Show NOT GUILTY That IS abe Pleaof Finley the Democratic Manager Washington GH H Finley has issued a card and says of the charge of Representative Spring that a certain anonymous letter dated March 4th and mailed on March 8th in which 500 was offered him if he would support W D Wasbburne in the Donnelly contested election case was written by me or someone some-one for me I desire to state nnquivocally and positively that I never wrote any such letter or employed any ether person to writo it and did not know of its existence ex-istence until after Mr Springer had shown it to UonG W Julian Springer at the time he made the charge also read a letter of mine dated March 7th 1880 in which I strongly urged him to support Donnelly There is nothing in that letter I regret I did not speak or pretend to spiak for Tilden I spoke asa as-a democrat in the name of democrats I believed the state of Minnesota was stolen away from the democrats by un patallelcd briberies and intimidations and I was in favor of restoring it to the demccratic column of states where It properly belonged I had many times conversed with Springer on the subject and he had as repeatedly assured me that he agreed with me in those views and would vote to seat Donnely One week before the anonymous letter Springer volunteered the renurk to me that the democratic party had already received as much abuse for Donnelly and he was in favor of going aliead and at once seating Donnelly I was astonished beyond be-yond expression when I learned a few days afterwards that republicans were claiming Springer as upon their side I wrote therefore earnestly and warmly because I did not wish to fee Springer injure his own reputation and at the same time oppose the great interests of the democratic party If I spoke too strongly in that letter or in any other way was guilty of any impropriety I regret it I have no hostility Springer and no desire to do him injustice I do think however it would only have been fair upon his part when ho made so serious a charge against me if he had demanded a committee of investigation and given me an opportunity to have defended myself my-self on the records of the game body in which the attack was made |