Los Angeles herald., 1890-10-10
THE CHRONICLES ASSAULT UPON MR..
POND AS LAND GRABBER.

by extraordinary bitter
ness now. The following paragraph
from our San Francisco contemporary is
being extensively copied in the Repub-
lican press:
The Los Angeles HERALD says the
Chronicle is trying hard to make the
Democratic press make reprisals on
Markham, because it points out that
the Democratic candidate for governor
is partner in an attempt to grab S00,-
900 acres of government land, and that
he is also director in an insurance
company, which, by the way, is mem
Der of the infamous combine which the
HERALD so roundlv denounced not many
months ago. The people have a right to
know these facts, if facts they are, and
if they are false charges the Democratic
press should expose their falsity and not
resort to sneaking insinuations that
there is something wrong about Mark
hams record. If the HERALD and other
Democratic papers in this state were not
thoroughly convinced that Markham's
record was unassailable. they would
have riddled him long ago. If he is a
bad man and they neglect to point out
the fact they are recreant in their duty
knows that whenever there is question
of personal gain, Pond does not stand on
trifles, provided he can keep within the
strict letter of the law, for it has the
evidence of Cleveland on that point, and
it conceiyes it to be its duty to bring out
the facts, and is not to be deferred by
cowardly threats of reprisals on the Re-
publican candidate.
A. 1, No vi
ham, the Chronicle we'll knows that
they did not originate with the HERALD.
They were made by the business part
ners of the Republican candidate, and
were used with considerable effect in the
congressional campaign OF 1886. Their
authors, DR.. Conger and MIR. Colds
worthy, are Republicans of high charac-
ter in this community. The fact that
that was presidential year, and that
Markham had the benefitof the glamour
of Blaine with the California voters, is
in all likelihood all that prevented their
defeating Markham for congress, and
electing Hon. r. F. Del Vale to that
body. They were afterwards used by
Mr.. Marcus D. Boruck in his Spirit of
the Times. AS Mr.. B. and his paper
are close to the Republican governor of
California it is reasonable to suppose
that they will be accepted, like
the Messrs. Couger and Colds
worthy, as good Republican authority.
The HERALD has not gone out of its
way to fabricate charges, having found
them ready made to its hand.
We would like to ask our esteemed
contemporary when or where any busi
ness partner of Mayor Pond has accused
him of unfairness in any transaction?
We have several times disposed of the
ridiculous story that Mayor Pond acted
in any but highly honorable role in
any real estate dealings in which he was
engaged in Oregon. In order to avoid
traversing the same ground we invite
the attention of the Chronicle to the
following clear statement of the matter,
taken from the editorial columns of the
Argonaut Of the 9th inst:
The assault which is being so persist
emily made by the Chronicle against
Mayor Pond is not defensible upon moral
grounds. The Democratic candidate for
governor is charged with having fraudu-
lently acquired title, nearly twenty years
acres Of land in Oregon, the title of which
had been passed upon by the United
States circuit court of Oregon, and de-
sOciate owners. Connected with this
10 ho M Of Jo .o4
cate of two Republican governors OF
Oregon that the defendants in the suit
alluded to were bona fde purchasers OF
the property, and that the claim of
the alleged fraud, made more than
twenty years ago, was unfounded.
The case is now on appeal to
the supreme court of the United States,
These facts being represented to the
Chronicle in writing, signed by M. P.
Jones, James Carolan, r. M. Hamilton.
L. L. Baker, N. D. Rideout, J. O. Jew
ett, w. G. Belcher and 1. S. Becher, all
of whom are Republicans, were refused
admission in the columns of the Chron-
icle, for no other probable reason than
because they told the truth concerning
the real estate transaction had by Mayor
Pond, in connection with the best and
most honorable business men of Cali
fornia and Oregon. The legal views
which controlled these gentlemen in the
purchase of the property were given by
Dolph and Mitchell, both Republican
senators of the United States, then
practicing law at Portland, Oregon.
Mr.. Ponds reputation for integrity
and fair dealing was never assaulted
till ne became candidate for office.
Here we have the clearest possible
vindication of the part taken by Mayor
Pond in this land transaction, made by
Republicans. When the Chronicle talks
about sneaking and cowardly suppress
sion of the truth it would do we'll to
consider that portion of the Argonaut's
article in which the explicit statement
is made that our San Francisco contem-
porary refused admission to the facts.
We beg to call the particular attention
of the Chronicle to the high standing of
the Republicans who tried to get it to
do justice to Mr.. Pond, and to the ex-
ceptional ability of the lawyers, both
now Republican United States SEN
ators, who advised the Democrat
ic candidate that he could Justly
and safely embark his capital in