Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1834-04-04
ALEXANDRIA.
FRIDAY MORNING, APRIL a, 1831
POST OFFICE DEpARTMpNu

The debate in the Senate on the Doth -.
cited some information with regard 70 -, '''
Office Department, which must astonioh US'
people Of this country. "e
Mr.. Leigh said, referring to the stator.
made in the Blue Book with regard to ev t.asll
lowances to CONTRACTORS d.
The contract prices of each and =,
stated and under them the extra alIo@ oil are
(where there are any are set down. anI 'nces
Gated by an asterism. | began NV eys u ,ilul'
ton of this list Of mail contractors VIII una
State of Maine; and having heard a oooJ ule
Of conversation since came here. o0 tn ueaI
ject of these extra allowances was acr wv SUP
surprised to see how few of those STAR err'e.doy
were in Maine, and in the other New r. tHere
States, and how small was the amornt n 5end
extra allowances in that part of the Union n NE
number of them, however, begins to incri Inc
in New York, and thence, gradually in a.
mail routes cross the Potomac Gettna t ~ T Tue
ginia, l found such number of asteTism. u
quite astonished me-there is a perfect gaav,'S
milky way Illuminating the mail routes tbr"!,,a
that State In single page (page 1885, fpa
among others, the following: Alex patar iilll:
1890 contract price, *$2, 300 extra aIondSon
Peck & Wexford, 1921 contract price zee vi
extra allowance; E. Porter & Co. S25 436 49, oo'
tract price, 1895, 232 extra allowance: D A So
Saltmarsh, $4,000 contract price, u 913 eVt..
allowance; VIM. Smith, (who lives in the con nu"
Of Culpepper, from which this memorial con'"!
and, if reports say true, takes busy mart ~ ~
ltics there,) $10,897 IS contract price 70 ~
extra allowance; and J. ~ c.. Stockton ST. ST.
contract price, and $3.50 extra ALLOWANCE -OV
These extra allowances, in that single naco
ito which my attention was attracted BY iee
light Of those ominous stars) amount. in the sn
gregate, to $50, 1872, while the aggregate Of tSs
contract prices is but $60,709.
Mr.. Clayton said, referring to a report wbic.
had been made from the Post Office Derart
ment,
81 glanced my eye overit, and found amoro
other things there, by the help of friend thai
the statements of the most eXtravagant Of tbe
extra allowances had in some thirty or forty
instances, undergone erasure: and although ire
operation had been most delicatey and cnri
ousy performed, it was on investigation ascer.
tanned that the name of the person who really
made the allowances (Wlliam T. Barry. name.
ly) had been scratched out, and that of an As
sistant Postmaster General under Mr.. McLeap's
administration substituted for it. 1t appeared
also that the report entirely evaded and omitted
to answer this call expressly made for the ad
ditional services of contractors The man
most injured by the misstatement of this off
cial report, applied to the Senate for redress.
and the Senate did, bv a unanimous rote, res,
cind the order for printing the document, on
the ground that report, thus discredlted in 50
many instances was creditable in none. Yet
we are now, by the burning Of the Treasury
buildings, deprived Of all other statements than
those coming from the same source from which
this document proceeded"
Mr.. Ewing said:
st is now or weeks (said Mr.. E. since
we called on the Treasury Department for in.
formation respecting mail contracts and extra
allowances, which, by law, are to be deposited
there within short time after they shall have
been made. 1t was not until last evening that
any information was given us on that subject
and we were then informed that the papers re-
lating to that subject had been nearly all con-
sumed, and, among those that remained, no eX-
ira allowances appeared to have been reported
The clerk who gave the information for il was
merely verbal, stated also that those allowan
ces appear only in pencil marks in the books
or on the copies of the contracts in the Post o.
flee Department. This sir, is truly most start
ling fact. Those extra allowances appear on
the Blue Book to the amount of nearly ouI
hundred thousand dollars; have been made BY
that Department which is rendered insolventby
the waste and extravaganza of those who con
troll it, and they have avoided the only check
which the law imposes upon them, by neglect
ing to report to the Treasury Department. a0o
the whole matter stands in pencil marks only Oh
them, in situation to be altered or 0btiterated,
as may best suit the views Of those who have
access to them"
In any other age ofthe Republic, how sue.
facts as these would have startled and aroused
every man in the country! Will the people SUI
fer such conduct now? Are they prepared 10
countenance corruptionand abuse so monstroS'
GROSS. and nalnahle2