New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1861-10-26
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS.

However just may be the general presnmp-
ton that a contractor with the Government s
nlmos. necessarily rogue, It is certainly In
convenient. Men of fair rePuto shriuk from
the impuiaton of contracting as though 1t we're
akin 20 forgery or theft. TIE Nation wants
Beef and Bread, Shoes and Blankets, Guns
and Powder. for is soldiers; Il sohcIts offers
10 supply them: yet it is deemed dlscredtab'e
10 make such offers. Any citizen IS proud to
be known O, Federal Judge, Marshal, Mem
Der Of Congress, Colonel, Adjutant, or private
colder; nobody il proud Of being contractor,
~ seeh, 10 blazon tie fact And yet he who
furnishes guns or ammunition mag be "a eI
fsctual supporter Of the National authority
a. he UAo uses them. Why, then, the II re-
pute
The reason FOR il ia found 10 the fact that
cheating the Government in its contracts Is so
common as to 10 presumed nearly universal.
He who undertakes to supply il with ilorseS
or Beeses. Powder or Pork, Is popularity sup
posed to obtain through official favor higher
price than his commodity commands in the
market. or 10 furnish an inferior article, or to
cheat in number, weight or quality, SO as to
secure large profits, which he sometimes shares
with The functicnary who connives at his
fraud. Hence tie dscredit which attaches to
contracting. whereby honest men are impelled
a. ,hun Il and leave an undue share Of 1t TO
rorueg. II the public were more faithfully
seryed b. Is officers, we should have better
eass Of contractors, and either obtain better
fabrics or haze them at lower prices.
But there is one circumstance which tells
heavily against the public interest in the mat
ter Of contracts-that of official delay aud
caprice in passing accounts and ordering pay
meuts. If merchant has ten thousand bar
rels OF Pork for sale, which the Government
wants and offers SIS per barrel for, while the
market prcs ia Sl4 so, he will, if a man OF
business. sell MS Pork on Change for the cur
rent price instead of letting the Government
have it for $1,000 more. For he has money
10 nav as well az receive, aud if he sells 80
a brother merchant, be knows when his pay
wiu he forthcoming; be can rely on the good
/ .lih nd sense Of honor OF the merchant a.
insure his pnctuality, while it is quite other-
W.se with the Government. Let han sell b..
Pork 10 tae Government, and he must begin
f,iog Ike shuttle from office to bureau, from
Neg-York 10 Washington, must entreat and
importlne, and bore, and often bride, to have
his account serutniled aud passed, aud lbs
warrsnt male out so that he can draw his
money from the Treasury. lle may not be q
rascni-Lhcre hare been contractors VINO were
no, rascas--but he is certain 10 be scowled
mon AZ though 10 were burglar detected IN
picking tho locks of TIE Treasury. Weeks al
ways. months often, must ho thus run from
piIlar 10 post, cooling his heels in great
mems outer chambers, until lie is ready to
lsvear that he viii never again have any
dealings with the Government that he can pos
/ ,ibly avoid. Knayes mako different resolve
hat the Government shall pay for THE in Their
lrext contraot-ghich it does. The result IL
hat true men are driven of, and the bust
mess of contracting falls more and more intt
tue hands OF sharpers, while no one can AFFORD
70 deal with tho Government without securing
a large margin to cover the delay and expense
of getting paid. We have heard thai there
are now Twenty TO Thirty Millions OF account
awaiting adjustment BY tie Treasury Depart
Iment, ard that some OF them have fingered Their
for weeks without attracting attention. Ii th
purchases of Arms, Provisions, Equipments
Clothing, Munitions, &C., for the curreAt yea
shall amount to Two Hundred Mlllions-a
tdey probably wll-the extra cost because Q