The New York herald., 1862-02-09
Van Wyok's Famous speech Upon Gov
ernment Frauds.

L
delivered in the House on Friday last,
columns this morning Our readers will
ind it condensed unanswerable, scath-
ing exposure of some of the recent famous
frauds upon the government and whether as q
terse statement Of undeniable facts, or AN elo-
| quent summary of the results and conclusions
| OF the Investigations of the Select Committee
on Contracts, it will attract attention and repay
perussl.
In this speech Mr.. Van Wyck follows up the
astounding Developments of the committees
report; and in truth there is no department Of
the government which needs closer or more
Immediate attention, just at present than that
OF army and navy contracts. Every day brings
its new fraud and its new, unpunished criminal
Mr.. Van Wyok rehearses instances Of corruption,
which, although scarcely month old, seem
trite and twice told, so greatly are they over
shadowed by moro recent discoveries Of more
ssssTocIous syindlings. He tells hoS Il the worry
Outset ef this war, while the Seventh regiment
was marching on to Washington, the contract
frauds began by swindle Of $4,000 in the
purchase Of two thousand head of cattle in
Pennsylvania. He narrates, With minute de-
tails, the career of .Confding Cummings, Of tho
| World, and che facts Of his purchases of army
ale and porter, army hard bread and cheese,
army straw hats and linen pantaloons, and army
| herrings and country butter. He repeats the
sad story Of the charter of the Cataline, and
shows how Cummings managed to purchase her
friy 70 .yst
Pennsylvania horses, spawned knock-kneed,
heavey, glandered. wind-galled aad afflicted
with every disease TO which horseaesh is heir.
| are next trotted out, and the manner Of their
purchase and the style in which the govern
ment, in one case alone, was robbed of $50, 900,
are exposed The system of contract broker
age is then shown up, and 100000 of govern
ment money is traced to the pockets Of rela-
tive Of Secretary Wellss, through agencies
for ship purchases and tea table sales
Of condemned whalers. Secretary Welles'
defence of his contracts and contractors
is then splendidly riddlsd and, with
few trenchant references to Halls repur-
chased carbines, the McKinstry frauds and
army transportation swindles, Mr.. Van Wyck
concludes his expose, having traced t Q ramiA-
cations of official corruption from Cabinet
officers to amateur volunteer purchasers of
ships, muskets aud army stores.
This record is most sad and gloomy one;
but, though il reveals much. it suggests more
The frauds exposed sink into insigniacance
alongside of the frauds limited at but still con-
ceaied. What are the cstaline and the whaling
ship swindles when cOntrasted with that epOr-
nous crime which perilled the lives of tlrou-
sands Of brave sold era and risked the success,
OF costly expedition by supplying vessels
unfit, misrepresented. useless and dangerous.
Unserviceable horses may be fraudulently sold to
the government; but the country loses only the
money paid for the diseased animals, and our
unmounted cavalry troopers may do service on
foOt but if unseaworthy ships are loaded with
soldiers, the nation loses lives more precious
than gold, and has its best enterprises blasted
and ruined. Confding Cummings makes silly
bargains for army ale and porter, and fritters
money needlessly away; bat what IL his blame
compared with that Of those contractors who
supply water casks favored with oil, camphene
and kerosene, subjectlng our brave troops to
the perils Of thirst or the pangs Of nau.eous
and unrefreshng diaughts in the midst Of terri
bic storm, when drinking water was almost as vi.
tally necessary as air? Wholesale robbery is bad
enough in itself; but when it accomplishes its
criminality through the means Of wholesale
murder there is no word in any language strong
enough to stigmatize its iufsmy as it deserves.
Rebels and traitors who meet our soldiers face
10 face in the open field, and stand the chances
of shot and bayonet, or even bushwhacking vii
lains, who from some secret covert asssssi-
nate the defenders Of the Union, are brave re-
spectacle and worthy of high estimation when
compared with these patriots who poison the
water of our expeditions, and send troops off to
in crazy ships useful only as collins for che
brave fellows embarked upon them.
Therefore, we say that the frauds expos
ed are trivial in comparison to those yet
undisclosed. and we should think that
the swindles upon our government,
from the beginning of the war mp to this
date, have amounted to the enormous sum Of
fifty millions Of dollars. We must expect to
be lscturcd upon this subject not only by the
rebel journals, but by the press of aristocratie
Europe: and certainly our friends and enemies
could have no better text for their assaults
upon "Lincoln's government aud democratic
institutions. II may be some consolation to
our readers to know however, that rebels and
Europeans, who Ang stones al us. themselves
live in houses Of the very thnnest glass. AL
ready the rebel journals are grumbling at the
vast frauds connected with their civil and mill
tary administrations. In England, France.
Rnssia Austria and all other European king
doms, governmental swindlag is carried TO
much greater excess than Is has ever been, or
will ever be, in this country. The only differ
eace is that in Europe these matters are hushed
up o. long az possible, and when exposed are
followed by the condign punishment OF the