Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1842-05-20
A STRONG CASE OF CORRUPTION.

The various Committees of the House of
Representatives are diligently engaged in
tcrrcting out abuses in the various Depart
ments Of the Government. They have many
obstacles TO ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS the Admin
islraton does not cooperate, with cordially,
in the work Of scrutiny and reform. Capt |
| Tyler has to build up party from the ground
and having no merits to rely on, he has TO |
resort to every cxpedient within his reach.
! The patronage of his office is his main re-
liance--and this augmented or diminished,
as useless expenditures are increased or abol-
ished. His interest, therefore, leads him TO
oppose any rctrcnchmcnt, and he regards ev-
cry effort of Congress to abolish sinecures,
| and arrest extravaganza, as an attack upon
him-as persecution by the Clay Wings
With regard to the malpractccs of the Van
| Bnrcn dynasty, he is as tender and consider
ate, as though they were the acts of himself.
| These, he considers much capital for
himself. They serve as hostages for the
fidelity ofevcrv dclinqucnt-and so long as
he is President, they will constitute cllectual
safeguards against any opposition from any
Locoloco in office.
But Notwithstanding this opposition to re-
trenchment and reform, on the part of the
Executive, the WHY'S in Congress have per-
severed manully, and they have succeeded
in bringing out some cases, which Will starile
the public mind. We have one of these now
before us, in a Report from the Committee
on Public Expenditures, in relation to the
removal of Chickasaw Indians, in 1896.
From the Report, it appears that contract
for the removal, in steamboats,, was wade with
one Simeon Ruckner, at specified sum.
Buckner, accordingly, transported 3OOl In
: dams, for which he received SlOS,34f 30.
One item of this large sum was Sol, $40 for
baggage-or 1,O64 tons. The Committee
avow their ignorance of what this baggage
consisted Thirty pounds, per capita, is the
, usual allowance for lndians-as they rarely
, travel with other equipments than gun,
box ofpaint, a blanket, and, perhaps, bow
I and arrow. Allowing 80 pounds TO each,
5 the baggage of the 300l would have amount
5 ed to only IS tons, instead Of the lO6f cllarg-
G ed.-The Committee show that, if the Gov
eminent had hired the boats, at $500 day,
! which would have been liberal compensa-
a ton, the expense ofremoval would only have
. reached S24 ,O00-boing a clear saving OF
n $4,000
= But this is not all, nor even the worst part
: of the transaction. On the % ofJuly 1910,
II the further sum of S37 ,749 was paid to Buck
: ner. The grouud on which this payment
y was made is thus stated by the committee
a -"Only 30Ol could be persuaded to 90 by
the boats the balance of the tribe refused
&c TO do so. and travelled by land to the country
it allotted to them West of the Mississippi
y For all these Indians, who thus went by lane
le CAPTAIN Buckner charged the same price fol-
~ transportation as if they had gone in the boats
~ and for this, he was allowed and paid, "a
re above stated, the sum Of S37 40: in othe
ce words, he was paid for transporting on boat
ne Indians who travelled through by land
m The accounting officers at first, and TO
ne more than two years, refused to allow thl
d. claim. But afterwards, during the animated
bo canvass of 1910, it was under very pcculla
he circumstances, allowed, through the aid an
er intcrposition of Col. Dick Johnson, who re
nd ceived half of the money. as loan. We an
es' mex that portion of the Report, and will to
en- morrow give the whole of it, as presenting
l.9 striking case of waste and corruption
T." This transaction, which cost the Govern
m men, Sli6 DOB 80, ought not to have co
nj more than a 600! 1t is by such transaction
TIA rupted-and a public debt created. III
ter substance of the people has been wasted NJ
ana ni on parlsans and 'avorites; and OF the mi
u lions and millions consumed by Van Bure
,,,- not single monument of public utility CO
siry be shown to account for them. They a
he gone-and no one, but "a committee OF live
e is tigaton, after laborious search, can tell whe
l.. and the Wings, who are diligently emplo
o. ed in detecting the rogues, are to be held
', , sponsble for their depreciation
nv, ro Richmond Wing.
nee, Undergraduates propounded to Simeon B"ctner,
ives The Committee on public Expenditures, and his
rs a srers thereto, under oath.
he LIST interrogatory. Under contract for reno
5 To of the Chlckasaw Indians, you appear TO have
aes lived the of S}77i9 on 2nd of July lSll; u
nro. a reqisition was drawn on the Chickasaw fund
I,s that amount, which was subsequently presented
n nu9 the United States Bank for payments that II
,hu- returned and this requlson ISSUED IN Iis s',au
iren Please explain why this requ>ucn was pad by