The Lansing state Republican. [volume] (Lansing, Mich.) 1855-1874, 1859-12-06
when Rogues Fall Out" sc.

The Detroit Free Press certainly not with
precipitate haste) comes out with the charges,
a. sustained, upon which Collector Shoemaker
was removed.
IA Pecksaiff, the Free Press prefaces this
exposition by the following piece Of hypocrisy
The Free Press never has defended, and it
never will defend. public officer IN ma!ieas-
ance Ii never has compromised, and II never
will compromise, with fraud or pecu.atlon or
wron. OF any sort, by whomsoever fraud or pee
uaton or wrong of any sort has been or may De
committed. We will strengthen the hands OF
upright and honest public officers against attack
with all the power We possess, but no pu9hc
oiicer ever need come 10 rs for defence who
cannot exhibit 10 us the evidence OF has intes-
rity."
THIS i pretty smooth for a paper which de
Tended the Phoenix Bank claim, 10y which si',-
600 was surreptitously taken from the Treasury
bv the last Iocofoco Board of auditors, and
which defended land peculations by that State
Administration, al the expense OF the State OF
Michigan, 10 the amount of more than Sloo, 700
in two counties alone, and which generally de-
Tended a State Administration, stepped TO the
lips in corruption But here, according 10 the
Free Press. are the sustained charges, upon
which Mr. Shoemaker was removed;
ETrst-That he committed the fees (of course
government dues cannot be conmutedl tor per-
mits 10 land goods bv the American Express
COMPANY, the Great Western Railway Company,
and the Grand Trunk Railway Company, amount
ing to g., 001, which he received, aud for not
one cent of which he accounted to the govern
4 Of oh h.sl,. Ia.
government and not 10 him.
.Second-Thst he collected fees for permits 10
other parties, amounting to $500, which he
| did not account for but put in his own pocket.
! 7hird-That he collected from the Wyandottc
Rolling Mills Company $4,000, which he did not
! account for but put i'll his own pocket.
| FoUrth-That he collected from the contract
ors of the Grand Trunk Railway Illegal fees 10
! the amount of 8. leo, which Re did rot account
/ for but put in his own pocket. These fees he
/ has since refunded TO the attorney of the con-
/ tractors.
| Fjfh-That he c1sctcd and collected from
the Detroit and Milwaukee Railway Company
about $, 900 Of fees which were mostly illegal.
/ Thus making about 1900 collected for fees
which ought 10 have been paid into the treasury
but were not, and about s. 600 Illegally eXactei
which lie put into his own pocket
/ !>t[fh-l nat ne receiver anu pam Out W tht
public creditors bank notes instead Of gold and
silver, in violation of law.
/ .>erenh-That he collected duties ou railroad
/ iron from the Detroit and Milwaukee Railway
/ Company AT thirty per cent, and credited the
/ same 20 the government at trpffg-tou per
cent, thereby putting $500 of the government
money into his own pocket. This ne kept for
| seven or eight months and until the Agent OF
the Treasury Department discovered the def
cheney aud required that it should be paid into
the treasury. when the Collector, pretending
! that he had collected but twenty -four per cent,
/ told the Agent that the Company wogll pay the
remainder at once, aud subsequently that ii had
| paid it, The Agent afterwards ascertaIned that
! the Collector refunded the money from his own
! pocket.
There were one or two other rather serious
charges which were proven, but tho foregoing
are the main onea We have no comments To
make upon this exhibit, except that the reader
v i'll see. that the late Collector not removed,
a. some have believed, for having fallen into
Irregularities for which he had precedent in the
office. Neither did political considerations have
ANYTHING whatever To do with his removal.