Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1884-10-03
He Threatened Suicide.

-
~ Concerning the Mulligan letters
which were published in full in the
Courier of yesterday tho New York
Herald comments thus:
At the beginning of 1876, Mr..
James g. Blaine went on his knees
to Mr.. James Mulligan at the Riggs
House, in the city of Washington,
and, with prayers and threats ofcom-
hitting suicide, sought to examine
package containing fifteen of his let
ters which was in Muligan's posses
sion. Mulligan yielded to the pitiful
and abject entrcaties. Blaine got the
package, pledging his word of honor
(Which he broke) to give it back.
Examining the contents, he found
that though they were very bad they
were not the worst he had expected.
lie had written other letters which,
to his great relief, he did not find
among them. lie was an aspirant
for the Presidential nomination of
the Republican National Convention
which was to meet at Cincinnati on
June IA, and believing that copies of
the contents of the package existed,
although he had secured the origi-
nails, and that they would become
public before the Convention, he re-
solved on a Enthusiastically au-
dacious course-to publish them
himself as the lesser Of two evils.
So OH the 9TH of June, in the House
of Representatives, he rose and said
II am not afraid to show the let
ters, Thank God Almighty am not
ashamed to show them"
And then he read them to the
House, and at the end of the reading,
by an arrangement manifcstly pre-
concerted with his friend, Mr.. Eu-
gene Hale, of Maine, lie had a da-
lOgue with that gentleman, in which
the House and the country were Civ
ell to understand that the fifteen COM
prlsed all Of his letters that Mulligan
held, controlled or knew of that were
disrcputable-''cvery solitary scrap
and scrimption, as the children say"
was his expression. "Thc man Mud
ligamdid his worst, he said "thc very
worst he could, out of the most init
mate business correspondence of my
life
After eight years Ms. Mulligan now
gives to the public fifteen more letters
of Mr.. Blaine "as duty TO his fellow
countrymcn." We have printed them
in full. There is scarcely one which
does not contain damning proof of
Mr.. Blaine's corruption and of the
debasement to which the Republican
party has sunf itself by nominating
him for President. We direct special
attention to the letter of April l6,
1876, requesting Mr.. Fisher TO sign
and return the document composed
for him by Mr.. Blaine, making false
statements concerning Mr.. Blainc's
railroad jobbery and designed for
publication to help his Presidential
aspirations at Cincinnati.
The people will understand now
why Mr.. Blaine "wcnt on Ills knees"
and threatened suicide to move Mr..
Mulligan. They will understand Mr..
Blaine's relief of mind when he found
that the package did not contain his
letter of April l6 and its enclosure.
And they will also understand the
contempt with which for eight years
Mr.. James Mulligan has regarded
Mr.. James G. Blaine, who during all
that long time has been miserably
praying for forbearance. Is Mr..
Blaine, or is any friend of his, au-
dacious enough TO say of his letter of
April l6, 1876:
f'Thank God Almighty, 1 am not
ashamed to show it?'
This is a question every man who
maintains the fitness of Mr.. Blaine
for the Presidency of the United
States must make ready to answer in
the affirmative. Is there respecta-
Bile leader of the Republican party
who darcs to do so? Does Mr.. Evarts
dare? Or does Senator lIawley?