The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1859-03-05
T II E DISPATC
SATURDAY s.GgNiNf AABCds 1853.
- =


Tue House Of Representatives, ia Congress IL
Going one good thing. IL is opening to the public
! eye the abuses which have grown up under our
government through long course Of years, aud
especially In the matter Of contracts for public
work. low tho Navy Yard contracts are made
/ has beeu already explained Since then the pub-
/ nc printing has been ovefhauled, ahd the same
| hocSstering system appears to have prevailed in
that department. The tims covered By the iayes,
tfgation is tho period from December, 1850 to Ds.
cembeT. 1867, duriag the time that Mr. Seaman
held the situation of superintendent of the Public
| Printing According to the testimony of tho
COMMITTEE, the books OF tfe Superintendent were
kep. in loose apd negligent manner, that the
condition Of the accounts could not bs ascertaned
with the proper correctuess The amount of paper
delivered to the public printer, Mr. Wendell, could
not be aecertained, because the deliveries
| 10 all covered by official receipt. A Ia.
| borer In Mr. Wendeis Office appears to hare had
the charge of the delivery o! the paper. Accounts
kept with the biuders for waste paper, purporting
| to have been closed, have not been 30 in reality,
aEd the Superintendent, long aftor the date of
closing, had tried to collect the amounts due
Payments were made also to binders for volumes
which not credited, and volumes ordered
have not been bound aud III some not eveo
printed. e
But the contracts for engraving, ithograpby,
and paper are the most remarkable of the discio-
| sures The testimony here shows a combination
existing for the purpose of compelling contractors
to pay commission for receiving the jobs. Mr.
Seaman had recommended for employment z. S.
Duval & Co., John Csssiu. Van Ipgan * Snyder,
aud Sinclair 4 Co, of Philadelphia A. Ioen &
Co , Of Baltimore; and Sarony, Major aud Knapp,
Of New York. Ali these parties had paid commits.
sons to sgents to procure employment, under the
impression that il was necessary. Payment was
made in different ways--iD some instances in the
way of loans; in other per centage was paid
to agents for attending TO the receipt aud de-
livery of the WORK at Washington, the necessity
for which services existed more in imagina
tian than in reality. In other cases, the Per
cam maid tirPctiy this SQnaTintp0dsnt
Of course, the contractors made a provision IN
their bids for the allowances made to the agsnts,
and this increase sometimes amounted to fifty
per cent which the public had to pay over the fair
price to the cormoTanfs in &ffce. Mucn OF the
work is now done under the present superiatens
dentat twenty-five per cent less cost Charts
which under Mr. Seaman cost sl6T so each, now
cost ouiv S49.7I- The per ceHtage paid to agents
for contracts was from Ave totwenty-ive percent
No person could procure the government work
until he had first seen Mr.. Sesmans agents. IN adj
ditoD to She loans received by the auperintend.
eat. which have never been returned he made u
contract with one party for 5000 year salary.
on condition that the party referred to should
haEa the contrgcs for supplying all the paper
This agreement respecting the $1,000 salary was
not complied with, ms the senior partner Of the
house refused to execute it and 80 lost any fur
| ther contracts. In another case cent per
pound Was deducted from the cost of Iaper to pay
one Of the special agents for the paper contracts
| Art aDgeGlents was also made by which Mr. Weo-
dsil, the public printer acted agent to attend
+, to dutiea which belonged to the superintendent
| place. Bat the agent instead pockeied the earn
| ings aud employed a person at a low salary to
| perform the duty. Mr.. Seaman received frcm the
eugravers, photographers aud paper contractcrs
| iu the way OF loans chiefly, the gross sum of $780,
| 900. Dir. Werdali received from the paper con,
tractors about $4,000 from engravers ana Iitho-
graphers, about s27 600, making the gross
sum paid to him, as far ascortained, about
s30, 600.
| These revelations show the various modes in
which the public are plundered bs unprincped
meu who would get into positions of prominence
| and supposed responsibility. There is no mode Of
reaching the delinquents that We know Of, except
their prompt removal from office when discoye cred
President Buchanan, at an early period iD assum.
ing tae duties of his station, placed this supera.
| tendency under the charge of man of integrity
and con- pct enCy, who has ever since been at war
| with the spoilers, aud has been The frequent sub-
ject Of their assaults through the letter writer's of
| easy conscience. The facts, they are exposed,
will induce Congress to adopt additional restric-
ions for the prevention of such corrupt coiu sions
against the public interests nd place the Contract
service in the hands of men OF greater rssponsi.
| bity, aud make the contracts themselves more
| open to publicity and examination in all their
| transsctions.-Ph Philadelphia Ledger.