The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1862-01-09
congregational Investigations.

growing out OF its operations to suppress the rebel
lion, have reported in part, and have announced
their intention to continue their siitngs. The facts
already elected reveal the NEST astounding series
Of frauds, We give synopsis;
TIE most startling revelation, both as il involves
thc head of department., aud MS il exhibits a
loosencss with which our Immense financial opera
tons have been conducted s that the Secretary Of
the Navy appointed his brothcr-in-aw, George u.
Morgan of New York, Ga wholesale grucer. aud ut
trly unacquanted with The construction value of
ships), private agent Of the department., to make
all its purchases OF ships without requiring any
bonds and on such terms. that in seven weeks, Mr..
Morgan secured for himself the snug profit OF fifty
one thousand five hundred dollars
"Ship builders. and persons familiar with buy
ing and selling ships, testified that instead of hay
ing to pay Sji 5Sl for the services of an incompc
tent man. for seven weeks, an experienced and
thoroughly qualified and Trustworthy agent coud
have been employed for $4,000 year."
OF the capacity of Morgan, the report continues
" Although the Committee have OCCASION at this
time more particularly to coll the attention to the
most remarkable arrangement which existed be-
tween the Secretary of the Navy aud Mr.. Morgan
as to the compensation he to receive forhiS ser
vices they desire to notice, in passing single in
stance of deception practiced upon Mr.. Morgan, in
the sale t0 him of new vessel, the Stars aud
Stripes, which had been ahoat less thantwo months
This vessel cost its owners but S356O0 to build hcr
haj carncd under charter to the United States, in
that two months, $4,000 net, and was then sold to
Mr. Morgan for $4,000, making clcarproht tu her
owners of S34 900 This was done hv making Mr..
Morgan believe that it cost sixty thousand dollars
to build her. 1t is difficult to how such deccp-
tiOn could have been practised upon man of the
acknowledged business capacity and shrcwdnrss of
Mr. Morgan, except that he had been called to
service iu which he had no experience, and was ig-
norant, from any personal knowledge. of the cost
of the article he was sent out to purchase
The report ntinaes that the influence of several
members of Congress was purchased and brought
to bear in behalf of interested contractors, and es
pecially Mr. Morgan. 1t shows how Morgan made
| a good thing out Of it
"lf he has received the same rate of conlpcnsa-
ton since Sept. 9th as before that date, there must
be added to the sum of S5l ,5Si, paid him before
that date, the further compensation of $43,42i for
services rendered since, making in all the sum of
S9500S paid to single individual for his services
as agent of the Government since the 5th day of
July, period of four and one-half months"
Of the steamer Catline swindle, which was en-
ployed to transport army supplies, it says;
" The main facts in the case are that Cen Wool,
and Quartcrmnster Tompkns directed Capt. Com
! stock to charter couple of light draught steamers
| to ply between Havre De Grace and Annapolis, du-
ring the suspension of travel by Baltimore The
evidence shows that Capt. Comstock told one Nor
| ton that Il boat was tO be purchased that Morton
told Develin of the AStor House that there was
good chance of furnishing Il boat to the Govern
ment, and that something could be made with good
management" that Develin then purchased the Cat
| ne for eighteen thousand dollars that she was
chartered to the Government agent at ten thousand
dollars month, if lost, fifty thousand dollars to be
! paid for her by the Government. and that finally
she was burnt, after two months service"
"Mr. Alexander Cummings, (bcst known as the
publisher of the New York Worldly seems to have
freigAted the Catilinc In the evidence is state
ment addressed to the Secretary of War, and signed
! by Mr.. Cummings, giving list of the provisions
casks Scotch ale, 12 bbls. pickles, 80 qunnls cod
fish, 10 casks London porter, palm leaf hats, linen
pantaloons, etc, etc.
The report rather more than insinuatcs that these
articles thus shipped on Government vessel char
tered at great expense to hurry through necessary
provisions for the army, were sent for private spec
| ulation."
The report then goes on to say that one Starbuck,
a New York broker was entrusted with tho buying
of two whale boats, for which he paid six thousand
| five hundred dollars, and then sold them to the
Government for fourteen thousand five hundred dol
lars Somuch for mattersin the Navy Department
The Committee then turned their att antion to the
various swindles in the War Department, in the
purchase of arms. They say:
I" The profits from the sale of arms to the Govern
mcnt. have been enormous and realized, too, in
many instances, even by our own citizens, through
Il system OF brokerage, as unprncipled and dshOn-
est, unirenlly to the success and welfare of the
nation, as the pottngs Of actual treason. The sys
TEN adopted at an early moment for the purchase of
arms naturally encouraged this result. Sin ce the
| adjournment OF the extra session of Congress, the
| War Department is understood TO have authorized
the several States and to have recognized the rights
| in the Generals commanding the several divisions
OF the army to purchase arms, to be paid for by the
| General Government, creating an unwse and ruin
Gus competition against ITSELF without increasing
! the number of arms i'll the market
"Major HAYNES the ordnance officer in New York.
testifcs that he and Fremont together examined
these arms in New York and that Fremont there
said, "they won't do" but that when he reached
Missouri he teegraphed back to me somewhat in
this wise Arms, arms arms send us arms
anything" had ordered forward all that could
obtain-they were then on their way-and coudnot
| buy any more at the moment. When Fremont was
in New York they were offered to him at 50 90
| piece He refused them, but subsequently bought
them at So so piece after discovering the scarci
ty at st. Louis. The owners then demanded 81 80,
but he refused, and they compromised on So 3d.
The purchase amounted TO Sl66OOO The firm of
whom they were bought admitted that they were
invoiccd to them from Europe, one half at 50 90,
the rest at 80 40 piece!"
The purchase of the arm was an act of mani
fest mprOvidence, and the less eXcusable because
the arm had been disapproved Of even at n less
rienced ordnance officer at New York. The imme-
diate necessity for scarcely be considered
as furnishing an excuse, for the arm was practical
ly useless until altered and to effect that delay
inevitable and the purchase made without
any examination to the practcability of improve
ment by alteration. The Committee found a large
number of these arms at Cairo, and, notwithstand-
ing the urgent necessity for arms at that point,
whole regiments, even on the eve of the battle of
Belmont, being almost destitute of arms, these
arms were left in the boxes in which they were
shipped from the arsenal at st. Louis.
In regard to the carbne swindle, the report says:
" In the month of June last Arthur NJ. Eastman,
of Manchester, New Hampshire, purchased Of the
Ordnance Bureau five thousand four hundred Halls
carbines at three dollars and fifty cents EACH and,
after a slight alteration of the arms, at a cost Of
from seventy-fiye cents TO one dollar and twenty
five cents Oh each arm, sold five thousand of them
to Simon Stephens for Sl2 80 each, who immedi-
atey sold the entire lot to Cen Fremont for twenty
two dollars each, General Fremont probably laboring
under some misapprehension as TO the nature Of
the arms. These arms seem to have been sold pri-
yately. and without inviting any competition, aud
sold, too, for an almost nominal price. The sale
was made by order of the Secretary of War, on the
recommendation of the Ordnance Bureau. No
Government that ever has existed can sustain itself
with such improyidence in the management Of its
affairs"
After showing how the negotiations for the pur-
chase were conducted, and how the payment was
made, made in part, in st. Louis the Committee
concludes:
" From the whole evidence, the Committee is of
the opinion that the arm was worth to the Govern
ment, under the pressing urgency for arms, very
nearly twelve dollars and fifty cents, the amount
paid by Stevens 10 Eastman, amounting in the ag-