Weekly American. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1858-1858, 1858-05-15

"I think saw it in the laos sent me,
among which was one authorizing the safe OF
these reservations
Now, the Session Laws of Congress are
very hard to get-(as we have had ample rea
son to know, since we require an early copy
every year to be condensed for our Almanac)
for several weeks, after a session closes; this
act Saying nothing Of Fort Snelling) was not
passed till March Sd; and DIR. Graham states
that he went to Minnesota to buy this property
for Mather, the Schells and himself Gas
he testifes) the last of April, 1857" OF
course, Mr. Mather-misrecollects But why
is it deemed necessary by Mather and the
Schells to testify after this fashion, The
"white heap yonder" is visible to all eyes:
but who is the cat it seeks to concealP If his
name is not John B. Floyd, what is it?
o. Messrs Eastman and Heiskell were ap-
pointed and paid as Commissioners to sell the
Fort Smelling property-of course, to sell it
Justly for the Government, fairly for the COM
munity. 1t was perfectly notorious that there
would be eager and wide competition for this
p, operty if it were known to be for sale.
Though the Hon. Robert Smiths first letter
of inquiry is ignored at the War office, ye4 the
letters of John G. Sherburne and the Pon.
Paul Dillingham; (ex.M. G. from Vt) asking
to be allowed chance to purchase, are
there on file Mr.. d., writing from Water
bury, VT, May 1, '57, tells Secretary Floyd
"that he has learned that such lands and
forts as are no longer needed are to be
sold, and it has occurred to me that you
will sell Fort Smelling, near where / would
like to locate" Mr.. d. tells Mr.. Floyd that he
always has been, and am yet, reliable
Democrat-that he is tired of living in YER
mont where genuine Democracy is poorly
thought of by the great colored party who
rule, and always will, here" One would sup
| pose such letters were worth response
through some idle clerk in the War Depart
ment but never word did they evoke
| Mcssrs Eastman and Heiskell went about the
business of selling eight or ten thousand acres
of highly valuable land as though it were the
stealing of sheep-saying nothing to nobody
never allowing it to transpire that they were
commissioned for this purpose-nevcr giving
another person but Franklin Steele and his
confederates chance to make an offer-and
selling the whole tract in lump, within one
week after Mr.. Heiskel arrived, for half of its
worth and fourth Of what it would have
brought, and giving one and two years credit
without interest for two-thirds of the price
10. Maj Eastman favors the Committee and
"the rest of mankind" with definition that
strikes us as a sumner. Hear him.
Question 70. Your object was to get a
good price? ~ .#I
Answer presume so. .......
| "Question 7S. Why, then, did you not
advertise it, in order to obtain the best price
Answer. Because it mould not then hare
been a pirate sale, nm and our objects
might have been defeated" Gt,.. 10 .
Maj. Eastman is of course entitled to a
leather medal for his improvement in lcxi-
geography, but we cannot accept it. We must
insist that our respected patrons who advertise
their farms, houses, &C., in THE TRIBUNE to be
sold Eat private SALE are not idiots We
don't dispute that this of Fort Smelling aoQs
private sale-very private-the most private
for such property, that we ever heard Of
but, though more fair and open course might
have spoiled the profit of the transaction, we
insist that it would still, SO long as the prop
erty was not put up at auction, have been a
private sale to all crelitable intents and pur-
poses.
&, IL. We must close this too long expose; yet
single touch of Mr.. William King Heiskell
Secretary Floyd's townsman and special en-
voy, must not be omitted. Mr.. II. testifies as
follows:
"After the sale was made, Mr. Steele re-
marked that IF we had sold the land to any,
body else he would have claimed damages
from the Government | remarked to him
that looked upon the sale about like this {:
If the sale had been made to anybody else,
the Black Republicans in Congress would
have been INSCRIPTIONS enough to have given
you $4,000 for your buildings. You are a
Democrat, il is true; but for all that the Black
Republicans would have given you $50, 900 for
your buildings;' so that looked upon the sale
as, in reality, made for $500 or $40, 900
more than the price named"
AS neither Mr. Steele nor any one else had
any possible presumption right to any part OF
this nor any other subsisting Reserve (the law
being explicit on that point, we submit that
Mr.. HeiskelPs eagerncss to smuggle away the
public property at halfprice from approhen-
sion that the wicked "Black Republicans
would give Democrat $4,000 Of public
money unjusty, was stretching his zeal for the
interests Of the Government entirely too far
for beggarly So per day. Mr. Floyd should
double the dose at once; and if Steele, Schel
and Co. do the fair thing by the Secretary, we
insist that he shall give Heiskel an extra
thousand out Of his dividend Such watch.
full and wary virtue as this Of Heiskell-a vir-
tue that rushes in to swindle the Government
out Of 100000, for fear that the "Bacl,
Republicans" will steal and give to Democrat
only $5o,000-is too sublime to pass unre.
warded in these evil days.