Page:Speeches, correspondence and political papers of Carl Schurz, Volume 4.djvu/274

240 mistake in legislation.” But, whether to correct a mistake or not, it was a very important act. It was to repeal a proviso that the granted lands “should be sold to actual settlers only, in quantities not greater than one quarter of a section to each purchaser, at a price not exceeding $2.50 per acre.” The repeal of that proviso was certainly calculated to enhance the value of the land grant very materially, and also that of the land-grant bonds, of which Mr. Blaine had become a holder. Many members of the House voted against the repeal, but it was carried.

The fourth point urged in favor of Mr. Blaine is that after all he did not make any money by the operation. It appears that the Little Rock enterprise proved somewhat wild-cattish; that Speaker Blaine had disposed of a number of bonds among his neighbors and friends at high rates; that some of these, when the enterprise failed, grew ugly; that he found it best to take back the securities and refund the money; and so he claims that on the whole he lost instead of gaining. If this is so, it shows that this was not one of the operations through which Mr. Blaine made his fortune. But would his failure to make the money he desired and expected to make change the character of the transaction? You might as well say: This man is a truthful man. To be sure he lied, but nobody would believe him. Or, this man is an honest man; to be sure, he tried to pass counterfeit money, but nobody would take it. Would the conduct of the Speaker of the House on account of this failure be official power not offering itself for prostitution? No, it would only be official power offering itself for prostitution without, in this instance, realizing its price.

Is there, then, nothing in the official record to put those fatal letters in a better light? Search and sift that record as carefully as you may, and you will search and sift it in vain. You will find other curious things. You