Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1859-03-18
GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION.

The recent exposures on the subject OF Ma
val contracts and the corrupt practices oil the
Navy Yards are too important to be lost s'ght
of.
Mr.. Bucbnnan's Administration seems to
be so thoroughly corrupt that probe cannot
be inserted hardly anywhere without reveal
ing loathsomc putridity beneath. We in
stanced few days ago the corrupt dispose
ton of contracts for building sloops of war.
We come now to another chapter, and there
will be yet more to be spoken of hereafter
Mcssrs. Sherman and Richie of the Com
mittee of the House Of Representatives,, set
forth the peculiar arrangements, under the
Buchanan dynasty, for supplying the Z. 5.
Navy with coal 1t will be seen that Mr..
Buchanan, like Mr.. Micawber, felt that he
had a call to concern himself with coal, as
we'll as his Grand Vizier of tie Navy, Sccre-
tarv Touccy. His late whipper-in of the
House, j. Clancy Jones, seems also to have
had a like feeling, and how the business was
done, the reader will easily learn from what
follows
COAL AGENCY.
"Previous to and including the year 1850,
fuel for the use of the Navy was required by
law to be purchased by contract with the
lowest bidder. in the same manner as other
material for the navy. BY the act of Sep
TENDER %, $780, it was provided that
"In the article of fuel for the navy, or ma
val stations and yards, the Secretary of the
Navy shall have power to discriminate ana
purchase. IN such manner MS he may deem
proper. that kind of fuel which is best
adapted to the purpose for which it is to be
used"
Such being the law, the former Secretary
of the Navy appointed retired coal mcr-
chant Of Philadelphia agent to purchase Tor
the Government He received offers from
the coal dealers, took the lowest bid, and
either he or his son saw it weighed correctly,
and shipped as it should be. His commits
sion was five per cent. But gradually the
use OF coal in the Navy increased, and in 1919
the annual purchases had risen to 55,ooo
tons. The Office was prize, and was sought
for.
sin Nav, 1858, some of the applicants
met at Washington. and at a conference with
each Other and their friends, (among whom
was Hon. J. Clancy jones', it was agreed
that DR.. Charles II. Hunter, of Reading
Pennsylvania, should be appointed coal
agent, and that the cmolumcnts Of the ollice
should be divided equally between him,
John F. Smith, and j. Lawrence Gctz,
warm personal and political friends OF the
President, who had contributed largely to
his election. Hunter and Smith were both
applicants for the Office of coal agent; Gctz
was a member of the Pennsylvania Lcglsla-
ture, and then and now the editor OF the
Reading Gazette"
Hunter, Smith, and Getz were examined
under oath. Smith sworc:
That the arrangement was communicated
to the Hon. Clancy Jones, then member oil
this House, and that the President also un-
derstood that the cmolumcnts Of the Office
were to 20 to the three. As this was deemcc
important by the committee, the witness wa'
examined and rc-examincd by different mem
bers of the committee rs to the knowledge OF
the Presidents he repeated that the President
knew that the three We're to divide the emol'
uments of the Office, and that the parties were
satisfied with the decision, but he kne"
nothing about TIE arrangement, whether one
half was to 60 one party and the other hal
to the other two OF not.
Mr.. c. Nichols Beach, also, a nephew by
marriage of Secretary Touccy, confirmed the
above statement lie talked with Mr.. Jones
about it; she knew that the emoluments oil
the Office were to be divided between the three;
"That he talked with the Secretary about
the appointment of DR.. Hunter, and that the
Secretary informed him that, as the applca-
ton was a Pennsylvania one, he would defer
to the wish of the President
at is to be remarked that, by law, the
President has nothing to do with the pur-
chase of coal The only power in the matter
is conferred by law upon the Secretary; yet
it appears, from the testimony and the Sec
retarys admission to Beach, that the power
was yielded to the President.
Getz said that for some cause, he refused to
share in the profits Hunter was practis-
ing physician in Reading, who knew nothing
about the market value of coal, and never
purchased pound for the Government, but
turned the business over to Tyler Stone & Co.,
Of Philadelphia, and certified the papers
which they sent him, to the effect that a
certain amount of coal, duly inspected and
weighed by him, had been shipped on such
or such a vessel These papers were sent
to the proper bureau, and all parties knew
or ought to have known, that the certificates
were false so far as relates to his personal
knowledge Of the facts certified"
Smith was in the omnibus business, and
had no more to do about the coal than Hun
ter had.
"Neither Hunter nor Smith saw the coal
inspected, weighed or delivered, and the
whole business was turned over to Tyler
Stone & Co. Mr.. Smith tcstiiies that he
took no personal supervision Of The matter
except to see that the best Goals could be
had, and depended upon Tyler, Stone Il Co,
to inspect the coal. Tyler, Stone & Co., and
DR.. Hunter fixed the price at SO 50 per ton
The testimony of many witnesses establishes
beyond reasonable doubt that the market
value of such coal as was delivered to the gov
eminent would not exceed So 80 per ton, ant
several respectable dealers would have fur
nishcd the government at that or less price
and then made profit. The amount o
emoluments received by DR.. Hunter, ant
divided by him with Mr.. Smith, was, for 81,
months, 81 ASP 90, or, at the rate of s IA
905 81 per annum."
How much cheating there was in qualt,
or weight, nobody knows, as there was NJ
inspection whatever by government officer
"TnEM's PARQuIsITEs.'-Among theitem
required by the late House of Representa-
tives, are some very curious ones. 1t ap
pears, from the report of the Clerk, tina