Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1884-10-15

produced in the recent installment of letters is
of Importance. 1t is a letter to Fisher which Mr..
anxious to have Mr.. Blaine feel kindly toward
| him and Fisher an anxiety he would not have
shown or felt if he had believed that they had
under their control over Mr.. Blaine's signature
proof of his official corruption.
HOW BLAINE WAS SWINDLED.
6. Under an arrangement distinct from the
abortive negotiations for purchasing an interest
| in the contract for building the road. but prob
ably in anticipation of it, and quite likely with
a desire to show one of the channels in which
he could be useful. Mr.. Blaine received from
| Fisher and Caldwell, the contractors for build
| ing the Fort Smith Road, considerable amount
| of its securities. He returned to them the pre-
! else percentage Of value which they were glad
/ to receive from every one elSe This was only
small percentage of the face value. Mr.. Blaine
sold to friends in Maine considerable amount
of these securities.
His sales were made on varying terms, but
uniformly involved the payment to Fisher and
Caldwell of the precise percentage which they
charged to every one else He made con-
siderable apparent profit by selling to friends
| on terms more favorable to himself than Fisher
| and Caldwell were willing to sell to him. his
pronts consisting chiefly in the securities OF the
road He seems to have regarded himself as
buying from Fisher both the securities he re-
tanned and those sed to friends, but in fact the
contracts assumed the form of sales by Blaine
| on commission, and the payment to him OF the
securities as his compensation. In the result
FISHER and Caldwell secured better terms than
they did on those sold 10 the general public for
| they held back the securities promised him until
they had greatly fallen IN value, and, finally, on
settlement, withheld from him nearly third
| oil the entire amount In other words, by the
| original agreement, M. Blaine was to get no
| special advantage, ana IN the result he was to
be treated worse than Others. Mr. Blaine ref
erencc, in his letters, to the generous nature of
Far Fishers offer to him had norefcrence to this
arrangement under which he sold securities, but
referred, as the letters oeaIly show to the prop
oslt1on THAI he should became interested as
partner in the contract te build the road.
I'D MAN 0E Els WORD.
~ Z. When the EOfNSmith project proved unfOr-
| tunate Mr. Blaine, even when not bound by his
agreements so to do, took back the securities he
| had sold, and through thta honorable conduct
| and the defaults OF those who claimed to be his
| friends. he suffered large loss and became
| greatly embarrassed pecuniArily. Both the new
| and the old iettel s-but especially the former
show that Mr.. Blaine willing to make al
| most any sacrifice to Keep his word to his
friends and to pay the obligations he had as
| sumed. Though freely denounced the
strength OF the letters as liar, they show that
| he was emphatically man of his word
| THE ILLUSION CONCERNING HIS GREAT WEALTH
| 8. The letters, both new and old, show that
| after Mr. Blaine had served ten years in Con-
| gress. during all of which time he had been
| prominent and influential, and during much of
| which time he had been Speaker, and when this
| service had occurred during the entire period
| of war and the years of corrupt opportunities
| which followed tin spite Of these Opportuni-
ties, Mr.. Blaine was in 1870, 1871, aud 1872 not
| only not wealthy, but was in such moderate cir
| cumstances that even with the securities he
| earned and received Tor selling the Fort Smith
| bonds he was wholly unable to pay an accom-
mediation liability of $4,000 which he had in
| CURED purely to oblige Fisher, and which the
| latter cruelty repudiates
| HIS CRITICS CHARMING INCONSISTENCIES.
| g. Some of the expressions used by Mr. Blaine
| in Congress and in his letters describing the
| arrangement under which he sold the securities
| of the road to friends and became possessed of
| others himself were not strictly accurate in
describing the original form of the transactions.
| They were correct in describing the results at
| the time he spoke and wrote. They were,
/ meeting
| against which he was defending himself. He
/ was meeting the charge that, owing to his Off
| cial position, he had obtained securities bet
| ter terms than obtained by other and pri-
| vate persons. He asserted that he had not done
| so, and this assertion was true. Even Fisher
and Mulligan swore twas true.
| In other words, his action was not open to
criticism. The language he used in describing
and defending his act on has been criticised,
| but, think, with more plausibility than
| justice. This criticism has come most earnestly
| from those who boldly assert that want of
all the qualities which ennoble human nature
| and dignity human life and make human prog
| ress possible" These people seem to think
| want of accuracy of language. want of veracity
| if you choose-though we do not admit its ex-
| iStence in this case-ls greater offenSe than
| want of chastity. We do not
| THE TRUTH ABOUT NORTHERN PACIFIC.
10. As to the charge relating to the Northern
| Pacific Railroad, the facts are simple Mr.
| Blaine supposed he could obtain interest of
| one hundred and ninety second part in that
/ road for $25, 900. As the company was likely
| to need legislation in Congress he refused to
| take it himself or to have any interest in it,
He proposed to Fisher that he and his friend,
| Josiah Atkins, should take it. They agreed to
| do so, and paid to Mr.. Blaine $4,000 with
| which to purchase it. Mr.. Blaine was, as it
turned out, unable to secure 1t, though con-
| stantly believing tilat he should soon do so. At
| ter delay of a year or more, at the request of
the parties, he paid back the S25 coo with inter-
| est Mr. Fisher and Mr.. Atkins both swore that
| Mr. Blaine always refused to have any interest
| in this Northern Pacific business, and that
they were confident he never did have any such
| interest
In 1871 or 1872 after Mr. Fisher became en-
| barrassed, and after controversy had arisen
| between him and Mr. Blaine, the former
| sought to have the latter pay back the $25, 900,
| and leave o her matters between them unset
| lied AS there was S25 900 due Mr. Blaine on
account of the money he had raised for Fisher
| and the road, and Mr. Fisher owed Mr.
Blaine large amount of securities. the latter
perslstently refused to settle by itself the mat
| ter which would benefit Fisher, but as persist
| emily urged tull settlement which he finally
| obtained at the expense of considerable con-
| ceSSion.
THAT NATIONAL BANK
| IL. The new letters show that Mr.. Blaine Of
fered and eXerted his influence to secure for his
! friends the right to establish national bank
| at Little Rock. Every one knows that, at a
time when national banking capital was limited,
| and by law distributed in arbitrary proportions
to the different States, the right to establish
| bank was much sought after. At that time we
| do not believe there was a Senator or member
! of Congress who did not repeatedly use his
influence in favor of applicants of that sort 1t
| was just much matter of course it was
| for Senators and members of Congress to seek
| to secure positions for constituents and friends.
AN UNAVOIDABLE INFERENCE.
| II. Mr.. Blaine is criticised for sending to Mr.
Fisher. in 1876, draft OF letter, to be signed
| by him, explaining Mr.. Blaine's relations to the
Fost Smith Road We have already referred to
| cr&icisms upon some of Mr.. Blaine's express
| sit5ns, as used In these and other letters. 1t
| seems to us that after the evidence which Mr..
| Blaine had had, that Fisher was not, to say the
/ least, entirely friendly to him, he would not
| have sought this letter if he had intended to
| ask Fisher to say anything which was not the
| truth. Moreover, if Fisher had felt that an i'm
| proper request had been made of him, why,
when few weeks later, he testified before the
| Congressional committee, did he make no refer
| ence to it? If he felt insulted by request to
sign lie-as our Democratic friends now claim
why did he not find it out till the Democratic
| committee told him of it eight years later?
| THE REAL sUPPREssIoNIsTs
H. The charge that Mr.. Blaine had received
payment from Caldwell of Sc, 900 on account of
the loan of S25 900, and that he suppressed that
| act and collected that amount over again is
| made plausible only by quoting two letters, in
which he says he had received that amount, and
| by deliberately suppressing later letter, in
which he says that Caldwell has since written
him hat he ia no tO he aDnled on hat