Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1884-08-15
A Brooklyn Young Republicans Verdict.


SIR: I have received to-day from the
headquarters of the Brooklyn Young
Republican Club summary of the Of
fetal evidence concerning Mr.. Blainc's
railroad transactions. As l had pre-
viously made careful study of the cvi.
dcnce taken before the Judiciary Com.
mittec, this summary presents no facts
with which l am not already familiar.
My deliberate judgment can therefore
be expressed at once, and ask, rs n
member of the Club, for space in your
columns in which to state the case
briefly.
l. Mr.. Blaine has been charged
with making ruling as Speaker in
favor of railroad in which either he
or his friends we're financially interest
ed. Mr.. Blaine's own letters of Octo-
Der 4, 1869, prove conclusively that
this charge is false. In those letters he
says that neither Mr.. Caldwell nor Mr..
Fisher had engaged in the enterprise
at the time the ruling was made. If
he had been acting in collusion with
them he would not have written them
so silly and unnecessary lie.
2. Mr.. Blaine has been charged
with making an improper ruling in this
case. The only effect of the ruling was
to separate n monstrous job known as
the El Paso scheme, from an entirely
legitimate and innocent measure which
had passed the Senate by unanimous
vote.
3. Mr.. Blaine has been charged with
calling attention to this ruling as serv-
ice actually rendered to the promoters
of the enterprise and with making it
the basis of a personal demand for
financial favors. But the two letters of
October 4, 1869, contain internal evil
dence of the falsity of this charge. In
those letters he relates the circum-
stances under which the ruling was
made, and is very careful to state that
the service rendered was accidental and
unintentional. He admits that it was
his "plain duty to make the ruling
when the point was raised" that neith-
er Mr.. Caldwell nor Mr. Fisher was
then interested in the enterprise, and
that he did them the flavor without
knowing it." Now, sir, it seems
to me self-cvident that if Mr..
Blaine was seeking to make his
ruling the basis for financial favors, he
adopted very ruinous and inexplicable
course in belittling his service and in
blurting ont the fact that he had only
done his duty, that there was nothing
else to do, and that he did not have the
remotest idea of doing anything for
them. a knave would either have en-
larged his service, or kept silent. Who
ever heard of corrupt legislator or
lobbyis asking for reward and at
the same time proving that he had done
nothing to deserve itp Mr.. Blaine's S
own explanation is much more reason
able. He had happened to refer to The
Congressional Record and had discov-
cred that he had once made ruling
respecting the road. The fact had es-
capped his memory. He wrote the de-
tails to Mr.. Fisher as matter that
would interest him, since they had hap
pened to become connected with the
enterprise.
4. Mr.. Blaine is charged with enter
ing into negotiations with the pro-
moters of the Arkansas road and with
promising to use his official influence
in their behalf. As q matter of fact,
after the original ruling was made the
Arkansas road never came up in Con-
gress except on one occasion-on a
technical question too trivial to notice.
Congress had done all it could for the
road, and there was no possibility of
Mr.. Blaine's ever having an oppor-
tunity of promoting its interests in an
official capacity. When, therefore, he
wrote on June 20, 1869, that he would
not "prove a dead-head in the enter
prise" and that he saw various chan
nels'' in which to be useful, he could not
have referred to any corrupt use of his
position as Speaker or a member of
Congress. He could only have re-
ferred to the sale of the company's So
curities and the development of the
construction scheme. These We're le-
gitimate investments. And he did not
prove ''a dead head" He placed a
line of stock in Maine among his per-
SOudi anu du-
vanced a considerable sum to the COM
pany when it was embarrassed.
5. What remains of this case when
these points are settled? Absolutely
nothing. The public is not concerned
with Mr.. Blaine's private business
transactions. He seems to have pur-
chased n line of securities at the
same rates as others were pur-
chasing (both Mr.. Fisher and
Mulligan admit this) and to have sold
them to his friends; and when the Sc
curities declined, he took them back,
in many instances at great personal loss.
These matters do not concern the public.
So long as it is not proved that he made
an improper use of his official position,
these private transactions can be dis
missed as affording no ground for crit
icism.
see no reason, therefore, why the
Brooklyn Young Republican Club, +. on
the evidence presented, should not
heartily and unequivocally indorse the
nomination of Mr.. Blaine. His public
transactions are without dishonor. His
private business only reflects credit
upon his generosity in dealing with
those to whom he had sold securities
which subsequently deprecated. lam,
respectfully yours,
A MEMBER OF THE CLUB.