Staunton vindicator and general advertiser. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1860, 1858-05-01


not confirm what he says hers responsible
for, or esse have misunderstood his speech.
New, whea aahese contracts come in, what
are they? Has- the government been plum
dcred !? Has'the Secretary Of War had
any thing, to do with these CONTRACTS, ;indi-
'yilIally +? Has he done anything more
than give them his approval, under the law
Of Congress which is laid down to him as a
guide for his course. Look at tue act of
1929, and see what the duty of the quar-
atermaster general is, and what the duty of
the Secretary Of War is, under particular
circumstances. Section six progides:
That no contract shall hereafter be
made by the Secretary Of State or Of the
Treasury, Or of the Department of War or
Of the navy. except under 4 law authorizing
sthe same, or under an appropriation ade-
qusee to its fulflment and excepting, also,
contracts for the subsistence and clothing of
the army and navy, and contracts in the
quartermaster' department., whic.l may be
made by the Secretaries Of those a].part-
.ments"
There is the law. appeal to this House,
after all that has been said, whether the
Secretary Of War docs not stand here by
the papers yindicated before the House and
country in having conforned his action to
this law Of the land? When these con-
tracts come here, is there any evidence fur
nished BY them that tie cove, nment has
been plundercd. or that anybody has re-
.warded him or the quartcrmaster or any
b,,, Il 49,, ~, n
partmcnt, for the purpose Of procuring
them?
So far as one Of these contracts is con-
cernea, we find that the contract would
have bankrppted the parties who made it.
The Secretarysof War released them from
It, and sent out his quartermastcr to make
the necessary purchases for the army
And, sir, every man who knows anything
about it knows that, at the PRICES there
proposed to be paid for this article Of beef,
the contractor could not hopeSo ;make a
.sgoft, but must have subjected himself to
very great loss take it that it is the
same with regard to the article of horses,
fifteen hundred Of which are ordered to be
purchased by the quartermaster, and dcliy-
cred at Fort Leavenworth. These horses
i,nust be of particular description must
come up the required standard and the
dealer must run the risk of transportation
by steamboat and otherwise till they are
delivered at the point specified in the con-
tract. There they must be inspected and
the dealer runs the risk of the rejection Of
more or less Of them; and he is only to be
paid $3.50 for those that are received.
But the gentleman from Illinois says that
this is monstrous price, and that you can
buy such horses at seventy-f five or one hun
dred dollars at the outside. Now let ME
say teshim that | have friend here in the
ileuse who is willing to give to him the
benefit Of just such contract; so that, if
the gentleman is wiling to take the eontract,
there will be proposition before this bill
will be disposed Of to contract with the gen
tleman from Illinois, or with any other res
ponsible person, to furnish such horses as
the government may want at 800 per head.
Now we will see whether the gentleman
from Illinois will come up and stand to that
contract
MIR. LOVEJOY hope you viii give
me as good price as the other contractors
$3.50.
Mr.. LETCETR. Isthe gentleman going
to back out? He does not mean to tell us
that these horses are not worth 500, and
then back out when he is offered contract
at that price.
Mr.. LOVEJOY I dia not say that /
would back out. But say that it is fair
should get the contract at as good price az
the others
Mr.. LETCHER. Yes; but you say that
rate is too high and you would not wish /
to cheat the government? Laughter.
Now, let US look at another point ia this /
connection! Take the other articles en-
braccd in this contract Here is cider
vinegar, first quality, at four and three
quarter cents per gallon. Is that plan
defing contract? Is refined white sugar at !
aine and half cents per pound plumber
ing contract, delivered at st. Louis So,
4 take it, with the article Of sperm candles
at twenty-four cents per pound. You and /
|, sir, know that we do not get them fur I
nlshed for our families at that price, fre.,
orr own market in the city of Richmond +
And yet this contract, thus made, is said I
to be an unreasonable and unfair contract, /
and mputations arc -eas5 .oG the Secretary !
of War in connection with 1t. Let me tell I
the gentleman from Illinois, that, no mat
ter who his informant may be- in operations /
of this sort the fang of SANDER will hurtless
break on the adanant Of the Secretarys /
reputation.
Well, my friend from Ohio TMr SssER-
MAN complained that VIC did not furnish in /
formation as to what part Of these appropri- !;
atoms was an anticipation and what part /
deficiency, Now, if the gentleman viii take !
thc'treuble to make an examination he will
End in Miscellaneous Document No. 20 that !
the whole is there, stated. He will find how
much Of it is anticipated .and how much of !
it is for deficiency. IL he will go further
lac will find explanatory remarks. He will
find something like she cost CT furnishing /
these supplies to the army as estimated IN /.
the Quartermaator Generals department.
But, sir, these gentlemen say that the |
Secretary of War wants patronage. If so.
had he not a fine opportunity to secure that
patronage under this provision Of the law,
by going into these contracts and purchas-
ing these supplies, that transportation might
5e carried on government account? lie
would have been in the market for forty
thousand oxen He would have been in
the market for the hire Of threo thousand
men. lie would have been in tie market