Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1859-04-13
Frauds upon the 0overnment-No 8.

Frauds upon the Government-No 8.
Dsspairing Of emptying the Treasury under the
forms Of law-great As are the abuses, and fraud
ulent the practices in this respect-it seems that
the law has been, in instance at least, openly
violated in order to give place to party favorite.
Thus, We are told that the ofhcc Of Naval Store
keeper in New York is ono not created by id'c at
au-and yet this Office is filled by Democratic
partisan and tho editor Of a newspaper, who re-
ceives . salary of seventeen hundred dollars
year from the Government besides having in his
en- ploymcnt 1.-TWO clerks, two writer's, one fore
man and seventeen laboring men, All these
people, we suppose. are paid liberal salaries for
doing Just what the Naval Storckee,er docs-and
that is, Just nothing at all! If no such Office is
created by law, We would like to know under
what authority these twen,y-threo men draw their
payl II the law makes no provision for such an
officer and his subordina,os, We would Ike to
know how they get their sal"ries' D'es Mr. San
ders, who "dieburses fur millions annually" Mt
the New York Navy Yard, pay these men without
any warrant or authority whaever9 We would
like to know. We suppose their united salaries
amount to thir, thousand dollars year-all paid
v,
any such Offices Has the Administration the
right to create useless Offices at pleasure. md pny
them without any authority, express or implied
If co. We shall I've pleased to have it demonstrated
to u.s. 1t seems TO us they Ind better contine
themselves to their present wholesale corrupt'ons
under the forms Of lac. than TO be setting the law
utterly at defiance. for the purposes of giving
places and Offices TO needy and hungry partisans.
This Naval Storekeeper himself testifcs before
the Committee that he "spends but very little
time in the Yard" lie is an active editor in New
York city, and attends to hi. paper. We suspect,
though, that he spends time ouou.;A there to draw
his salary punctually and cheerfully! However
much he may neglect other duties, We make bold
to assert he is rarely ever forgctful of that
Let a. now cali attention to q most glaringly
fraudulent practice pursued in this New York
Navy Yard. When Government ship is fitted
out for sea, all tho naval stores that are put
aboard of her are charged being appended
that il, the Government is charged with them,
at their full value-and has them to pay for
When tho ship returns from her cruise NIL tho
stores that she brings back are put back into
the possession Of the Naval Storekeeper, and tho
Government not credited ruth their rdiue' In
other words, all the stores that ship brings
back are % much clear gain to the Storekeeper.
Probably he puts the very same stores upon the
next vessel that goes out and thus gets paid Tor
them second time. Probably they were brought
back again and again--or, at least. portion Of
them-and he got paid for them third aud a
fourth time. Under this fraudulent and swind-
ling system. there Is no telling out of how much
the Governuent may have been cheated.
1t would be precisely similar case If my Of
our readers we're TO buy an article from n mer-
chant and send the article back, and tho merchant
were to let the charge stand upon his books and
make you pay for an article that you never used
The eass Is even worse in this Now York Navy
Yard. because the article might, possibly, DO
charged three or four separate times.
Other people may have some potter name for
this sort Of transaction-but We prefer to call it
BY the unmistakeable term of scindling. We
know Of NO other proper designation for it.
An instance 10 given which will illustrate the
matter still more clearly. 1t seems that the Gov
eminent furnishes certain forward officers Of each
vessel with what are called comparing watches"
gation-and when the vessel returns, the watches
ere required 10 b delivered up tho Storekeeper
10 b ready for the next vessel that goes out
Now, there are sixteen Of these watches charged
to the Government on the books Of the presen
6torskssper, and yet he could account for but two
Fourteen watches we're cleared by this officer il
this single transaction!
The testimony taken before the Committe
shows hat 1t the three Navy Yards at Boston
New York and Philadelphia, there we're on tn
FIRST Of JAY, 1858. nearly four millions Of dollar
worth II Naval Stores That is, the Governmer
il ehssged with that much, and has paid for tbs
ma1h-bat whether they are there or not is
diAMsat question! Can anybody conceive VIII
ths Government should keep nearly four million
II dollars worth Of Naval Stores on hand at tire
a ~ Navy Yardsf Particularly, when thes
Masy 1asda sss Al situated in large cities. wher
stdrse seuaA b passhased At moments notice
1has sissanstapcs. Il itsslf, 10 exceedingly susp
III Msssl stnsksspsr had the effrontery
tss1f5 tsf6ss The Committee that his force was t.
a1lsNs3 - - nsedsd IN increase in the nuu
- - SllpcdinaAss. Yet when Command
- 6xngeplfssedu upon this point, BE- prong
1ySGvo1 - 49, fpsss In he Storsksspsr's D
pastnnt4as 6lsps bsas TO Iargsr Not %