The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1858-04-30
The sale of Fort smelling.

The majority of the COMMITTEES ap-
pointed by the House to investigate the
circumstances attending the sale Of Fort
Smelling, express the following severe
censures upon the conduct Of the Secre-
tary Of War. They say:
That the sale was effected with such pri-
vacy, that, outside of the Secretary Of War,
none but the combination Immediately in
tercsted had any knowledge Of it, and the
facts obtained publicity only altar the con-
firmation OF the sale by the Secretary Of
| War. '1ff fia VII
r, No special authority was gwen him to sell,
nor did the existing laws confer tho power to
sell military posts or reservations, until they
| had already become useless, and not merely
| contemplated 10 become useless; thus a loyal
occasion for the sale of Fort Smelling had
not occurred, and hence 1t was without legal
authority. .Niallf $50 t,-
The preliminaries were being made for the
sale while there was actual threatened hos
i tilities. So ue-- --r-
The Committee shows lite value a. . depot,
. and that the price obtained was below its
intrinsic value. The publicity Of the sale
ought TO have been sought, and the land
, subdivided in parcels to enable mon OF small
Z means to buy. The sale was on . credit, moi
. authorized by law.
a The report is made by Mcssrs. Morrill,
: Petit & Morris, OF Illinois, and concludes
J with resolution declaring that the sale o
: the military post Of Fort Smelling and Sc
much of the reservation attao he'd to it, or was
necessary for military purposes, made on TIN
q 9Th OF June, 1857, under the Authority OF the
a Secretary of War, the same being then an,
now reclaimed under the authority Of tina
department because necessary for militar.
= purposes, was without the authority Of law
I. that the said sale was made by the Secretar.
of War notwithstanding his own knowledg
and the opinion of his predecessors, the Hon
r Jefferson Davis and other officers in superio
military command 20 the contrary; witheu
consulting the advice, and without the knowl
:, edge OF any officer in the service Of any rank
- leaving the question Of the retention Of ths
!. post to the discretion of q Commissioner aP
q pointed to make the sale; and this action o
the part of the Secretary Of War was gray
q official fault. '--fiI,ff1
e That with the knowledge Of the great va
uc of the Fort Smelling post and the reserv'
A Judgment in making the SALE the Secretar
of War appointed as agents for the purpos
he unqualified, inexperienced and incompetel
~ men; that the provisions for and the mar
!. agement of the sale were so ncgligently, carr
L lcssly and injudiciously made, a. to induce
re successful combination against the govern
ment to exclude all competitors aud bring
~ loss on the government. 90 Tl0Ig
re That John G. Matthews, the agent of Il
War Department for the examination al
oi sae of the Fort Riley reservation, after ha
IS, ing already formed a combination, for I
=. purchase Of the Fort Smelling rcservati
~ acted, in making such purchase, IN viol
h. ton of his official duty and againstthe know
Y. edge Of the Government; and that as to hi
No and Richard Sehell, represented by himas
he agent. and Steele and Graham, who we
u complicated in the sale, with the full know
edge Of their official character, the sale OF t
ar. Fort Smelling reservation was at the time nj
~ ID now void. .
y The minority Burnett aud Faulkncr) =
~ that they were aware Of the clamor and
A. nunciation which followed the execution
the contract Of the sale, and of the harsh il
be putations cast on the Secretary of War; I
I'm it required little dlscernment to detect in q
concentrated bitterness of the OPPOSITE
1t, press the rawlings of the disappointed spec
a. lator, and the frantic suggestions Of the I
litical partisan.