, 1859-09-01
ARMY CONTRACTS
Swim ding tho Government In Utah.

Horace Greeley writes from Camp Floyd to
ihe Tribune II interesting letter on Our Army
in Utah" 1t appears that brigham fonng
made $4,000 clear profit on lumber furnished
the American army to construct its comfortable
q ,aFters at Camp Floyd. The army does moth
ing but enrich tue contractors favored by the
War Department, andthe sanity spectators of
Aormondom. Ar. Greeley says:
Whether truly OF f.lsely, this armE. probably
without an individual exception, undoubtedly
believes the QormonE ~ body to be traitors
to The Union and its Cover nment inae1ibiy in.
tent on establishing bere power ahich shall be
1t first independent Of and ultimately dominant
ever that Of the United Statea.
Ar. Greeley says that = suspicion is enter
tanned that the Army is kept in Utah for the pc
cuuiary gain Of tie tribe of contractors. He
gives few Of the many casea Of Government
proaigaey:
THx YLoCR CoSrRAcr.
Twentv-two cents per pound is paid for the
transporter Of al provisions, munitions, &c,
from Lcavenworth 10 this point. The great
contractors we're aloxed this for Transporting
this years supply Of -four Dy little dexter
ous management at Washington, they we're next
3ll wed t0 furnish the hour here, being PAID
their tweuty-two cents per pound for transport
atiou in addition to the p.imc cost on the Mis-
souri,. As Utah has better soil for growing
wheat than almost nytbinK else, they had no
difficulty in sub-icstipg this coutIAct at strt"
cents per pound net, making clear profit Of
tl71,0u' on the contract, without rlsklng dol
lar or lifting finger.
THE SALE OF hrLra ANp WAGONS.
Pursuant to recent order from Washington,
the Assistant Qoarsermaster General here is
now selling ~ suction some two thousand mules
about lwoihisds Of ali the Government owns
in this Territory. These mules cost &l75 each,
and are worth to-day $l25 to *l50. attended
tue sale for an hour or 80 this forenoon; the
Eange of prices Was from &G0 to 6ll5; the aT-
erase Of the 200 already sold about *75. Had
these mules been taken to Calitornia and there
properly advertised and sold, they would have
brought nearly cost even ut LeaTenworth they
mast hure sold tor 1t least fl00, 900 more than
here, where there is practically no demand an1
no competition for such an immense herd md,
after egery Mormon who can raise I hundred
dollars or over, shall have supplied himself With
span Of mules for half their value, one or two
speculators will make as much as they please,
while the dead loss to the People will be nt least
sso0,tte- Subodr here has recommended the
sale Of these mulcs; they were being herltd
under the ears Of detachments of the army, at
po CO I bu: for heEismcn, and they couldlase
BEEN kept through next winter iu secluded
mountain valleys at u cost Of abous &1o per
head; whereas, the army can never more with
out purchasing nn equal humber and they Can
neither bc bouyh: here nor brought here for
$auu,0t more lhan tlese animals are now fetch
ing. Snmthody'x interest is subserved by this
sac, but is certai ly not that Of tue army nor of
the people. The order is to sell seven hundred
wagons welt, but these would not bring $50
each, while they cost at least $50, and could
not be replaced when waited even for that,
while tue army cannot move without them, and
keeping them costs absolutely nothing. Who
issues such orders as this, and fur whose
benefit:
TRANSFORMATIONS OF CORN.
Th ere has recently been receivcd here thirty
thousand bushels Of corn from the Sta.es at =
net cost, including transportation, of $340,l'ul
or over I'll per bushel. No rcqulsition WAS
ever made for this com, which could hare been
bought here, delivered. for t! per bushel, or
&GyptU in all. The dead loss to the Treasury
on this corn is t2:n.AN, even suPposing that
the service required |. at all Somebody makes
= good thing Of wagoning this corn from the
Missouri at OVER 80 per bushcl. Who believes
that said somebody has not influential and
thrifty connections inside OF the War Depart
meut.
SPECIMEN or GoSERSNExT RkrnENcHkkyr.
The mail from Missouri to Salt Lake has hi
theEfo been carried weekly in good six-mu1e VIZ
gons, the contract time being twenty two days
The importance Of frequent and regular con-
municaiiop with headquarters, At least SO long
as large army is retained here 1t heavy e1-
ira cost, md because Of some presumed public
necessity, is evident. Yet the new Postmaster
General has cut down the Mail Service on this
important CENTRAL route from weekly 10 semi
moutlly- But the contractors. who are Obliged
10 run their stages weekly because they hare to
keep their stock and pay their men whether
they work or play, find that they cannot carry
the Mail erery Other week so cheaply Us they
can every week. For instance: \ mail from
the States now often consists of twelve to six
teen heavy sacks {mo.t 0: them filled with frank
ell doeum nrs.l weighing as many hundred
ponnda Double tlis, and no six mule team
would draw it at the requisite pace. und no bag
gage waSnn stand the jerks and jolts Of an IN
nude road. So they say! "PIcase let Us c4sry
the Mall weekly, though rou only pay Us for
carving il semi monthly" But no. This
is ttrict1y forbidden! The Postmaster At Salt
Lake has express ritten orders TO refuse it.
and Of course he at st. Joseph also. And thus
al this central region, embracing At least dog
en- important Military posts and countless ln-
dim Agencies. is reduced 10 scsnimopthly mail
service, though the contractor would gladly
make it weekly at the same price!