Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1861-06-12

0 0f a nn;s. lrui'. ''''''''''''' 2 bus pus
vi onions. Dus
Of pickles and other anti scorbutics.
As to how far this bill of rations has been
complied with We would refer your honorable
body to the testimony of soldiers herewith APP
pended, in connection with the statements herein
after set forth in this report.
Your committee are clearly of opinion that
the rations have exceeded the army regulations,
but that they have not been in accordance with
the schedule in the report of the Commissary
General heretofore made to this House. That
there has been considerable favoritsm towards
some companies. by the employees of the Com
missary, but of which we have traced no knowl-
edge to the Commissary himself, and that many
of the complaints of short allowances of rations
are well founded and are directly traceabe to the
employees of the Commssary issuing the rations
We are also of the opinion that, rs general
thing, the companies have Jared best whose Off
GERS have been the most careful and attentive to
the wants of their men, and that much cause of
complaint would have been removed by proper
attention of the officers of the companies com
planning
QUALITY OF THE PROVISIONS.
In the careful investigation which thought
necessary to give as to the quality of the pro-
visions, we find that the ground coffee furnished
before the troops were supplied with green coffee
and coffee mills, for the most part, was basely
adulterated and almost worthless. When the
C0mmissary went into the market for the first
purchase of this article he found limited supply
the grocery merchants having on hand only
sufficient amount for the supply of their regular
customers, and therefore it necessary for this
officer to make some immediate arrangement for
furnishing this article Mr. B. f. futile, gro
Ger of this city, informed Mr. Mansurs assistant
that he had an arrangement by which he could
get coffee parched, ground and sacked, and as
many pounds returned as he had furnished of the
green coffee and that ne would be enabled to
furnish the same at 1879 cents per pound, al
though he had refused to take less than Is cents
for what he had on hand when Mr.. Mansur first
wanted to purchase
Mr.. Mansur accepted this proposition, and ac-
cordingly Mr.. futile employed Mr.. Herman
Bollman to do the work, and he that in
roasting, grinding and packing coffee it loses
from 10 to % per cent. in weight, and that to
make up for this loss, and to pay him for his la
Dor and expenses of packages, boxes, &C., he put
As pounds of parched beans to each sack of green
coffee and that he made for his profits 30 pounds
of green coffee for each sack of green coffee thus
prepared. We are therefore inclined to the opin-
ion that the coffee was much more adulterated,
from a comparison of the testimony of the sol
diers of the worthless character of this article,
and their statements in relation to an article of
ground coffee furnished by Mr. Andrew Wallace,
manufactured at Columbus, Ohio. The coffee,
after being prepared by this man Bollman, was
ordered by the Commissary General to be put up
in IL, Ia and 10 OF. packages, as the assistant
Commssary alleged, for convenience in distribu-
ting; the IL OF. packages were counted at their
actual weight and the IA OF. for one pound.
We are at loss for any reason for the aduter-
alton of this coffee at considerable trouble and
expense, when, according to the testimony of
witnesses, it is well known fact to grocery deal
ers that beans and peas ruin and spoil the coffee"
prepared in this way. Nor does it seem that the
Commssary or Mr.. TuttIe made anything 10y this
operation-a criminal practice and crying evil,
that should be condemned rather than encour-
aged.
The meat, with the exception Of the bulk
shoulders, has generally been a fair article. The
bulk shoulders referred to have been furnished
by the Commissary General out of his own pork
house, and the complaint of the soldiers has been
nearly universal of its inferior quality that large
portion oft too light and that it all very
salty, not well cured, and generally in bad con-
ditlOn. There is evidence that other meat was
occasionally bad, but regard this as an una
voidable accident. The beans have generally
been of poor quality, good portion of them
being entirely worthless. A part of the dried
fruit has also been very bad; but this is now rem
eded, and good article is being furnished.
The testimony shows that there no further
well grounded complaints to the quality of pro-
visions
THE MANNER OF MAKING PURCHASES.
The Commissary deserves great credit for the
zeal and energy which he has displayed in making
purchases in his department, at the lowest mar
ket price, with the single exception of the meat
furnished by himself and brother. The testimo-
nv shows conclusivey that he did all in his power
to produce competition in the market, and to pur-
chase all other articles at the lowest cash price,
but that he made no offer to any one to furnish
pork until he was told by Mr. Israel McTaggart
that if he did not afford him an opportunity to
furnish part of the pork meat, he would expose
him in the public prints; when, after making
some further objections about Mr.. Murphy the
Inspector, making contracts for the purchase of
pork, he consented to purchases being made by
other parties. Mr. Mansur had been furnishing
his own meat-buIk shoulders at cents, and ba-
con shoulders at cents per pound, when all pur-
chases since have been made for bulk shoulders
at ) l2-lO0 and bacon shoulders at ~ 100 cents
per pound, and the testimony is that plenty Of
good quality could have been purchased at this
price it not Mt less rates. 1t is but Just to Mr.
Mansur to state that he refused at all times to
sell for less price than he furnished for the
State. But he should, instead of remarking as
he did to Mr.. McTaggart, that the Oommissary's
duties were hard, and if there was anything to be
made by the sales he had as good right to make
it as any one, he should have used the same dill
gence to procure the pork on as good terms for
the State any other article of provisions. The
meat furnished by Mansurs weighed by his
brother, and no account kept except the vouch-
ers and cash account. Therefore, we had no
means of ascertaining the correctness of the
weight. Mr.. Mansur's brother swears that it was
correctly done.
THE ACCOUNTS.
We find no errors in the accounts except for
the sum of Sl66 AS, for which the proof was not
satisfactory, and unable to find the person
purporting to execute one of these vouchers
We have no doubt but that it was forgery perpe-
trated on the Commissary. When the matter was
brought to the notice of the Commssary he with
drew the vouchers numbered 1913, 53S, 5501s 562,
567 and 597, covering the above amount. for the
purpose of investigating the same and says Gun
less full explanation can be had he will never
present them for payment, he intends the State
shall lose nothing thereby" The Commissary
has been in the habit of taking from a part OF
his customers two receipts for the payments of the
same articles and at the same time, some of the
witnesses say, one of these receipts was blank,
and some testify that both were filled up alike
The design of this officer in taking these receipts
in this way was undoubtedly that one should be
duplicate for the purpose of retaining in his
own hands, and that the original should
be filed in the Office of the State Auditor
as voucher; but the manner of taxing them. no