Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1884-04-25
THE BLAINE HOOM.
rIr. RIaine's Record as a Public on, Ger
Charges and Specifications.
rrom he New York EyenIng Post.

rIr. RIaine's Record as "a Public Onccr
Charges and Specifications.
From he New York Evening Post.1
A correspondent, whose letter we print in
another column, desires some explanation
of what he considers the sighting or hostile
reference to Mr.. James G. 81 ,inc which so
frequently appears in the Ertning Post, and
which he suspects must be- in some degree
at least. the product Of private malice. We
think nc is entitled, as are our readers gen.
orally, to some such explanation, and we
shall proceed to make it cheerfllly, starting,
however, with the assertion tina no editor or
other person connected with the Egening
Post in any capacity has, TO Our knowledge,
had any difference, quarrel or controversy
with Mr.. Blame or has ever received any
injury from him whatever or bears him any
personal grudge. Whenever he is discussed
in these columns he is discussed either as the
holder of public office or as a candidate for
a pubic Office. Nor do we make any refer.
cncc 10 bis private affairs except when those
affairs have or appear to have direct and
important relation to his character and
c aims as public man. In fact, all our
comments on him aud his doings arc due to
the fact that we consider his temperance
as a candidate for the highest office in the
government, any other, rs al audaCiOus
preceding which can only be accounted for
by supp0sjug him to have an extra ordinary
and unwarraulablc confidence in the popular
torgtfunCss 1t is the duty of all those
Who do MT wish to- see the Republican party
hnr,lrn, Il during the canvass next summer
with the hopeless task of whlcwashing hin,
in SCI forth briefly, now that the boom is ic-
cuHIug 50 livCly the charges which he will
have To u"sWcr before he can lie elected 10
the prcsiiamy 1t uli b, lhmcutablc
indeed, aud certainly disastrous, ii the task
pr, scribrd for Rcpuhiicn journals by the
Convention should he not the discussion OF
grclt questions of public policy, like The
tariff or the civil service or the railroads or
the currency, but laborious examinations of
Mr. James G. l}lainc's railroad transactions.
We mean, as far AS we are concerned, to
avoid this if we can by taking up his rail
road transactions DOW, before the hustle and
excitement of the canvass begins.
The first Of these charges is that in the
spliu. session of Congress in 1869 bill was
before the House Of Representatives, which
sought to renew land grant TO the Little
Rock and Fort Smith Railroad of Arkansas
in which some Of Mr.. Banes friends were
interested that an attempt to defeat it hy
an amendment WAS mace, and was on the
point of being succ ssfIl, and its promoters
we're in despair; that Il, lhis ilncturc, Mr.
Blaine, being then speaker ol tie house,
sent Il message to General Logan to make
the point o. ord,r that the amendment wa;
not germane to the purpose of the bill
that the point of Order was accordingly
raised and PROMPTLY sustained by Mr. Blaine
a. speaker and the bill was in this manner
saved that Mr.. Bl line wrote at once to tht
promoters calling attention to the service h(
had rend, rcd them, and finally, after som'
negotiations, aUyuII;.. ft..','. them, as rcwart
for it, his appointment Gs selling agent of tn,
bonds of the road, on con missi N, IN Maine
and received number Il such bonds s.h
percentage bat the leading features of hi
tansacl ION appear d in two letters of hi
aflerNard made public, GATED rcspectivel.
Jurc 30 and OctnbcG 4th, 1863.
iSecCnd-That lie ASSERTED nt first on th
100? Of the House, with the view OF cover
ing up this uffair, that the Little Rock an
Fut Smith road 'dervcd its lic, franchis
AID ~alnr wholly from the State, and NJ
from CouGrrts. whereas, the evidence sui
slqliently taken by The Congressional Con
mittec disclosed the fact that the roa
derived the value on which these bonds wcr
based from The act OF { ngrcss OF which Mi
described in 1869; that he asserted on tn
floor of tie House that the bonds he receive
"wcrc bought by him at precisely the sam
rate as others paid" whereas the cvident
showed that the bonds came to him as con
missions ON sales, which lie secured Ii
opportunity Of making through his aid give
to the work in Congress. and that i
solicited This agency, basing his request q
the aid so given, and lb5, be paid nolhiu
whatever tor the bOnGs, the considerable
bcirg his ruling as speaker and his subs
uent ,iTJrts 10 sell them. What lie d
with these bonds. scventy-tiv" in uumbc
is uncertain; but strong, lhonsh not CO.
elusive, evidence wsa prudICci gnug
show tnnt they were tukea of his ja'ds at
good price by The Union Paclfn Rairoi
UhruI.h the instrumeutai'Y of unr Cal
wclD. which then also Vas IN trouble. ri
invcsi!stiOn on tlGs point "as never pusht
home. owing 10 he sudden illness whiC
overt ok Mr. I8 aine iu 1876.
Ihird- rhpt Mr.. Blaine, in 1870, ira,
an offer. Ms npp, ared hy this own leltrrs,
one Of his IaiirUad friend, VI Warr
Fisher, Of Boston lo sell hIm a uAif of ol
twenty uuh iuteicst in IN North,
Pacnc Reirp.d, immediately after j.
Cooks contract ''hua lesu petl,ClDa aud /
additional LEGISLATION hal been Obtdinei,'
having. he said, come into control of Il
interest "by a strange revolution Of circu'
stances :" that the amount OF stock whi
this would represent, he said, would
1926 000 and the number Of acres of lai
''nearly 10000" The charce," he sal
''was a very rare one he couldn't tou
it," hut he offered it to Mr.. Fisher
S25, 600; that Mr.. Fisher accepted it a
paid the money, but for some unexplain
reason the stock was never delivered, a
Mr.. Blaine subsequently returned t
amount. THIS transaction was very pee
liar one for the following reasons -
1t appears from acts Of Congress relati
10 the road, none of which are of older d,
than July q 1864, that the authorized sto
was 500, 900, with land grant
tima'ed by the Commissioners OF Pub
Lands at AZ, 1000, 900 acres, or "A, ,423 SOUS
miles. The line of the road was 2, 200 mi
long, at at the time of, Bane's letter
Fisher it was, he says, being built on bon
at S25, 900 mile, which would have ma
bonded debt of $50, 900, 900. Mr. Blaine,
member of Congress aud Speaker of I
House, must be taken to have known abt
the circumstances Of the road, and tn
therefore seems no escape from the concl
ion that his offer was based upon the
pectation that he would receive almost a
gift share in an enterprise dependent