Year: 1873

They found the prisoner in the highway
rummaging the pockets of his dead victim,
tried him for murder in the first degree, and
found him guilty of-breach of the peace.
That is about the nature of it. 1t would be
work of supererogation to allude in this con
nection to the parturitiOn of the mountain or
the birth of the ridiculous mouse. Whoever
has read the action of the House on the great
Credit Mobilier cases has been Involuntary
reminded of all that already. Never had trial
or investigation so weak and illogical an out
come never was verdict so utterly out of re-
latiOn with the gravity of the ofense and the
bearing of the evidence. For, mark, if there
was any crime or misdemeanOr here on the
part of either Oakes Ames or James Brooks,
it was not such one as the censure OF the
House was anything like an adequate punish
ment for.


Take the case of 0akes Ames. What was
charged against him No more or less than
bribery. Not an attempt at bribery, but
actual bribery-a cOnsummated and complete
oflense. 1t was this that the Committee was
sent out to investigate; 1t was this for which
he was tried, and for which the Committee,
after a tender-foOted inquiry that held the
case at arms length, shivering at every
step, recommended his expulsion. 1t was
upon his own confession in writing
that he intended the distribution of
the stock to influence the men who re-
ceived it, by making it " for their interest to
"look into the law" that he was convicted. 1t
was either bribery, to be punished with eX-
pulsion, or stupidity, to be passed with con-
tempt. If it was censurable it was more than
that. The Committee had sufficiently belittled
the transaction and exposed its own weakness
and timidity in the absurd report that Ames
was guilty of bribery, but that no one had
been bribed; the House belittled even that,
whiting it down to a more silly and incOnse-
quent conclusion by accepting the verdict of
guilty and resolving only that it absolutely
condemned" the briber who had bribed no
body. Was ever anything more utterly ridc-
ulous? The manner ard the circumstance
of the distribution prove it beyond question
to have been done with corrupt motive. 1t
did not need Mr.. Oakes Ames's uDgrammatical
explanation over his own signature to convince
the most casual observer of that The men
who received it were not fools or blind. They
knew the tenor of the transaction; could not
help knowing that this gift-for it hardly had





object and with a purpose. The testimony
need not be Iecapitulated to convince the
reader ON that head. 1t is fresh in the mem
ory of the people, and that impression of it is
distinct and clear. If Ames was guilty so
were all the rest.


The Committee saved the others and put all
the guilt on Ames. The House went still more
softly over it and saved Ames from all except
the two words absolutely condemn" No other
penalty, nothing but words, and very empty,
flabby words at that. The attempt TO express
mild dlsapproval of the conduct of the men
who received the bnbe but were not bribed
and who have in consequence entangled them
selves in such q maze of contradictions, was
voted down, and the Poland Committee dis
charged The House has absolutely con-
"demnedn Oakes Ancestor what2 For
nothing in the world that we can see but dis
closing his object. If there is any warning in
it for future bribers of Congressman and cor
rupters of public servants, it is that they be
more guarded in their confidential communi-
cations. For Congressman themselves there is
no warning whatever.


As to Mr.. Brooks, his case differed entirely
from that of Mr.. Ames. He was guilty of
violating an express statute, and of using his
official position for purposes of blackmail.
" Absolute condemnation" OF such an offense
is about like reprimand from the bench for
highway robbery. 1t has the merit, however,
of being entirely consistent with the weak and
meaningless action of the House upon the
whole matter.


Congress having failed to punish the offenders
and vindicate its own dignity and honor. the
case goes now to the people, And they will
reach it by and by.