tegrity as ability. Each
of them occupied already a great place in the respect of his
countrymen, and nearly every one of them attained a much greater
place afterward. This is the list of the members of Congress
to whom stock was to be conveyed:

LIST OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO WHOM STOCK WAS TO BE
SOLD AGREED UPON IN NEW YORK, ENTERED IN OAKES
AMES'S MEMORANDUM BOOK, AND TAKEN BY
HIM TO WASHINGTON

James G. Blaine of Maine.
Senator James W. Patterson of New Hampshire.
Senator Henry Wilson of Massachusetts.
Schuyler Colfax of Indiana.
Thomas D. Eliot of Massachusetts.
Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts.
George S. Boutwell of Massachusetts.
James A. Garfield of Ohio.
Glenni W. Schofield of Pennsylvania.
William D. Kelley of Pennsylvania.
Joseph F. Fowler of Tennessee.
John A. Bingham of Ohio.
Senator James A. Bayard of Delaware.
William B. Allison of Iowa.
James F. Wilson of Iowa.
Roscoe Conkling of New York.
James Brooks of New York.
John A. Logan of Illinois.

When Mr. Ames got to Washington he added the names of several
Senators to his list, some of whom took the stock.

It will be seen by an examination that men of great ability
and influence were very skilfully selected. Two of them
afterward became Vice-Presidents of the United States. One
of them became President of the United States. Another became
Secretary of the Treasury. Two others became Speakers of
the House. Five others were very prominent candidates for
the Presidency. Another was Chairman of the Judiciary Committee
of the House. Another became Chairman of the Committee on
Appropriations and subsequently of Ways and Means. Nine of
these gentlemen, then members of the House, were afterward
elected to the Senate.

Mr. Blaine, Mr. Eliot, Mr. Bayard, Mr. Conkling and Mr. Boutwell
refused absolutely to have anything to do with the transaction.
All the others were fully acquitted on investigation, by the
judgment of the House, of any corrupt purpose or any desire
to make money or get private advantage by reason of their
official influence, or of any expectation that they would
be likely to be called upon to take or refuse any action by
reason of their relation to these corporations. It was thought
that they had been careless in that they had not been put
on their guard by the fact that so large a dividend was to
be paid on the stock. In all cases the amounts received were
very small, in general not