The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-05-07


Blaine against that of Mr.. Edmunds. rock
ribbed and immovable as the mountain
ranges of his native state. The incidents
of this episode, briefly summarized, are
as follows: A month ago the New York
Evening Post restated the charges made
against Mr.. Blaine in 1875 by way of ex-
planning to a correspondent and the public
generally its reasons for its vehement OPP
position to that individual. This action
of the Post brought out long letter, os-
tensibly from William Walter Phelps,
representative in congress from New
Jersey, but written or inspired-it is be-
lieved-by Mr.. Blaine himself. This let
ter was an attempted refutation Of the
charges revived by the Post, and by way
of still further vindicating his chief, Mr..
Phelps undertook to point out that Mr..
Edmunds' conduct, in specified instance,
was analogous to that of Mr.. Blaine
in the instance cited by the Post; that
the Post with good reason, held that Mr..
Edmunds was blameless in the vote he
gave affecting the interests of certain
railway, so therefore must MIR. Blaine be
held to be without reproach in his legis-
lative conduct in April, 1869, and in the
advantage which he subsequently derived
from his legislative services and official
position. The Post, by way of reply, pro-
ceeds to reproduce the evidence of the
truth of its charges. 1t shows conclu-
sively that on the 9th of April, 1869, Mr..
Blaine, who was then speaker of the ma
tional house of representatives, ruled ia
vorably upon point of order which had
been made at his own suggestion, and
thus secured the confirmation of land
grant to the Little Rock & Fort Smith
railway, projected enterprise in Arkan-
sas; that friends of Mr.. Blaine soon after
became interested in this railway, and
that Mr.. Blaine, in letters dated June Goth
and October 4th, 1869, made and pressed
his request to be let into the scheme on
the first floor, assuring his friends that he
"would be no dead-head in the enter
prise" and that he could make himself
useful in "various channels" He i'm
portuned his friend for some "defnite
proposition" from the principal in the
enterprise, was greatly "bothered be-
cause such proposition was not forth
coming, and finally directly pleaded his
ruling in the matter of the confirmation
of the land grant as the reason why he
should be given valuable interest in the
enterprise, reinforcing his statement of
the services he had rendered on that occa-
sion by sending copy of the Congress.
sional Globe containing the official account
of the house proceedings. The evidence
produced further shows that in considera-
ton of his services, Mr.. Blaine was made
"selling agent" for the securities of the
road and received as commissions on
the sale of "block" of its securities,
$4,000 in land grant bonds and $50, 800
of first mortgage bonds. The enterprise
turned out disastrously and Mr.. Blaine
took back 5000 of bonds he had sold,
and these were purchased from him-and
ultimately were found among the assets
of the Union Pacific railway-for $4,000,
their market value being only $37 800.
The Union Pacific began an investigation
into this transaction, but when it was
found that the footsteps which marked
their course into that corporation led from
Mr.. Blaine's threshold, investigations
ended, to save from injury the influential
congressman, whose gratitude and services
the railway was glad thus to purchase.
Mr.. Blaiue's railway speculations were
the subject of criticism in the spring of
1876, and in April of that year he made
an explanation on the floor of the house
to the effect that the Little Rock &
Fort Smith road "derived all that it had
from the state of Arkansas, and not from
congress-" Investigation and the publica-
ton of Mr.. Blaines letters, in the follow
iuS cuuc3 utoCiooOu oho laCv tudu tuo hpOV6
statement was not true, but that the
company derived its life, franchise and
value" wholly from the legislation in con.
gress in 1860, which Mr.. Blaine had cor
rectly represented was secured by him,
and for which he received 1852 800 in the
securities of the company. The indi-
vidual through whom Mr.. Blaine carried
on his negotiations was Mr.. Warren
Fisher of Boston. That gentleman and
his book.keeper, Mr.. Mulligan, are the
sources of much of this eliminating evil
dence. Mr.. Blaine's own letters, however,
give the most positive proof of the cor
rupt part he played in these railway spec
ulations. Certain letters in the possession
of Mr.. Mulligan, it was believed, gravely
implicated Mr.. Blaine. These he be-
sought Mr.. Mulligan not to make public,
and when he found his appeals were in
vain, he obtained the letters by pledging
his word that he would restore them, then
broke his pledge, retained the letters by
force, and afterwards read such of them
as he chose to the house to aid in his vim
dication.