The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1859-03-31
The Public Printing Corruption.

committee say th0t his books were so loosely kept
that it was impossible to ascertain to any rea-
sonabe certainty how his accounts cod with
the government. They also found much diff
Guilty in getting some witnesses to answer ques
tions.
He furnished The binders with waste leaves and
they charged the same to the government aud re-
ceived pay. In some instances, he charged for
printing books that never were printed, aud also
for binding the same. In his contracts with en-
gravers and photographers, he gave round prices
aud then divided the profits vita them. This was
done BY paying per cent. TO agents, or by di-
rect loan TO Seaman, which. it was understood,
should never be cael for. The contractors,
knowing what per cent they would be required to
pay made their bids high enough to cover all
drainage in that line. This fact is shown by a
comparison of the accounts of Mr. Seaman and
the present Superintendent, Mr.. Bowman. The
latter are about fifty per cent below the former
Wendell, who was an influential man with Sea-
man, and oparticipant in his ill-gotten gains, had
the agency Tor various paper manufacturers, and
received from them $l2 900 Il year. Mr.. Sea.
man also borrowed large sums of money from
the paper contractors, which was never to be
called for lie got of one firm $l2, 2S2 81, and
of an individual member of the same firm S.
900. No security or notes were taken for these
pretended loans. Another party paid Mr. Sea-
man $7 900 for contract to furnish 4 certain
amount of paper at stipulated price. In an-
other instance, 81, l,39l92 was paid for a con.
| trac'.
! nNANIMOITS
! Your committee are unanimously OF the opin
/ ion. from the evidence, that combination eX-
listed for the purpose of compelling The paper
contractors and the photographers aud engravcrs
to pay i'll some way-cither in the character OF
loans or commissions. or directly in money
for he contracts awarded TO them.
One OF the most remarkable features OF this
case is the fact that the parties having business
relations with the government, through the Su.
/ perintendentS office, whom your committee
examned found it necessary or convenient to
employ the same parties.
! In many instances these contractors had no
/ previous acquain tauce with he agents employ
cd yet they testify that no special contracts
were made for the services, that no regular per
centage was agreed upon between them, and
| that their business relations were conducted in
! the most careless manner.
The testimony in the case forces your com.
mittee to the conclusion that some intimate and
confidential relation did exist between Mr. Sea.
man and the priuclpdl parties involved, and that
they were not ignorant of the action and inter
ests of each other 1t is directly in testimony
! that one o. the paper contractors told Mr.. Sea-
man that he would no longer employ party
who had up to that time acted rs an agent Tor
! the receipt OF the paper; and further, it ap-
pears that the Superintendent then directed a
gentleman who spoke to him in behalf of his
BROTHER to send him to Mr.. Wendell to talk
about the matter. The g"ntleman's brother was
soon after employed by Mr.. Wendell to do the
work of an agent at = 900 per annum This
person did the work, received the paper aud saw
| that it was regularly delivered to the Superin-
tendcnt or his clerk. For these services Mr..
Wendell paid him ST. 600, while Mr.. Wendell
was recoguiz d as the agent in fact, for which
/ he received large percentages.
The testimony betrays the important fact that
the employment of an agent for this duty was
a MA tier OF arrangement between the contractor
and the Superin cadent, and that the agent thus
employed did not perform the little work to be
done, but, with the knowledge and consent of
the contractor and the Superintendent, he en-
pCyed another person, at small compensation,
to do it,
Independent oc any criminal intent, this con-
duct and the relations thus established were I'M
doubtcdly wrong Mr.. Seaman was the officer
of government, whose duty it was to inspect,
and if necessary r. jrct. the paper turnished:
while Mr.. Wendell was tn. Public Printer, who
used the paper, who knew The quality of the
article, and who was the only person likely to
CONF plain Of its quality. The Superintendent
was a large aud constant borrow from the
contractors. and Tins far lost his independence;
while the PubIic Printer became the hired agent
OF the contractors, aud positively interested in
the receipt OF their paper, no matter how in
different It's quality.
AMOUNT OF LOANS TO SEAMAN.
| Your committee find that Mr.. Seaman receiv-
ed from the engravers, photographers and paper
contractors examined during the investiga ton
in the way of loans chiefly, but portion in
money direct-about the gross sum of $50, 900.
wENDELLs SHARE OF THE sPOILs.
Your committee find as heretofore stated, that
Mr.. Wendell received from the paper contract,
ors about $4,000. The evidence shows that
he also rectived from engraverS and lithograph-
ers, duing Mr. S'aman's uperintendency, about
$27 ,000-making the gross sum paid to him, as
far as ascertained. about SS39 900.
In addition to these sums there are two pay
lnents unexplained-the sum Of S439l 90: the
one per cent. pound which was contracted to
be paid and was paid TO some one or arranged
in some way aud the sum of 81 POI, which was
deducted from the accounts OF MessTs. Rice,
Kendall & Co., by Mr. Msgargee.
! STARTLGNG Theory RY--GoLD IN PROCESS OF
FoRMATloN. "A correspondent Of the San Fran
cisco National writing from the mines, relates
! the following singular incident:
! The continuous formation of gold in this re-
gion is not unlrequently maintained BY men
who have practical observance Of results which
favor such assumption Recently common axe
was dug up, having probably lain four or five
years in the rcd earth which is common to this
regien, aud its entire surface exhibited fine gold
deposited upon 1.-THE iron was, of course, very
much rusted. 1t is asserted by able analytical
chemists, that gold can be obtained from all
the earth ana rocks found within the gold be I.
The future of California as a mineral count ry
is no longer problematical the exhausting OF
pacers is only removed to long period, whilt
the development Of gold in so many of the geo
logical formations, seems 10 determine the ia C