Correspondence (incoming) - G

July 2nd, 1890

My Dear Governor: When you last left here for Washington I promised both you and Mrs. Stanford that I would write you occassionally during your sojourn in Europe. I am aware that you are and will be in the receipt of numerous letters from your friends in California during your absence; several of them have informed me that they have already written, so I fear I will be unable to say anything to you which will be of interest to you or news to you. Edward Curtis informs me that he is keeping you posted weekly with a collection of newspaper clippings of coast items, and Mr. Fillmore tells me that he keeps you posted on railroads; you doubtless receive the leading daily newspapers of California, hence I infer there is little left for me to say. Public opinion in California concerning yourself is unchanged. At no time in its history have been the subject of such universal thought and comment as you have been this season. The attack made upon you by Mr. H., his subsequent denial of his charges over his own signature, and his frequent re-iterations since of the original attack has been, and is, a topic more generally discussed than any I have ever known concerning men in California. But one opinion prevails concerning it; you have lost nothing in the respect and esteem of the people of the Coast. Your enemy will do all that he can to encompass your defeat.

But I have no confidence in the success of the methods employed by him, and at this moment I have no fear of the ultimate result. Some newspapers have already been reached by him, I think, and undoubted more will be. Enclosed you will find copy of a letter addressed to one of our oldest heads of Department at the Sacramento Shops, now temporarily absent from the State. It accidentally came into my possession. Doubtless other and similar letters have been addressed to various employees of the Company. This one bore date 23 Broad St. New York. June 3rd, 1890. and honestly came into my possession. As you will observe, in the second paragraph of his letter he could not fail to exhibit a characteristic which has become habitual with him, - to contradict himself. He says "In many cases" you had "sacrificed the interests of the railroad for which he has received personal benefit". and he closes the paragraph by saying "but at the same time I think the number of such people are very small". This is so characteristic of the man that you will know to whom I refer without seeing the signature thereunto attached. I am working in perfect harmony with our friend on California Street, and my friends in Santa Clara County are doing likewise. There is no lack of harmony, so far as I am able to discover, in the object for which we are all working. I have no recollection of ever seeing politics in California so quiet immediately preceeding a general election. I hope this does not portend a great political storm which is to follow.

Our friend, N.W. Spaulding, called upon me recently. In his business he comes in contact, as you are aware, with lumbermen of the coast, most of whom are Republicans. So far as he can learn he says there is a universal expression of sentiment in your favor. W.[H.?] Mills returned from the East on Sunday the 29th, having visited Washington and New York. He called upon me yesterday and gave me a half hour or more account of his visit in the East, talking considerably of politics. He informed that he had left his family there to finish their visit before returning to California. He referred to Huntington and his attitude towards your self and informed me that a considerable change had come over the latter regarding Republican politics in California and possibly affecting the re-election of yourself. That he observed this change in Huntington after the latter had visited Washington and conferred with such leading Republicans as Blaine, Stewart, Jones, Ingalls, Noble and others. After this visit to Washington [H.?] had said to him that in his judgement it would be better both for the Company and its interests and for California that the State should be carried in the interests of the Republican party. He said he was satisfied that upon refelction Mr. H. was arriving at the conclusion that it would be better for him to have you out of the way as a Senator in Washington than to have you in California a defeated candidate and that he was taking this view of the question.

Personally he (Mills) was doing what he could quietly for the promotion of your interests. At the same time and almost in the same breath said he would not have anything to do with the campaign in California; referred to a conversation which he had the day before with Heazelton of the "Post" and others in this direction. During the conversation he said that Mrs. Mills had stood up for you in the presence of Huntington and family at all times. He did not say that he had done so, nor do I believe that he did. He spoke of an agreement which had been entered into between your-self and your associates, saying that he was knowing to the fact, and I think said that he had seen such an agreement. I allowed him to do all the talking and made myself as agreeable a listener as it was possible for me to be. It is not necessary for me to say to you that I have no confidence in the integrity or loyalty of Mills to you and your personal interests. I have been trying for the past three or four days to find a convenient opportunity for a further talk with Col. Crocker, as I had one with him last week in company with Jack Wright. Jack came down for the purpose, and so said to the Colonel, of finding whether the latter would support him in case of a conflict between him and Huntington, - a conflict likely to occur, as he inferred from the letter written and published to Grove D. Johnson. You have probably seen a copy of this letter as it was generally published in the press of the State. I joined Jack in his

general talk with the Colonel, remarking to them that I was in the same boat and desirous of knowing where we stood and upon what we could depend. The result of the conference was not entirely satisfactory to me, and I left the two together; since that time I have not had the opportunity of seeing either of them. I am upon the most friendly relations with W.W. Stow, and am doing and am ready to do any and all things necessary. But I feel that I am seriously embarassed and handicapped in my position. But I feel that I am seriously embarassed and handicapped in my position. Of the great number of men I know and have had business with in the past few years, and whom I think I have brought into friendly relations with our interests, it is impossible for me to send all of them to Stow. Large numbers call upon me daily, only a portion of whom I refer to him. Haymond informed me last week repeatedly that he was doing nothing politically whatever except to invariably send men who came to him to Mr. Stow. He was doing this and nothing more. This was said in the presence of Col. Crocker and Haymond advised me to do accordingly. But I am not satisfied with this kind of work for myself as there are many men I can reach who would it would be impossible for Mr.Stow or anyone else to control. I have been informed and I believe it possible, and even probable that a close watch is kept upon the building, the waiting room, etc. as to who, how many, and the objects of the visits to me. This, however, does not deter me from discharging my duty to the Company, nor do I intend that it shall in the future.