Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1884-06-17
CAMPBELL'S REPLY.


Yankton, Dakota, Jnne lG, lS94-N.
G. Ordway, Governor-Sir: Your letter
OF June l4th received at ten minutes
before 8 O'Clock Saturday night. and
printed in the Sioux City Journal of
Sunday morning. $50 that it must have
reached that newspaper before it did
me) is before me.
In reply l have to say, that you eeem
by the tone of your letter to conceive
that the Indictment against you found
by the grand jury is personal affair
between you and me, to be settled by a
personal contest.
l cannot concur in this assumption,
because it is not true.
The grand jury of this district, upon
their oaths, found and returned into
court an indictment against you for ask
ing and receiving bribes with intent to
have your action as a United States
officer influenced thereby.
This the grand jury did of their own
motion without solicitation or pro cure.
ment of mine.
My agency in the matter was limited
strictly to my official duty in the prem
ises, that is, summoned the witnesses
before the grand jury who were named
to me by the citizens who complained of
the acts which we're investigated, and 1
advised the grand jury of the law which
applied to the testimony as 1 thought
the law, after careful study, to be and as
l think it to be now.
In this matter followed the plain
path of my official duty, lust as / have
followed it in all other cases. I did this
without personal malice or animosltv.
| t0Dk pYfrlnr1inorv, I, l1
and guarded as to any expression of nv
own views upon the facts.
70 this indictment yon pleaded by
your motion to quash, as argued by your
counsel, that your acts of alleged bribery
could not be inquired into bv the court
because you did them as governor; or, to
use your own expression. they were the
"prerogatives of the executive Office"
and because these acts we're done by
virtue of territorial laws as we'll as OF
the laws of the United States.
Upon this ground your motion was
sustained by the judgment OF the court,
and to this judgment l have excepted,
believing it to be erroneous.
Having chosen this way of meeting
these charges against you, instead OF
square trial of the facts as alleged, which
was at your option, and thus having shut
OIL inquiry into the facts, you must be
your own Judge as to the proper method
OF securing for yourself viudicatiop
from these grave charges
That is a matter for you and not for
me.
AS to your proposition that join you
III telegraphic reques: to the president
to have Messls. Boetler and Haight in.
vestlgate you further. must respectfully
decline 1t.
That is matter upon which YOU must
act yourself, and with which / have no
concern.
As to myself, 1 have some time ago in
my letter to the attorney general Of the
2lst day Of, 1884. asked for full and
rigorous investigation of tue charges
preferred by yourself and your ap.
pointee, Mr.. Hughes. against me.
And in compliance with this request
Messrs. Boetler and Haipht are already
investigating. not only these charges,
but all others that you and your
associates have been able to- make or
imagine against me during the last
four weeks.
Ii, IN this investigation, these gentle.
men shall discover one act of corruption
OF maueasance or knowing or willful
neglect on my part in my official con.
duct OF seven years, shall expect and
deserve, to be removed from office, as |
doubtless shall be, if the president shall
lind any such act to be proven.s
This. If done, will be done without
any necessity of any telegraphic request
on my part to the president; SO that for
me to accept your proposal would be o
needless and an impertinent act on nv
part.
l am willing to stand or fall by nv
record. l challenge the severest scrutiny
OF all my official acts. Mr.. Hughes and
you can do me no greater Kindness than
to make it as severe as yen may be able
and possibly, willing to do.
know that there is not n solitary act
OF my official life which has not been
honest, straightforward and above