St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-02-13
BLAINE AND CONKlING.
A Charge Which the New Yorker
Never Forpaye

BLAINE ANU CONhL1NG.
A Charge Which the New Yorker
Mover Forgave.
7 New York Sun.
Col. Edward Gerhard, lawyer in the
Mutual Life Insurance building, said
yesterday that he thought the true
reason for the bitter feeling between
Roscoe Conkling and James G. Blaine
had never been printed. He said that
during Mr.. Conkling's life in New York
city he frequently met the great Repub-
llcan statesman from Utica, and on sew
eral occasions they talked about his diff
ferences with Mr. Blaine. Col. Geb-
hard said:
"Conkling used to come up to see me.
We were intimate friends, and one aft
ernoo6 told him that | would like to
get at the bottom Of the arrangement
between Mr.. Blaine and himself. l
told Mr. Conkling that it seemed to me
absurd that man who had heen law
yer all his life, and public man,
should have taken otfenSe at Mr.. Blaine's
speech calling him & turkey gobbler,et
1t was something [ could not compre-
bend. MIR. Conkling replied: 1T is
just as absurd to me to take it that way
as it is to you. You know l have prac-
ticed law all my life. If lawyers per-
mitted the animosiJies of public trials
to warp their SenSiDilltleS, we would be
in fight with all the world. The true
cause OF the quarrel between MIR.
Blaine and myself is that MIR. Blaine
took an unfair advantage of me in the
house OF representatives to reflect upon
my personal integrity
Inf Il inn, inn ntrt nf hQ
diScontinulng the office of provost mar
ton of personal privilege. MIR. Conkling
told me that he did not pay much atten
sion to Mr.. Blaine'S speech until he
heard his name mentioned. Then, after
listening. he found Blaine was making
personal assault, foreign TO the matter
of personal privilege, and alien to the
subject under discussion. COnkling said
he listened, and the more he listened
the more he was amazed. and then he
became angry. Conkling said that he
SO lost control of himself under the i'm
pulse of the moment that he went to his
friend, Thad Stevens, and said:
MIR. Stevens, you have heard what
Mr.. Blaine has just said. What shall L
90? The question OF personal privilege
Mr.. Blaine used was Il personal attack
upon my integrity. He has character
lied me- as man who has accepted en-
ployment from the government while l
was a member of congress, and while in
that employment had received fees paid
to me by Secretary Stanton, and that
the fees embraced fees for services
which had been illegally rendered by
me to the government of the United
States in doing some work in the western
part of the state. This work included
the investigation of certain bounty
frauds which had taken place i'll Elmira,
and the secretary came TO me ana en-
ployed me to get at the root of the trOu-
be. | devoted great deal of time to
the business, and the upShot was th2t the
government recovered, through my eff
forts, many thousands of dollars. Upon
my return to Washington Secretary
Stanton sent for me and offered $4,000
i'll payment for my services, which re-
fused TO accept. l said TO him at that
= time that if | was to receive anything l
spreferred to arrange the price myself.
and at all events 1 would not accept
such sum.
. "'Pending the discussion between
Secretary Stanton and myself, | went to
Utica and talked over the matter with
Gov. Seymour and Judge DEMO, chief
judge of the court of appeals, both
Democrats. | told them that did not
want to take step which could be
used against me in any way. |
did not want to make ii show of
purity that would be ridiculous,
and | did not care about accept
ing a fee that might be questioned. On
my return to Washington the check OF
Stanton was reduced to $500. Even
then | was timid about accepting it, but
Stanton said: ''By c. l know what
services are worth. | have been law
! yer all my life, and this money you have
got to take" [ did take the money. L
felt that | had earned it, and when Mr..
Blaine referred to this i'll the house |
felt that he had taken mean advan
tage, and | determined never to speak
to him again.
Mr.. Conkling told me-" continued
Gebhard, that Mr.. Stevens said TO him:
'I'll attend to this for you, Mr.. COnk-
ling, and will call for committee Of i'll
curry
"A committee was appointed for the
purpose OF investigating and reporting,
and when it became evident that the
report of the committee would entirely
eXOnerate Mr.Conkling from the alleged
irregularities, then it WAS that he recOg-
niZed the fine hand of Mr.. Blaine or his
friends i'll the successful attempt to
Illustrate the purposes for which the
committee was appointed.
'Mr. Conkling told me that he never
spoke to MIR. Blaine from that time;
that all the charges that Blaine had
brought against him were groundlesS.
That is the cause for my Keeling against
Mr.. Blaihe,' said Mr.. Conkling, and L
shall never speak to the man again or
recognize him till he in as public place
as the house of representatives makes
an apology for the assault he made
upon me at that time
''Seeeral attempts were made to rec
onclle Mr.. Conkling and Mr.. Blaine, but
Mr. Conkling aiWsyS SAID: when Mr..
Blaine gets up i'll congress and takes
back this charge, then | will be pre-
pared to meet him, and until he does 1t
there will never speak to him again."
Subsequently, during the Blaine cam
paign of 1884. Conkllng told me: II
have received an invitation to dinner
at which Mr.. Blaine is to be present. |
wonder what the getters-up of this din
ner take me for. am Republican,
and | believe in the success OF my par
ty, but there is one thing | will never
dol will never meet Mr.. Blaine until
ne makes an apology as public as his
charges"
nj n