The Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1834-184?, 1844-10-03
From the Cincinnati Gazette.
BY-GONES THAT SHOULD NOT BE
FORGOTTEN.

BY-GONES THAT NOI De
FORGOTTEN.
We referred to the report, sometime ago,
made by the minority of MIR. Wise's Com
mitt ee of investigation in 1867, and gave a
list ofsome of the defauIters to the govern
ment whose defalcations were brought to
light by that Committee. amounting to up
wards of two millions of dollars. The cor
~respondence between Mr.. Secretary Wood
bury and some of these public deiaulters-
who were kept in office ven while they were
know to be largely in arrears and were every
day becoming more and more so,-ls real
ly worth reading on account ofits originality,
its quaintness, the cool dishonesty of the
~defaullers, and the patience, long suffering,
forbearance and tender mercy ofthe Secre-
tary ofthe Treasury, towards s~ubordInates
whose "family connections he wasaasur-
tied, were "extremly influential, and were CO
Operating with" the administration, Sin the
arduous ~struggle' it was making to put down
the ''Federalists." Whether the same for
b%earance would have been shown to these
defaulters had they happned to have been
Wings, orhadnot "families and connections
ofso much influence, who were cooperating
with the administration in the laudable strug-
gle it was carrying on, we cannot say; but
had such been the fact we fear the Secreta-
ry of the Treasury, Mr.. Woodbury., would
have acquired much less credit for his God
like qualities than he manifested towards
his stgood iriends'' the defaulters. In some
instances the Secretary demonstrates, imple-
res, threatens, beseeches, and again and
o-..~ 4L..o 49, 4ho Ioc,,l4or. b,f oil IN M
purpose-he will not "fork up" and even
increases the amount ofhis defalcation from
quarter to quarter, with perfect %impunity
This was the case with w. P. Harris, whose
name appears in the list of "leg treasures"
we gave a short time ago, and who finally
pocketed S1O9,I7S. For a long time prev
ious to the date Of the following letter, the
Secretary had been writing TO him coaxing
and threatening him alternately, to induce
him to pay up; but all to no purpose. AT
length the following letter was addressed to
him.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT. Feb. 6. 1885.
Sir:-I regret that there should be occa-
sion for again calling your attention 10 the
omission to render your monthly returns =
y = y 4 = and to remind YOU that
u UunCluuIiIyE Is IuQiSDSISdUiCs l. dIua &c.
LEyIWOODBURY.
Secretary of the Treasury.
v. P. Harris, Esq.
i Again, March IL 35, Mr.. Woodbury.
writes Having received no monthly reiurns,' y
&c., it becomes my unpleasant duty TO call
your immediate attention to the OMISSION
And again, June. 25, 80, Mr.. Woodbury.
; says to him, "IIaying, in a communication
i addressed TO you the 18th March last, and
on several prior occasions, urged upon you
3 the indispensable necessity of making your
: monthly returns, and finding no returns have
S been made" &C., t'it becomesmy unpleas
: ant duty TO say to you, that if those il
F; %arrear are not transmitted by return of mail
[ shall be constrained to report your neglect
o 10 the action of the Executive" In otheI
words, Mr.. Woodbury. says, elf you dom
S make your returns I'll tell the President o
you" Now Mr.. Woodbury. begins to be il
earnest.
g Again, he writes, on the 2Sth' pf August,
IS, "Agreeably to the intimation given you
h in my letter of the Goth June, it has becom
e my disagreeable duty to report your contin
10 ued neglect TO the Presidents and tells hin
if his returns are not received on or befor
re the 10th ST October next, he will then 'sbe
,e dismissed from Office" But the Secretar
oflgives him another hintthe 22d of Septem
h Der, and again on the 2Sth, he informs hin
tina his returns are ofparamount importance
c. In the meantime the Hon. John f. II
i Claiborne steps in to save Mr.. Harris froL
a removal, and to accomplish this, writest 10 tn
~ President as follows:
ire Columbus, Sep. l, 1885.
II Dear Sir:-Many ofthe early and constar
III friends of the administration in this Stat
n have heard, with much regret and sorrow
that the present receiver of public moneys a
a. this place is to .Econsider himself dismisse
u unless his returns are made before the frs
Re of October"
His familyeand connexions are extremel
influential, and all of them are ~co-operatin,
u with US in the arduous struggle which we ar
now making. They are true democrats; an
~ the bank, multiplying and White parties woul
- shout victory" at any blow aimed at then
=: We are now in the midst of an election
~ eering campaign. Gov. Runnels, r. Wa
= ker, Maj. B.. w. Edward, and myself, col
y %Stitute the democratic Van Buren, tickle
CT y y
This and other letters produced a respit
to Mr.. Harris, Mr.. Woodbury. informed BIZ
nc that "the President had consented, upon til
y FACTS now before him [see 'sthe facts i
Mr.. Claiborne's letter. to continue you.
Office until the 10Th of Noyember ''~Eassurin
30 him that if all his returns were not THE
= made hesmust be removed fromofice, how
ever painful to both him and the Department
We'll, did..he comply with the demands oftE