Evening star., 1927-05-07


and YOU only told me half of it,
Uncle Joe Cannon was still ruml
mating benignly over the story he ha(
lust told me Of Tama Jim Wilson
.sacrifice He came to himself with Z
Sittle start.
i've really told YOU only a quar-
ter" he said. "for the other scene
was at least three times as dramatic
That was the scene in June, 1876
when Baiue, in the words Of Robert
-. InEersoll, tore from the throat OF
treason the tongue of SANDER anc
pxposed the vile conspiracy of The
:Lulligan letters.
:, "Yes," he added, thinking it over
s'That. I am sure, was the most dra
matte incident that ever occurred III
t'ongress Certainly, nothing like II
Hver happened before or since.
ut was only a week before the Re
4uhlican convention was to meet in
cincinnati and Blaine was the leading
candidate for the presidential nomina-
lion 10 his admirers he was The
pnlmed Knight his honor untarn'
tshed. to his opponents he was the
gum Of all iniquity. His enemies re
, sorted to every disgraceful trick 10
DESTROY HIM They tried to make the
country believe Blaine was dishonest
and that he had used his power as
Speaker to promote legislation in
which he had pecuniary interest.
Inquiry Aimed at Blaine.
"The committee on judiciary had
"a = Ih 1f
fairs Of The Union Pacific Railroad,
hut Blaines friends soon came to be
= }ieve thar the investigation was aimed
not at the railroad, but at him, and
was intended 10 turn up a scandal
that would knock him out Of the presi-
dency. The rumors grew until 1t be-
came gossip I 1t the committee, which
was run by the Democrats, had sue
ceeded in involving Blaine through
the Mulligan letters. The committee
did not have the letters, but had
rounded up considerable evidence
about them.
"These letters had been written by
Blaine TO Warren Fisher of Boston
and were said TO have furnished clear
proof of his corruption. Only the COM
Jnittee did not have them. They had
been stolen by former employe
named James Mulligan, and had been
brought TO Washington 10 be laid be-
fore the committee, but in some mys
terious way Blaine got hold of them
before this could be done. The press
was ablaze with rumor. Blaine was
represented as having with tears in
his eyes implored the committee not
TO ruin him; as having gone down on
his knees before Mul' an and sworn
he would commit suicide if the letters
were published. There was no length,
so it was said. to which the ex-Speaker
would not go to keep the letters away
from the public. His whole career,
his very political existence, and his
reputation before his countrymen and
before history, were at stake.
Blaine Speaks in House.
"This was the situation when on
Monday. June ), Blaine got up to
speak. The House and galleries were
jammed. for Blaine was always
drawing card, and this time he was
fighting for life. The great crowd ex-
Dected to witness the sensational
downfall of a great career, or else to
see him overwhelm his enemies by
sheer oratory, if such a thing were
possible. The entire country was
hanging on the words he was about
to utter, but no one could conjecture
what he would say. The Democrats
and the anti-Blaine Republicans be-
at a
that nothing he could say could save
him; the crash was sure to come.
Blaine began by declaring that he
had no objection to the committee in
Vestigating him under guise of lnVes-
iigating the railroad, but that it would
be more honest for them to investigate
him by name. Then he came to the
Mulligan letters lie said defiantly
that the letters were, as reported, in
his possession. The committee had
tried to get them from him, and in
vain. The correspondence was his,
and he challenged the right Of the
committee or even of the House itself
to say what should be done with his
private papers.
Offers to Read Letters.
"And now, without a word to lead
up 10 the climax, came the explosion.
Suddenly he opened his desk, brought
out a package of letters, and held 1t
high above his head for every one to
see. In a voice that rang through
the chamber he cried that these were
the missing letters stolen by Mulligan
and ended: L invite the confidence of
forty four million $4,000, 1000 of my
countrymen while I read these let
1ers from this desk
Nothing like this had been dreamed
OF. For a moment the House was
stupefied. This was the man who had