New-York daily tribune., 1856-08-08

The leecbes Of the Treasury are nalu NJ win
ouartsr of million for books for members ih-
cuding fifty thousand for 'u uiscel'aneoas expenses
is put down in one 'em in the Congressman AP'
p,onris,ions III der debate on Monday Tnl' book
eno,uity has often been discussed, and Wneh toe
Members are disposed to vote themselves pay suui-
cett in the shape of regular wages, tney can rc'of
this sltopether One. half tie amount ln niohey
dire, would 90 farther and give greater sa's'ac'
tion TO niue tenths of the members 'han 'uo'o
books, q great portion of which, II Is ho'o''ou''
,.,.r leave Washington at all. But there 's
cs.. Of claimants who 60 to the Treasury regularly
ov. =, ,.sr with no more just claim on the Govern
n.nt than the country editor who prints Con-
cressiona speech rs an item ot perSonai news
These are contractors, for Instance, VINO nave
cone with their eyes open and bid Oh CONTRACT
.nher with insufficient means to carry IL out, OF
with belief that # little could be made out OF IT,
ConOre.s could be induced to make an appropriation
for their "Iel.ei." We protest against such
atrocous jobs.
The contractors that carry the mail between
Missouri and Salt Lake, Missouri and New
M-xic,. and between Texas and Sants Fe, come
regularly 10 Congress for "exTa comPens8''ou'
ba, ing their CLAIMS on hostile Indians, bad roads,
p,eat lo.se.. and SO Cd. These contractors last
wear cot from eleven 70 fifteen thousaud dollars
each. beng about double tie contract price for the
service As If this was Rot sufficient CoDgress, az
their request gave each ole a preemption rIght 70
locate station, take up, occupy and cui1NaN' anu
eventually OWL nile square of land ever! twenty
miles on their repective rOutes Some oi these
contractors boasted that by this act they could
take up their land in such shape as to actually own
about every foot Of land worth having on rou'''
l., arly thousand miles long. Now and then Is
sprng, a fertile yalley-a perfect oasls--tnat Is
worth every acre OF LARD for score OF miles, aud
the se. the oily localities where towns and cities
can be built, all taken By these lucky contfac
tors. Each contractor, uLder this law, can take
up from tme ut, five to thirty thousand acress; the
pick of all of rbc land on route as important az
that thorulh the valley of the Kansas River toward
Salt Lake, or the great road to Santa fe. Ii Is
.caudalous distribution of the public domain that
should never have been allowed.
We have before us the petition Of Jacob Hall,
contractor foT carrying the mall from lndepen-
dence, Missouri, 20 Santa Fe. La it in answer to
qaestons p.opouLdtd to him, lie gives the amount
q! bis ussts ui nues sEd wagons a: less than s"o
ttousahG dollars aud IT d"es not appear that my ot
| ,hs was rom d. prciaiions oi Indians. il IL had
| b. en-, case would rot he made out, for If We
.r. not mistaken he has carried the msil over this
route for five or six years. He canoot complain OF
mlnnetn circumstances MS to the location OF
| United a'es iorces for the troops were With
| Drawn horn Fort Atkinson, on the Arkansas, IN
tbe Fail of 1853, ard his present contract was not
| msde until the newt year.
Tn,se statements apply with equsl force, and in
some respects with greater force to the Salt Lake
| route The contractor on that route, we are in
| formed failed entirely in his maservicc for six
! mon-hs from October last till May-and he was
bot fired by the Department; that is, he received
al bis pay jus, as # he had performed the service,
and yet he comes in and gets bis extra cOmprnsa
tion to the tune of some twelve or fifteen thousand
d0lsrs year Thereis money enough in these claims
| 10 make things pleasant wish " lobby. .men, CON-
mittee. men, and Administration officers and
with little log roll ng the matter is all accom-
pshed or the matter, if it fails on its own
mtris, C) gets tscked on TO the general appropri.
alton. These clsmsnts are, IA matter of course,
good Administration men, they reside in Missouri
the most of the time, and assist the Pierce
A.chison Democracy" to keep up the Border
Ruffan rule in Ksnsas and they want TO be paid.
But We do not believe the majority Of the House
OF Represen ta,ives oan be brought to consent to
any such scandalous appropriation Of the public
u opey.
FROM FLASHING TOE