The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1854-10-31
From the Detroit Tribune.
"HoNEsT JOHN swEGLEsv'


II has been a matter OF very general surprise
that John Swegos, the present Auditor Gone
raj of this State, should have been rcnomina-
icd, while Gov. Parsons, who has held tho Off
| leo only one MIR. Graves, Mr.. White
more. Mr.. Kibbce, and every other. member Of
tho State Govornme mt, except #. W. Sherman
werc thrown overheard. But tho managers Of
tho late Nebraska, of Polliwog State Conven-
ton, had their reasons for no: kicking Mr. !.
Twegles adrft with his associates. Iii known
that GEo. w. PECK, tho chief wire. puller in
The Convention, is State Printer, and has becnf
for tho last two years. 'sIiis only chance OF
making money out of tho Office is to get two
or threo times as much as the law allows him
for all the printing hc does for tho State. Mr..
Peck has found by experience during his two
years residence in Lansing and by observation
during the whole Of "Ilonest John Sweglc's"
official career, that he was the very man, above
all Others, to fu,ther his plans. He knew
Honest John" was "aH right'-that hc was
just the man for his purpose, and that t
would not bc eafe to exchange him for an un-
tried man. MIR. Swcglcs was therefore re-nom-
mated, with tho positive or implied under
| standing -rh Peek that he was not to scru-
tcnize his bIfis too closely, and was to permit
him to slump" his accounts, so tbati it should
be hereafter impossible to ascertain how much
printing had been done for the State.
As We do not wish to do Mr.. Swegles injus-
| ticc, wo will call the attention of our readers
to tho evidence upon which we impeach his
houesty and fidelity upon public oflicor.-
| Our readers will recolcct that two years ago
we produced and published from tho official
documents in his own Office, facts showing that
| the State had beer defrauded ont Of eight or
nine thousand dollars by the State Printers
during oach year he was in Office, and that tho
tax payers had been robbed of nearly THIRTY
THOUSAND DOLLARS in the three years ho had
| been in office! This was no random charge,
nor was this fraud committed without his
knowledge. We proved by evidence that he
| could not, and never attempted to dispute that
| no was party to it. How much no has per-
mitted Mr.. Peek to draw from tho Treasury
more than he was legally entitled to, we have
| not before us tho facts to prove, but We havo
no doubt that the sum will amount to over ten
thousand dollars annually! This would make
tho gross sum of FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS,
which Mr. Swegles has allowed to be drawn
from the hard earnings of the people by the
Public Printers during the five years he has
bocn in Office, more than they ioere entitled to
by lar! The charges to which we refer were
made against Mr.. Swegles for week after
week during the whole campaign of 1852 and
the only reference he made to dispute thcm,
or the only attempt he made TO dispute them
was in n speech at Eaton Rapids few days
before the election; and that defence is of so
remarkable character, and so completely cx-
presses the character of the man, that VIC re-
publish it from the Tribune of October 18th,
1852 where it appeared without contradiction.
In this speech ho referred to these charges and
said:
"As no specific charges have boen made, but
only general allegation of Fraud and corrup-
tion, can only make a general denial of the
charges: and this, gentlemen, as Democrat
,could be bound to do, tchether True or False
and then, correcting ad himself he sadl 9TH:
Here Mr.. Swegles admits that he considers
himself bound to deny all charges against him
and his party, whether true or false, and to do
whatever the interests of his party might re-
quire, ,chether right or Urong! This is "hon-
est John Swegles," whom the Nebraska Loco
focos expect to elect on the strength of his
great integrity of Chars cter and his remarks
Die fidelity to tho interests of the people! But
their great anxiety to have him elected. arees
from the fact that they see the absolute ne
cessity of preventing an examination into the
affairs of his office. 1hcy know that there is
buried up among its records an amount of
corruption and rascalty that would, if brought
TO light, absolutely astonish the people of this
State Mr. Swogles can keep this from tho
public gaze as long as he con keep his Office.
But we have still other evidence that Mr..
| Swcglcs is not only not entitled to the credit
of being an honest and faithful public servant,
but that he has countenanced tho frauds upon
tho treasury of which we have spoken. At
the session of Tho Legislature of 1852, Hon.
| Nathan Pierce, of Calhoun, who was in the Sem
ate, drew up and presented to the Committee
! on Printing of which he was member, and
Hon. George II. Griswold, Chairman, bill re-
curing the State printer to render oil accounts
for printing done by him for the State, in T.
TENS, stating distinctly the day on which it
was done, the kind of work done, tho number
of copies printed, and tho number OF ems COM
position, and tho number of tokens of prcss
work of each and every Bill, Journal, Report,
Book. Blank, and every other kind of printing
of anv and every description, executed by
any printer thereafter for the State, and for
which accounts were rendered, &C., sc. The
object of this bill was to put an end to tho O.
normous frauds that had bccn perpetratcd up
| on tho Treasury by State Printers, through
the agency or acquicsccnss of tho State Audit
or, by compelling him to specify in isems what
work he had done, instead of rendering them
in gross or by the lump.
The practice is now to lump tho number Of
ems and tokens for each week, on one bill in
such q manner that no ono can toll whother
| il is for twice or seven times the amount actu-
ally dono, as wo proved to be tho case two
years ago. This bill, il it had been passed.,
il would have nip'd in the bud all this kind of
villainy.
"IIoncst John" and G. w. Peck, who had
become State Printer, said that this would
never de-; and that if this bill should pass it
would not only have prevented thom from
floc,i tho State thereafter, but would have
proved beyond all cavil the frauds which had
previously bccn perpctratcd. They, therefore
went to work to s,fle il by representing to tho
chairman of tho printing committee, its disas-
trous effects upon them and tho parry. BY
their pitiru appeals to him, and their assurance
that il would prove the truth of all the char
ces made in ,hoTribune, they induced him not
70 suppress il. tho whole thing was thus givcn
to go.by. Those facts wo can substantia'c by
uudoubted proof Here then, wc have tho
virtual admission Of Swegles and Peck, ana
tho Senate Printing committee, that every
charge made by tho Tribune--amounting IN
Il twelve wears to more than one hundred hous-