Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1861-11-13

condemned. The committee will report that a
number of the wagons thus received by the Quar-
termaster and his agent have broken down be-
fore the army had proceeded far, and that all
the wagons will be useless after few weeks
service
The third act Of fraud is in the building of for
tifcations at St. Louis On the 18th of August
Col Hassendeubel, by order Of Gen. Fremont,
engineered and surveyed the points within the
limits OF St. Louis for the erection of eleven forts
Under Major II. 5 superintendent FIVE were built
directly for the Government. without any inter
vening contractor. The wages of the laborers
were sixty cents each per day, and the cost of
each fertilization not to exceed $4,000. On the
25th of September, when Gen. Fremont knew
that the forts, completed, cost $4,000 each,
Quartermaster General McKinstry per order OF
Gen. Fremont made contract with E. l.. Beard
of California to build six ad itional forts for
the Government. similar in all respects to the
FIVE constructed by Colonel Hassendeubel;
agreeing to pay forty five cents per cubic
yard for all excavations, fity-fve cents per
cubic yard for the same dirt excavated upon the
bank of the fort and forming the embankment;
for all puddled earth 80 cents per cubic yard;
paving walks with brick or stone, floors or block
horses, &c, 81 per square yard; for cisterns, %
cents per cubic gallon of 23l inches, arched with
brick, crown and cement; lumber for magazines,
block houses and quarters for officers and troops,
sewers, &c, the lumber and timber to be meas
bred in The building. sleo per 900 feet; Tor
facines and breastworks required on the work, 81
per cubic foot, and tor roofing all the buildings
with three-ply roofs 81 50 per square of 100 su-
perfcial feet The total cost of the six forti6ca-
tions figures upward of $500 200, upon which
Mr. Beard has received $40 200 An additional
payment of an order for $50. 600 from General
Fremont was stopped by the Secretary of War
when in St Louis. The evidence sets forth. that
notwithstanding Beard has received already three
times the original cost Of tie works the laborers
are :lamorous at the Government officers for
their pay. The items of the cost of forts, as
proven by other forts built, and the evidence of
master mechanics. put the figures, viz: l0c per
cubic yard for excavations and embankments
pudded earth 30c; paving, &c., 4Oc; cisterns,
&c. &c; lumber and timber S40@50 per 900
feet; facines and breastworks. 35C640c; roofing
1902 80, and total cost of six forlihcations not
over $50 900, The contract for fortifcatons was
drawn up Yer order of General Fremont. The
contract is regarded by the committee irregular
and informal, except that it provides that mo
member of Congress shall be interested in the
said contract" The contract is in part irregular
for the reason that according To the regulations
of the department. the Quartermaster only can
make contracts of this kind.
The fourth act of fraud is the house rent, first
in the palatial mansion of Mrs. Colonel Brant,
cousin of Mrs Jessie Fremont. rented to General
Fremont for headquarters of Major General, his
Private Secretary and Chief staff, at the rate of
$4,000 per annum. Other palatal mansions i'm
the neighhorhoOd are rented at similar rates.
and occupied for offices of members of the staff.
Large and expensive barracks have been built
in the immediate vicinity, as quarters for the ac-
commodaton of the Fremont BODY Guard. mum
bering 600 men. The barracks will accommo-
date $500 men. The cost of these barracks and
Benton Barracks, capacious enough to accommo-
date 40, 900 men, will be about $50, 900, double
the amount necessary to erect precisely similar
buildings. In the roofing of these buildings,
which is upward OF 5000 squares of 100 superb
cial feet, the Committee have discovered much
fraud. The contract provides that the roof shall
| be three-ply, and put on with ielt and soaked in
hot tar and in substantial aud durable manner.
The Committee have evidence that the Superin-
tendent and architect, A. b. Ogden, received a
draft of 500 on Gen. McKinstry from Capp &
Co., provided he (Ogden) would obtain the con-
tract for them at their bid, which 50 50 per
square of 100 superficial feet
A Mr. King, under oath. testifes that he gave
Ogden draft on Mckinstry for 81 500 for his
services in getting him the contract for SO % per
square. To each of these Ogden promised the
contract. Tie work was awarded to Almen
Thompson at 50 so, but whether any bonus was
given does not appear. The Committee find that
50 600, and that the party doing the work only
put on one-ply roof, and that with felt dipped in
cold tar. In few places there we're only two
phys. The facts we've obtained by cutting into
the roof at various points Ii is also in testimony
that there responsible bids at 81 90 for this
same work.
Another fraud was in the contracting with Z.
W Fox the manufacture of picket pins at forty
FIVE cents each, when Thomas Hood, black
/ a.
twenty FIVE cents per pin-the number to be made,
$4,000 pins. Also to Fox and others, camp ket-
ties at thirty-6ve cents, when there were bids at
at twenty cents: nails. axes, spikes. &C., at simi-
lar rates. Saddles that were rejected by the
| Quartermaster, were purchased by Fox at low
| figures and sold to McKinstry at increased rates
| The building OF sundry tug boats and charter
ing of several steamers at double their cost and
value, particularly the chartering of sundry boats
belonging to the Keokuk Packet Company, have
been gone into at length. and much imposition
found to exist. The tug boats are being built at
a cost of $500 each, when they ought TO be
built at 81 500 each
Other frauds in the purchase of oats, clothing,
blankets, tents, SC; the issuing of transportation
tickets and paying off employees in uncurrent
| funds-such as the Union Bank and Bank of St.
Louis. fifty five cents discount-instead of Gov
| eminent funds, &c &C. are fully i'm evidence be-
4
| given above. No frauds were found in the Com
missary Department, but the report of the com
mittee will exhibit the transactions of the other
departments in an exceedingly unfavorable light
As the Californs contractors are alleged by the
committee as being largely interested in many oi
these contracts. we give their names: Joseph
Palmer, of the firm of Palmer, Cook & Co; Le-
onidas Haskell. K. L. Beard Major Selover, oil
the firm of Selover 4 Sintern. real estate auc-
tioneers, and /. c. Woods, manager of Adams
Express Company.
Three ofthese gentlemen are living in st. Louis
in fine style, and two are ON General Fremont:
| staff
The committee could have continued their in.
vestigatons further, but they believe they have
sufficient evidence, and have gone to Cairo to ex
anime few witnesses there. Thev will ther
visit Louisville and Cincinnati and take evidence
of any frauds existing in the departments of thos,
cities. l.f
From the Washington National Republican.
AView of the south.
BY DIsTTSG UIsHFD CLERGYMAN OF KENTUcK,
The following communication was handed tt
US by distinguished clergyman of an important
interior town of Kentucky, who is now a chap
lain in one of th National regiments. As a
witness OF matters within his own knowledge
our correspondent is eminently reliable but soms
of the matters which he communicates are deri