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THE CREDIT MOBILIER

OF AMERICA.

I.

THE ORIGIN OF THE COMPANY.

SOME eight years ago the country was startled

by the announcement of the grossest corruption in our national legislature, arising out of the building of the Union Pacific Railroad, and which involved the names of many of the most prominent men in Congress-men whose reputation had before been above suspicion men whose record had always been spotless. The news came with terrible force upon the community. The time—that of a presidential election-was one well calculated to add force to the calamity that had seemingly overtaken our country. The name of "Credit Mobilier," until then almost unknown and unheard of except among a few, now came into most wonderful prominence, and to this day, though spoken of by everyone, has remained a mystery. The name, with its foreign sound, was one well calculated to raise

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additional alarm, and was one which politicians could handle with ease to instil into the minds of the people ideas of great corruption. Why should such a name be selected if the purposes of that corporation were honorable? and they who wished to use it lost no opportunity of doing so; and yet it is safe to say that not one in a thousand of those who dwelt upon the infamy of the Credit Mobilier had the faintest conception of what it really was, what were its objects, or what it had accomplished. But that could not deter them in their argument; they knew its purposes were not honest, and that was enough for them. It was as the cloud, small at first, but soon the tempest that arose was sufficient to destroy all that came within .ts reach. Reputations which had been towers of strength were suddenly overwhelmed and covered with infamy; they who had been the leaders of public opinion and of public morals were swept away in the maelstrom of public condemnation, never again to regain their position. So great was that condemnation by the people of the acts of these men that in an evil moment they sought to regain their lost positions by denying all connection with, or interest in, the Credit Mobilier; not stopping to consider whether that connection was good or evil, but listening only to the clamors of the present, they sought to shield themselves behind the armor of their hitherto unquestioned word; but alas! when revelation came, and that word was found to be false, the last defence was gone, and they fell. Years have passed, but still those names

have been enshrouded by the mystery in which they had fallen. Time has indeed cleared away much of the superstition that was created; but the people, as a mass, remain in ignorance of the real object and workings of the Credit Mobilier. What was it? What did it accomplish? These are questions that are daily and hourly asked by the many. Let them but go out beyond the Missouri, upon the Great American Desert of a score of years ago, and behold the mighty empire that has sprung into existence there; behold the towns and cities teeming with population, farms that supply the world with bread, homes provided with every comfort and luxury of life; behold on every side the school-houses where children grow up amid the influence of popular education, and as they behold this happy, contented, and enlightened people, strong in their love of freedom and equality, firm in their faith and allegiance to their country—there they may see some of the results that have been accomplished through the influence and instrumentality of those who guided and governed the Credit Mobilier. In a word, the Credit Mobilier and the Union Pacific Railroad Company were one and the same. The men who governed the one, governed the other. Whatever was done under the name of Credit Mobilier may not be known to the world in its true light, but we hope that the facts concerning it may be made to appear upon a perusal of this work. It is not our intention to accuse or apologize for any one, but only to set forth as clearly as we can the history of the

Credit Mobilier of America and its connection with the building of the Union Pacific Railroad, and the relation of members of Congress with it.

The excitement of the past is gone, in a great measure, and the people of the present are prepared to far more impartially judge of the merits or the evils of its operation, and to decide whether the actions of those men were right or wrong. That any crime was ever committed was not a necessary conclusion to be drawn from the revelations that have been made public. Time, and time only, can effectually clear away the clouds of suspicion that have so long hung over many a once-honored name, and only the impartial judgment of history can give complete vindication to those who have been accused. A new generation is fast appearing upon the arena of life, which will be prepared to judge without the feelings of prejudice that have, and may long continue to control public opinion.

Only a short time ago there appeared in the press throughout the country a statement by the sons of Oakes Ames in relation to the association of their father with the Credit Mobilier, which, in connection with the present political campaign, has centred upon this matter an interest before unfelt, and has created an almost universal desire on the part of the public to know more concerning the history of that corporation. Was it a work, as they allege, of such great importance? Was it so largely beneficial to the country that, instead of the odium and disgrace that was cast upon its principal character, a monument

should be erected to his memory by a grateful people? No fact is, or can be made more plain, than that no man had so much to do with the success of the building of the Union Pacific Railroad as did Oakes Ames. To his wonderful exertions, to the great sacrifices which he made, is due the building of that road. He assumed the responsibility, and shirked not the ordeal through which he passed. The road was completed, the whole country was benefited, and the union of our states made more strong than ever before; but to Oakes Ames the result was disastrous in the extreme. He was censured by the Congress of which he was a member, and the disgrace which was placed upon him ended his life in a few short months.

A proper study of the Credit Mobilier will make necessary a consideration of the circumstances which called it into existence; and to do this, we shall be compelled to go over the history of the building of the Union Pacific Railroad. The Credit Mobilier, as it came into prominence, was the construction company that took the contract for building the road. Owing to the same parties being the stockholders in the road and the stockholders in the Credit Mobilier it could not well take the contract direct from the Railroad Company, but the contracts came through the intervention of a third party. All this will be seen in the pages which follow, and need not be further alluded to here. Upon the organization of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, under the act of Congress of 1862, and as amended by act of

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