The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-03-13

Plumber or the State Treasury Of Ohio
Report OF the Investigating Commission.
In another page we publish digest Of the re-
port and evidence of the Commissioners of In
vestigation appointed by the Legislature of Ohio
to inquire into the frauds committed upon the
treasury by three successive Treasurers, who
swindle the State out of nearly 100000. The
account is extremely interesting, and full of in
struction to Legislatures as we'll as to corpora
tions who place implicit confidence in their Off
GERS, and then too late, find their trust betrayed,
and themselves and the community victimized.
The three State Treasurers Of Ohio, for period
of twelve years, each walking faithfully in the
footsteps of his worthy predecessor, speculated
with the money entrusted to their safe-keeping,
lent it to banks, some of them of the wildcat
genus to bankers who failed, to railroad COM
panies, and to other rotten corporations, and, in
fine, invested the money Of the people in various
fancy stocks and Western lands, while, all this
time, SO little vigilance was exercised by the
Legislature that the fraud went on, from
year to year, without detection or even
suspicion, till it exploded at last in 1856,
by mere accident, in New York, where
the parties fell short by 100000 in desperate
effort to raise $4,000 of interest due to the
Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company.
The Legislature Of Ohio are very wise in lock-
ing the stable door after the horse is stolen We
can see that their investigating commission will
end in smoke-indeed, it is already evident that
it has failed either to recover the plumber, or to
punish the deaulters and this is the fate of other
committees and commissions of investigation,
whether appointed by State Legislatures or by
Congress, for the last two or three years. In our
own State Legislature, the Albany Bridge Com.
mittee, the Lobby Committee, and the Metropoli-
| tan Police Committee are remarkable examples.
In the Wisconsin Legislature, the committee ap-
pointed to inquire into the alleged corruption of
| Governor Bashford in connection with grants of
the public land to the La Crosse and Milwaukee
Railroad Company, have just made unanimous
report fully generating him. and justifying his
official conduct as being highly honorable,
and, in the opinion Of the committee, direct
ed solely to the promotion Of the best interests
of the State. This is just what might be ex-
pected. The Legislature of Wisconsin voted
away the lands of the people, and the considera-
ton for which several of the members did so has
been brought home to them; and now white
washing committee calls the whole thing patriot
| ism.
1t is the same in Congress. The report of the
Corruption Committee investigating into the
case Of Matteson and other members of the
House Of Representatives; the Lawrence, Stone
& Co. Tariff Committee, by whose labors the
fact was developed that ss7 900 were employed
to corrupt Congress and the press; the Fort
Smelling Committee the Willet's Point Commit
tee the committee appointed to inquire into the
accounts of Cullom, late Clerk of the House the
committees appointed to impeach Judge Wa
trous, of Texas, and Judge Irwin, of Pennsylva-
MIA the Soaring Investigating Committee the
Navy Yard Investigating Committee, aud the
| Printing Investigating Committee--all these
have ended in gas and buncombc, and no practi-
cal measures have been adopted to mete out
justice to offenders, or to provide against re-
currence Of public plumber and fraud, which ap-
pear to have the connivance, if not the direct
sanction, Of State Legislatures and of Congress.
Where this rampant, shameless corruption is
going to end. or how its progress is to be stayed
Heaven only knows. The contemplation Of It's
| future career awakos the most fearful fore.
bodngs it, every patriotic mind.
| Col. Cauiy's Rejoinsier To Gen. Wheat.
10 Tue EDITOR OF THE HERALD.
!