Telegram-herald., 1886-07-13
GOV A. P. SWINEFORD
Writes an Open Letter 70
Attorney General Taggart.
THOROUGH lil8TIGlTI0A lENlhlEl.
re Accuses me Attorney General OF
Allowing Ft41aulsnt Claims ana
rros-c -cuUng nlm TOR Po-
itcal Purposes

day incoming
MAa-l sIrE. Jaly l1 ,,a
lisa. Moss. I4sgaf, ATTORNEY -.seaelal GRAND
llaE4is I.Ch
clA-l am int1rmei through tle uewspa-
pef- aud olaefa .ss ihal you propose bring
ins slll against ule in behalf of the Stale.
lp recover f, 1p which you aue-e 90 De due
from me fo ile STATE. ou acCaunE ot tle
money which csue lutu mY hands a. uiisd
State. Commissioner tu the Nea DTleane
Exposition uf lssi a j had concluded 90
make - statement to you concerning this
matter. blt after mature consi iderau0a have
decided cthera aise
However in addressing YOU this 0Deu
letter / premise by saving that paid 0ut
ln tle expenses attendant upon the busl uess
of the Michigan exhibit al tie lrst New
Orleans Exposition more money than came
20 ue and asked Tor uo compensation lor
my Time or services, both OF which were
freely given. o. the exclusion and defrment
cd my prl.afe bueIl-ss. ANA informed
through sources deem wholly reliable.
that YOUR pretended efforts 20 recover
money alleged to be due from Ele tO the
Stale are, and have been prompted wholly
by polucsl considerations, and 1 venture
o. suggest that your conduct in the prem
lses has aeeu. and is unfair unjust and In
all respects such as viii hardly entitle YOU
to the respect OF reasonably fair minded
persons. Tie good people of Michigan are
/ believe generally posses-ed by a spirit Of
fairness, and will not demand from one of
their public servants more than is their
just due.
The Prosecuting Attorney OF this county
informs Iue that You have requested him %
bring suit here for the recovery Of the 500
alleged 10 be due from me 10 the State before
l leave Michigan once more for Alaska.
but he bang q DcHecr9f dad afi honest nan
/ have asked him - allow gOH TO bring the
suit. and insist that Won shall take the re-
>pOnsiOihiy. In order 70 make % easy for
you % DO TINS / have empowered my att0r-
neys Messrs Dickinson, HOsmer * Thur
her, of Detroit, 10 accept service for me- in
any action you may be pleased TO bring
against me, either here, in Detroit, or else
where in the state, and this whether I am
in Michigan or Alaska. The reasons that
move me 10 this cOurse-sOme OF them-I
Will here state:
do not believe that YOU think owe the
State anything; but If | did SO believe /
would not render an account 10 be passed
upon by any officer, or board. whose legal
adviser gOU are. You have directed sult TO
be brought without ever requesting pay
meut of the sum alleged to be due The
only communication | ever had from YOU
port YOU made 10 Governor Aiger-which
appears 10 nave been mailed to me AT Sifka.
March g. lsS0. and which reached me lust
as / was leaving Alaska for Michigan. and
the original of which, IL seems, YOU sent to
the Committee on Territories of the United
States Senate, without ever having asked
me a word about the matter, and before |
could possibly reach Michigan without
neglecting matters of grave concern 10 the
care. was designated Governor Of
Alaska in May. 1880, but remained
IN Michigan I'LL August /, and YOU
did not ask me to account Tor.
or pay 10 the State, anything.
went TO Alaska, and later, after / hal
reached nay post of duty, several thousand
miles from Michigan, and you knew could
not return without leave of absence or for
friture of the office TO which / had been
appointed, and n either event only al great
eXpense, YOU took notice of the statement
made by the fellow Carroll, 3hO was ex-
PEELED from the Michigan Exposition Com
mission, that the Worlds Exposition do
mated 10 the State of Michigan 5000; that
81 600 had been retained by me: and that
Carroll had been called upon by Director
Gen. f. 4. Burke for an accOudt of this
81 900. Both of these statements were un-
true. and g0U kaew t. All the money that
came into my hands was paid 10 me as
nited States Commissioner. X was never
i'm the State treasury, and the State never
had any control of any part OF it, until
paid over TO the Commissioners appointed
bv the Governor four tiitns of the whole
amount received.
Then follows a long history of the work
of the New Orleans Commission After
commenting AT length upon facts with
which the people are familiar the letter
continues Do You pretend TO saw. sir. that
If you really thought / owed the State. this
report of yours TO the Governor, made
while | was absent in Alaska engaged i'm
the public service. was necessary proceed
ing looking 10 the collection of the money?
But this is not all. | was absent from
August l. lso3. TO the last of June 1856
and during that time You filled the
press of the State with false and slan-
der0us reports and charges concerning
this matter cau-ing them 20 toe re-
pealed in all the varied forms known % the
ingenuity Of the press When / came back
from Alaska uot only found that state of
facts, bat at Washington / found this re-
port of yours i'm the hands Of the Senate
Committee which bad the question Of nay
confirmation under consideration. II must
be apparent 10 any unpreiudiced person
that you made that report Tor The purpose
OF defeating. If possible. my confirmation
by the Senate. 10 was not made for any
legitimate purpose. If any necessity for Il
existed even iu your mind. that necessity
was purely political enc, and did not in
voIye the merely honest desire ON your part
% collect a sum Of money honestly believed
20 be due from me % the State Neither
that report. the interviews. nor
yet the newspaper ISLANDERS set
aHoaf by YOU. viii be recognized As
legitimate agencies in the collection Of
debts and a resort % them by you in this
instance. was M less wicked and uniusii
fable one than It was a c0Wsriiv assault
upon my private character. Wholly dis
CreditabIe 60 Won as citizen. and positive
disgrace t0 the high Office you hold Your
conduct iu This regard wiil not he approved
hT any honest man belonging 60 which
p1IItca party be may De- was simply a
wanton effort % rIu-e sud biatken ms
a distant country aud in position where 2
could nof defend myself sHch conardiy
course is uoi usually pursued bv honest
men
In aIgiInE to the action ~ the Commis
zion in allowing Mr Carrf. claim tor exc
peuses. tte letter says This creature
Carroll whose a-anf Tnl seem o. ro tried
to go money from the Conn s.ion 81 hiIea
member af if wronz4n .lr claiming to have
raid rif r.orev. whfcH ur9n .ts fare if was
patent be naf uot expended ani which
erfrf nlsrs her of tle Comm Isslan kno~ be-
haa no PAID ont fn faft he claimed to
have rat rat rooney ss Tong as eight
months before a. etar f1 anrfainE ah4t 4
~ sac or ef s1f .1nE before the expo 4
s'roo Hse cecerf Earfe1 And Vrf 4