Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1858-1859, 1858-05-15
Government Bargafns-.-the Fort SIen.
i'm. Property.


though it does not ilnp'cate any one as hav-
ing been absolutely gu Ity of defraudiLg tho
Government, oilers some extremely curious
AMI interesting facts in illustration of the
manner in which governmental bargains are
effected, and the manner in which suitable
| agents are employed to look after the public
interests. A bill having been pushed through
Congress just at the close of the Pierce Ad-
mnstIation, authorising the sale Of such
military reservations as were no longer need
ed for military purposes, Mr.. Buchanans Sec
rotary Of War immediately after. entering
upon the performance Of his official duties,
appears % fave thought it his first and most
pressing obligation To sell off some of the
old fcr,s at the West, though it appears from
the testimony of Gen. Scott that the Secre-
tary did not deem it necessary to ask that
ficers advice as to which of the military re-
scrva'ions could be best spared. A Doctor
Graham. of Virginia. informed his friend, Sec
'e,ary Floyd, in the month of April, 1857,
that he was going Wes', and offered to exc
cute any little .mmissiOns the Secretary
might cntrust him with, towards paying his
Travelling expenses. The Secretary at once
oiflci 10 make Linn an agent for tie sale If
Fort Smelling, but tie shrewd Doctor, not
withstandli.g his desire far some employment
that wo';ld help to pay his travelling exreu-
ses, declined the ofer, Lecauses, as he states
he preferred being a purchaser Of the proper
t., thinking t would be more advantageous
10 him than to act rs the agent of the Gov
crnment in selling ii and that he did shrcw-
dly may be Inferred from the circumstance
that he did become one of the purchasers Of
the property.
But the Secretary of War discovered an.
other II his Virgins, friends who was willing
I" act as the agent of the Government in the
business. Tnc name of TIL, accommod;t nc
gentleman was !ieiskell, and his own account
al the manner Of his app intnent is invested
with such an air OF innocent simplicity that
we quote his own words lest we destroy their
charming freshness by al attempt to con-
dense them:
"GCv. Floyd and ran a race for tie T.o-
gi>l.ture OF Virginia in 1855 against the
Know Notbires, and when the Governor got
pace in the Cabinet, said to him one
morning: Now. old fellow, we have had
rathcr; hard fight of it together, agains, the
Know NOilinss here, anil when you get in
Office You must not forget ME l want you
to give me n place want one hat will paw
not less than $1,000 or 5000 wear; /; |
don't wat anything else" Said he, sWcll,
old boy in his way, to me, IF can do any
thing f'r you, YOU shall have it, After he
hal been heie in Office for two or three weeks,
he wrote n Litter 20 me there is nothing
here that you would want. There is no Of
flee in my gift. or in The gift Of tie President,
that you would have Some time in the
month of April, he wro,c me that he had
little business for me to do that would pay
my expresses, aud lie wanted me TO come
here wrote to him, do not want to do
anything that will not lay well.'"
He went to WashnctO ton immediately, and
was appointed n Commissioner, with Major
Eastman Tor his cuadjutor, for tie sale of
Fort Smelling, his pay to lie eight dollars q
day and travelling expenses. As he had told
the Secretary he did not want any place that
would be wortG less tan fur thousand do,-
lars year, :here must have been some pick
ings. or contingent rcmainders that were not
specified, to make up tie moderate sum
which would satisfy the cravings of his am
bi'ion.
Now, with two such Commissioners as Mr..
| Ilei>kell and Major Easman-for Mr. Steele,
who purchased the property, testified that
he would not have selected such agents to
sell his own lands-and with DR.. Graham on
the look out for chance to make good
investment, the probabilities were ten To- ore
agains. the Government obtaining fair price
for the Fort. The Commissioners we've en-
powered to sell by private contract, or pub
iic sale. as they might think most advisable,
/ ar d very oddly they came to the conclusion
that it would be bet to sell very privately
indeed. The reasons they gave for their de-
termination ar" very ingenious, to say the
least. There were so mlny lani Spectators
ab ut, and such an cagernesS to get possess
sion OF this piece OF property that they Were
fearful # 1t were put up at public compei-
ton there would be q combination formed to
rrrvt n it from bringing the minimum price
Of $50 900, which Major Eastman had Fl vcd
Ippn its lowest valuation. Hav nc arrived
at this very sagacinus conclusion, their next
step was to offer it at the lowest price to the
very nan vi hum they hal reason to believe
vas willing and ready to pay The most for it.
| There is a beautiful simplicity, an exquisite
tenderncss of feeling in Major Eastmi y
testimony i'll giving his reasons for adopting
this curse, which we would commend to the
serious attention of real estate agents The
Maj or says in his aiiicss manner:
Eve fixed the prc.. at $4,000; after We
Tad g.re thus Ia" tie question arose as 10
whom we huul first otcr it to, and we de-
tcrmi,cd to offer it to Air. Steele, for these
lessons; lie had vel there { r about twenty
years he had b'i [ him a house, AMI be-
i:evc had Io,>cs-,,u IT I'll private property
there; lc Lad i;.is, Il Il family o., | think, sew.
en children Ihcr,.. AM was s'il livin, there !;
',e hal made. aud he vas the only one we
knew wh y Il made, n, offer 10 tie Govern.
mcut foy i, and We thought it but lust
that we >nou!d give him the refusal # il"
NJ Ste /. bad been the sutIer Of the Fcit;
| he knew The va'uc of the pro, erty like O
boo.;,' and hc SnapIc cd at the offer at once -
After the pu, has" was made it very oddly
happened Il at >ecrct ry Floyd's Vir.i.il
f., nd who IA ref! -rd t. act As n Commission.
cr for it, sale, was concerned in the urchase
and that Senator Srhri, brother of our Col
Icctor, and his wife, who advanced the money,
and Mr.. john c. Mathc", another of our De-
moctaic Ser a,"rs, and in some way connect
ed with tie Custom House, were also part
ncrs in the purchase. The reservation con
sits Of about 5000 acres Of land, anl tho
price raid forit was 100000. The Hon Rob-
bert Smith, VI. c.. Illinois, testified that he
knew the value OF the property perfectly well
that he had in vain cndcavored to procure
some Information fr m tie Secretary OF War
as t. the time and terms OF sale. and that he
would have been willing to sell all his proper.
ty to procure the means to purchase tho
're.crvation" at four times the price at which
it was sold.
The Investigating Committee, in their re-
port, Iay Mr.. Mal.er the compliment of max.
i.c him the prime mower and chief operator
N the whole transaction, and as he had been
less wary than Doctor Graham and had accep-
ted an appointment as Commission er fr the
-ale Of Fort Riplcv,h his completely in thepur-
Chase of Fort Sucllng Il is said, taints the
whole transaction and the Commute there
fore recommend that, "to chastise So mnch
indenccncy AMI i competency" the whole
sale he vacated ard the money be returned
to the purchasers with interest.