be
useful'-is not that quite another thing
But that is just what Mr.. Blaine did.
3. You say it is not true that when Mr..
Blaine read the Mulligan letters in the House,
the order in which he read them tended to
create the least difficulty in understanding
them What is the fact? He read those OF
October 4th first, and then one of July End
and then the one of June 29th, which con-
tanned the dead head" and the channels Of
usefulness thus just reversing the order OF
time and connection. Did he put the cart
before the horse to make the thing intelligi.
Bile?
4. You say that the charge of falsehood as
to Mr. Blaine solemn declaration before the
House that the Little Rock road derived all
its value from the State of Arkansas, and
not from Connecticut, is unfounded. What
are the facts? That Mr.. Blaine made that
statement with reference, to use his own
words, ito the question Of propriety involved
in Il member of Congress holding an invest.
g IL; nj ,lanv Tho
object of the statement confessedly was to
convey the impression that the House, over
which Speaker Blaine presided, had no power
|. over that land grant road or its interests and
values, and that his owning or his asking for
an interest i'll it while he was Speaker was a
proper and harmless thing. Now, Mr. Blaine
knew perfectly well that the original grants
were made nominally to States, but really for
specified lines So i'll this case. The origi-
nal act of February, 1858, granted lands to
Arkansas and Mississippi ito aid in the con-
strpqtion of u railroad from point upon the
Mississippi river opposite the mouth of the
Ohio river via Little Rock to Texas boundary
near Fulton, in Arkansas, with branches to
Fort Smith and the Mississippi river" Mr.
Blaine knew, further, that the very bill re-
ferred to in his two letters of October 4th. by
promoting the passage of which he had done
Mr.. Caldwell "a great favor, was IAN act to
extend the time for the Little Rock and Fort
Smith RdihOdd Company to complete the
first section of twenty miles of said road,
thus keeping the land grant for the beneH Of
that road attire by congressional action beyond
the time originally conditioned. He knew
further that. IN addition to this, Congress had
in 1872 passed an act relieving the l4ittle
Rock road of certain restrictions concerning
the sae Of granted lands which had been i'm
posed in 1869, Aud now, ask you, Senator,
whether, in the face of all these ACTS of rom
gressiOpdi legislation, Mr., Blaine's solemn
Statement before the House Of Representa-
tiyes, by which he tried to whitewash himself
that the company derived Its life franchise,
and ratHe wholly from the State, and that
''the Little Rock road derived all that IL had
from the State of Arkansas, and not fran
Congress- and that tie company pas 'dmen-
able and aRsperdbIe to tie State and not an
any sense to Congress-, was anything else
than deliberate, unblushing untruth, known
by him to be such?
You also deny that when Mr. Blaine, on
the same solemn occasion, declared he had
never received any Fort Smith bonds, sex
cept ut precisely the same rate that others
paid he said what was not true. Again,
what are the facts? Mr.. Blaine's words be-
fore the House of Representatives were these:
SIN common with hundreds of other people
in New England and other parts of the country
/ bGggM some Of these bonds - not u very
large amount-paying for them at precisely
the same rate that others paid. never heard,
and do not believe, that the Little Hock Cdm-
pqny erer parted Nth a bond to any person
eTceipt at Hc regular price fired for their sale.
Instead Of RECEIVING bonds Of the Little Rock
aad Fort smith ' road as . gratHity, ! nerg.
he'd one ercept at the regpldpS market price. :"
| When Mr. Blaipe said this to the House of
Representatives on April n, 1916, before the
Mulligan papers BECAME public, he know, but
the public did then not know, that he had
received large quantities Of bonds upon the
following contract:
"BosToS. September, S. 1899.
whereas. | have this day entered into agree
ments with A. 4 T. Coburn, and sundry other parties
resident in Maine to deliver them certain specified
amounts of the common stock. preferred stock, and
| first mortgage bonds of the Little Rock and Fort
Smith Railroad ,mpany, upon said parties paying
10 me the aggregate sum of $4,000. which several
/ sgFoeulepjs are Witnessed byJ. Il. Blaine and de-
/ TjSered 10 said parties lP said Hlaipei
/ NOW this Increment witnesses that upOn the duu