The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-06-10

4 hnV
With sssurpsiuD pouurd, ,u.r hi.n In ,Ot r..Ort,at
matter with none o the material and guiding fscts b.
fore him shoold he hnve Sr,ed vfthbf the
order for the cosiag Of Tho tssrsstoa vish Mr. Wie
man on any ono else Should he have preceded on ts
abort notice to decision on 30 grave matter. and that
TOO when h bureau engineer rosesine Wlesnsn's pris
- exortitsat and pgcenrxnw hs.saaoa AZ he lnn
to priyate contract Of sale would Nave d..,ntsd fr
his action and when that occr did not attach scist
ssnRcance to Wiosuan'y rruupoasl 10 intiuce him t
bring 1t to the notice Of the Secreiary of War;
The undersigned are OF the opinion that the Secretary
acted In the premises With wise ca1tti0u which N al
swsiug of hiah commeudationi rsb tban az osn.,,r.
~ declined to do It, says Governor Floyd In his own
woxds for IL was thing had never oor1ted TIE cald
net about at all it was INV trst money vssrtaon and
10 was inclined to do it. This was lust such pr,-
ence and wilom as should the action Of All
public agents Had he pursued different coursc acting
without conferences with his colleagues and the prenS
Il could have been an S haste and reckless.
na dangerous az precedent and ocrs,sable to the last
degree IL were far more honorable to the Secretary to
have allowed and r safer for the public interests to
have suffered undar the circumstance the Lon of the
whole valpe of the Wetts Point property than to have
set an example Of precipitation without record in the his
tory of our civil administration and which would have In
volved in disgrace alike the government and s adnnis
trative officer Then indeed might his assailants have
with success npeached the integrity Of his act for his
prccptste acceptance within the fraction Of day of
proer which the head Of the bureau had rejected but
day or two before as extortionate would have really
subjected him to severe animadvsrson Ima3a9 legs'
~
resting on any obtaining the Willetts Point
property at less price, It lies not upon the Secretary Of
War isfs 81 ygi4t-s ysssgeo9 l{ears 5EF assrIt
captous spirit might take ground that the Secretary
Of War should be held responsible for all the acts 10th
OF omission ara cophmiedo, of HIS chief encines and f
all his suboriinates It would b. imposibs for y head
of department to attend to all the details of business n
the various dyisions and of a de,rtrnent
there must be trust in every bureau and to- the en-,
gpccr bueau il confded the task of taking the ptatov
movements for the acquiring Of property IN the ilitay
epartpent of the United States IF there has been IN this
matter any want Of in that bureau. or if It
has committed errors of Judgment or of any other kind
the head of that bureau is csube not the secretary Of
War s6l4iti5i edi tss,oig 4 4n9arts 0H n
Itmay be alleged In behalf of General Tottan that he
regarded Wiesmas offer as totally nadmissible, and
that 1T safer for the government to pursue the
process Of condemnation and apprsissment aud he may
~. .hu ~ ~ 800 80 i'aiuus ~ u'eFo
~. 80 n~ ~ tnnht a. rar.I IA aa, no
~;or 1,;cor 80 ~, ,,rr,s;t;or rt;5 T.; .t l.. ~
Major R,ruard of tLa 2ith ~ M.rb Ias7 Int the ~
~ ara co,,st,d t conclrdc nat Il ,san ~
f;aI c,rcr In M. sngnscr not A., h.,, ,,,,,
ncacd to the Secretary at the earliest possible moment
that letter Of the Gath Of March, and all subsequent ones
70 .ne same enec wncn LOT some reason shat the un
s ru a rsts ss.
a.m,s;.;nn ~ tho W;Ilat. po;rt nar,r a. a. rot,,
posed by wieaman -slzo 900 for the whole.
mans proposition having boon lost and willetts Point
curry q Co course next arose .t what price the property
of W. ais ;,.t;. ~ saw AN, v., nrant;on s,,s =,
have Iecn taken for the o,a;nn, of tbe ian ON tho least
nossile terms
Two modes of arriving at the value Of the property
seem to have been considered First TINT ~ cond.nn
ton and assessment by a iurv and secondy n direct
purchase from the new n,opriefor 077 ''ST
On consideration the former plnn was abandoned and
the undersigned think properly a5i ~ RE Esf '1,'
n.