First edition, 8vo, pp. 42; original printed gray wrappers; wrappers a touch soiled and an old accession label at the bottom of the front wrapper; all else near fine. Wikipedia notes that the Crédit Mobilier scandal of 1867, which came to public attention in 1872, was a two-part fraud by the Union Pacific Railroad and the Crédit Mobilier of America construction company in the building of the eastern portion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. First, a fraudulent company, Crédit Mobilier, was created by Union Pacific executives to greatly inflate construction costs. Though the railroad cost only $50 million to build, Crédit Mobilier billed $94 million to Union Pacific, and Union Pacific executives pocketed the excess $44 million. The second part involved using part of the excess cash and $9 million in discounted stock to bribe several Washington politicians for laws and regulatory rulings favorable to the Union Pacific. The scandal negatively affected the careers of many politicians