The New York herald., 1861-12-28


"Chjef Engineer" and the latter OF "Colonel
Commanding Engineer Corps" These appoint
ments were made by General Fremont. and not
by the government. The other engineers, ac-
cordlng to the testimony of General Curtis,
were generally Hungarians. Austrians and
Prussans."
In all there were ten forts, tho first five Of
which were built by the days work (the most
costly mode). at a cost Of 100000 The other
five were Of smaller size, and, according to the
testimony Of Kappner, could not, at the very
utmost, cost above 100000 more.
The last five were commenced, all of them to-
gether, under the supervision Of Major Kapp-
ner, on the last day of August or LIST Of Sep
tcmber. On the 25th Of September Brigadier
General McKinstry, under the special orders Of
Major General Fremont, entered into contract
on the part of Fremont with E. L. Beard, "a
Californian who had followed the mag
ni6cent Pathfinder to St. Louis. What Is
the nature Of this contract "To construct
| all the Notifications required by the engineer
in charge OF tho work for the defence Of the city
Of ST. Louis" Thus contract was made for
constructing five forts already built, and Ave
others on which twenty-five days work had
been expended. BY the days work the whole
ten forts would have cost not more than
$4,000. What did the same work cost by the
contract between Fremont and his friend Beard :
Too hundred and forty-si1 thousand dollars
(S246, ,000)-more than double the amount---was
ordered to be paid on account. One hundred
and seuenty-one thousand dollars ($l7l, ,000)
,oas actually paid on Fremont's order. The re-
naming $4,000 would have been also paid,
but for the fact that the Quartermaster at St,
Louis, Major Allen, had declined to pay, in con-
sequence Of the order of the Secretary of War
to discontinue the work, and not pay any more
money on account of It, In the face of that
order, dated October IA, which General
Fremont suppressed, he issued an order on
the 10th of October to Major Allen to 'turn
over to Mr. Beard, out Of the first funds received
from Washington, the sum of sixty thousand
dollars ($60,O00), for work done on the forts at
St. Louis" Major Allen very properly sub
mitted the question of payment to the Quarter
masters Department at Washington, and receiv-
cd in reply an order to disregard all orders in
consistent with the order of the Secretary of
War. The fact is that every dollar taken from
the Quartermaster at st. Louis for the building
Of these forts was misappropriated being an
arbitrary and illegal diversion of the funds in
tended by the government for other purposes.
Well do the committee observe:--
"a the whole range Of their investigations your com
mitee have found nothing alarming the defiance Of
law and the disregard Of superior authority manifest
cd by the Commanding General Of the Western Depart
ment, not only in this connection, but in connec-
tion with the arbitrary and illegal diversion or
funds from tho Paymaster's Department and
the SubTreasury at 81. Louis, which is horeaf
ter referred to. Whenever the action of q general
in the neld disregarding alike law, army regulations
and tho authority Of his government shall be permitted
to pass without challenge and without rebuke then in
decd may be well considered that constitutional liberty
is ~ end. and the will OF military commander is sub
stituted for law.
Why, instead Of vague, general denunciaton,
does not the Tribune direct its fire at the mark
thus set up for it by the investigating commit
tees Let us 60 little into detail to show how
Boards bill would have been swclled up to more
than thrice the amount the work might have
been done for if proposals for contract had
been advertised for.
Hon. Mr. Wisner, former Mayor of st. Louis,
"
such work, that ffteen cents per yard would have
been good price for the excavations, embank-
ments and sodding on the Notifications. The
price agreed to be paid by the Fremont Beard
contract is So SO per yard, or nearly serenteen
times good price What would have been
paid in the end on this fat job, had not Fremonts
hand been arrested by Secretary Cameron, it is
impossible to calculate The payments ac-
tually made were in advance and on account
and without any security for the fulfilment ofthe
contract; and what is still more extraordinary
$l51 900 were paid to Beard before the date Of
the contract, which is 25th September The pay
ments were made as follows:-
First payment, August 49, 1851 $40, 1000
Second payment, September q 1851. 49, 900
Third payment, September g. 1861 ........... 1900
Fourth payment, September Q, 1861 $4,000
Fifth payment, october 3, 1s6l............. 10000
Total Of payments .$l71 900
Thus say the committee, 'the money ap-
propriated by Congress to subsst and olothe
and transport our armies was, In utter contempt
of all law and Of the army regulations, as well
as of superior authority, ordered to be diverted
from its lawful purposes and turned over to the
COfuiOIdut Dcdlus Out, WuAO uo udu TeCtlVeu
1000, he only paid the poor German laborers
who had been employed on the work $15,5OO;
and with the balance in his pocket he Is found
following up the army, and in the confidence
of the Major General, who gives him orders for
large purchases which only could have been
legally made through the quartermasters, and
which afforded the rapacious contractor further
opportunities for plundering the government
Meantime the laborers, whose families were
clamoring for bread, were besieging the Quarter
masters Department for their pay.
In the case Of the hardware firm Of Child,
Pratt Il Fox, goods were purchased from them
by General Fremont to the amount of $500 900
not merely in the way Of their own trade, but in
every variety Of article, including blankets and
clothing. There was no contract They were
left to charge what they pleased. They wore
sufficiently moderate to make It only IS per cent
too much, or about $3.50 900 on the whole trans
actions.
In the purchase Of horses and mules in Gene