The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-04-14
HOW OFFICIALS GROW RICH, AND
THE TREASURY BECOMES EMPTY.

We have elsewhere given chapter upon this
subject in to-day's issue of the Era, the facts
of which are furnished by CORES pendent of
the Richmond Wing; and the importance of
the matter to the people at large Is so vital, in
volving, as it does, the national character for
morality, as well as the pecuniary interests of
the Treasury, that we offer no apology for
again making it the subject of comment. The
intelligent correspondent of the Philadelphia
Inquirer, whose long acquaintance with public
affairs in this city gives him peculiar oppor
tunities for detecting the knavish tricks of pub
lie officers, presents the following cine to a most
fruitful source of official fraud. He says:
awe may suppose that a contract for sun
plying Indian goods for any given year is to be
let; the amount of the contract may be from
fifty to one hundred thousand dollars in the 40
gregate. We may suppose, further, that the
head of the Bureau may be DESTROYS that Ger.
tain individual or firm shall obtain the contract.
and that, too, at even more than remunerating
prices. Well, we will draw up his advertise
ment for proposals; among other things he will
advertise for, we will say 700 fonr point Mack
NAV blankets, 10000 ttoo-pOiRt do. 500 three
point do, 10000 .tfUepoint do, and hundred
other articles.
Now, to the uninitate1, this would appear
to be all fair and to mean Just what it saws.
1t would be supposed that the Bureau really
wanted each and every article advertised for.
and the same quantities specified. But herein
he would be deceived. The fIrored partv. or
initiated, understand very well that that por-
ton of the articles advertised for. which | have
italicised will not be wanted that they are mere
dummies to be bid against and that instead
of one thousand four-point and fire hundred
three-point Mackinaw blankets, the Government
will require at least ten thousand of each With
this information, the initiated makes his pro-
posals. He puts high price upon the articles
which he knows will be required, and proposes
to furnish such as he knO1cS piH not be called
for, at price less than the cost Of the scooJ re-
CURED TO make them. Very probably he him
self assisted in making the advertisement, or
prepared it without assistance, for the head of
the Bureau. Such things have happened
But the uninitiated in the mystery of in
iquity,' who desires to obtain the contract, in
the honest simplicity of ignorance makes out
his bids for each and every article advertised
for, at such prices as he thinks he can furnish
them for, putting down nothing at the tenth or
fourth of its actual cost. When the bids come
70 be opened, the head Of the Bureau, with an
air Of honest simplicity which Uriah Heep him
self might envy, proceeds to foot up, so as to
ascertain the aggregate amount of each one of
the bids, when it turns out, as it is always sure
to do, that Muskrat, Beaver, d Co., or the an
tiGted firm, are the lowest bidders, and of
course the contract is at once awarded to them.
"But, at the end of the year, let us call for
the quantities of goods called for by the Bureau,
and furnished by the contractors under this
contract By doing SO, and examining closely,
we shall find that not single one Of the articles
bid for at prices so far below their cost, and in
such large quantities, was called for or fur
nished, but that more than ten times the amount
advertised for, Of he goods for which high prices
is the mystery of iniquity.'"