They would never have found credit
for a moment except in minds deeply excited by the bitter
political passion which at that time raged to a degree wholly
unknown in our political strife to-day. All Mr. Blaine did
was to say when he applied for the purchase of the stock to
the men who were then trying to dispose of it that "he should
not be a dead-head." He meant by that only that he was able
to be of advantage to any undertaking in which he should be
interested, an assurance which his known ability and energy
and large acquaintance with business men thoroughly warranted
him in making. There was no action of Congress expected,
or legislation in which the railroad was likely to have an
interest. All that it expected to get from Congress had been
obtained already.
The other charge that he demanded a favor in this purchase
as compensation for a ruling he had made as Speaker was, in
my judgment, equally unfounded and trivial. He simply alluded
to the fact that he had made a ruling which had saved the
road from hostile legislation. Every lawyer had doubtless
many times had jurymen remind him of the fact that they had
been on juries that gave verdicts in his favor.
Pages:
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506