Credit Mobilier/Union Pacific Railroad Scandal –

Testimony of C.P. Huntington (1873)

Many railroad companies took advantage of the large land grants given by the federal
government. Some formed separate construction companies just to receive these large
contracts. Crédit Mobilier was one such company of the Union Pacific, who enriched its owners
in the 1860s. Although the company bribed congressmen and state legislators to avoid being
investigated for their activities, they truth came to light. Below is an excerpt from the court
proceedings.

The following members of the cormittee were present:

Mr. LUKE P. POLAND, (chairman,) of Vermont.
Mr. N. P. BANKS, of Massachusetts.
Mr. GEO. W. McCRARY, of Iowa.
Mr. WiM. E. NIBLACK, of Indiana.
Mr. VWM. M. MERRICK, of Maryland.
Mr. Oakes Ames and I. C. McMurtrie, his counsel;
Henry S. McComb, with Jeremiah S. Black and Samuel G. Thompson, counsel, were also
present.

JAMES G. BLAINE, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, was sworn, and
testified as follows:

With the leave of the committee I will submit my testimony in writing, for the sake of
accuracy, and when I have finished I shall, of course, answer any questions which the
committee may desire to ask by way of examination or cross-examination.

And I wish to state, without reservation or qualification, that I never owned a share of stock in
the Credit Mobilier in my life, either by gift, purchase, or in any way whatever. Nor did I ever
receive, either directly or indirectly, a single cent derived in any manner or shape from the
Credit Mobilier or from the Union Pacific Railroad Company. No person holds, or ever did hold,
for me, any stock in either corporation as agent or trustee, or in any capacity whatever. I wish
my testimony to be taken as exhaustive, and as intended to exclude every form or phase of
ownership in the Credit Mobilier or the Union Pacific Railroad Company, both past and present.

I desire further to state that some time in the spring of 1868, the precise date I will not affirm,
Mr. Oakes Ames asked me one day if I would like to purchase some stock in the Credit
Mobilier. He said it would prove a good investment, and he could sell me ten shares of the
stock at a rate somewhat above par-I think some ten hundred and sixty dollars for the ten
shares. We had some conversation in regard to the matter, and Mr. Ames told me very frankly
that in regard to these shares there was a law-suit either pending or threatened, though he
said his right to sell the shares was perfect and undoubted. I concluded that I did not desire to
purchase the stock, and therefore declined Mr. Ames's offer.

I beg to say, however, in justice to Mr. Ames, but more especially in justice to myself, that it
never once occurred to me that he was attempting to bribe me, or in any way influence my
vote or action as a Representative. I understood him (to say that he was the owner of more of
the stock than he wished to carry, and was offering some of it to friends....