The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1862-03-06
Shameless Robberies and Frauds on
the Government.

| HO hOhOob pCOplo VI AhiS NOuHbIg
must by this time perceive that they
have two foes to combat The rebels
Of the South, and The traitorous pccula.
tors, contractors, and government
spendthrifts Of the North. The mighty
effort to resist the lawless purposes Of
the former, have Been up to the pres
ent Zine rendered well.nigh powerless
by the treaohery Of the latter. For Of
the two, the Northern traitor is the
deeper dyed foe to liberty and right
: The rebel has persuaded himself by
specious reasoning to believe his canse
most righteous and meritorious. TT o
speculating contractor has n the sha-
dow of protext for his robbery Of the
} Government, beyo' d his own SO 6 h
+ moneyed interest. ..E
How fearful is the condition Of things
exposed in the following extracts from
the speech Of Mr.. Dawes. Of Massachu-
setts, in the House of Representatives.
Mr.. d. is a member Of the Committee of
Investigation on Government Contracts,
and speaks Gas by authority"
"The very FIRST contract entered into
by this Government, after the troops
had left their homes to come here, in
April last, to defend the Capital, by
, which they we're to be fed, was con
tract entered into for cattle. It was
not ana lie with man whose business it
was to supply cattle to the market, not
, with a man who knew the price Of beef
, in the markets Of the country, but was
entered into by the Government hero
with man known in this and in the
other branch of Congress, for the last
: ten years, as an old stipcndiary--oue of
the class of men who, in times past,
made their money by such operations Ms
buying the certificates of books at n
discount, and then charging the full
= amount. This contract was made so
c that the first twenty two hundred head
e Of cattle furnisl @ was charged at rate
which enabled the original contractor
to sub-lct it, in twenty-four hours, to
c man in NCw York who did know the
n price of beef, so that e put into his
pocket, without stirring from his chair,
q thirty two thousand dollars. and the
men who actually furnished tn. cattle
in question put into their pockets TWEEN
ty-six thousand dollars more, so that
o the contract under which these twenty
IS two hundred head of cattle were fur
l., pishel to the army was so made that
' the profit of ffty-eight thousand dollars
'' was realized over the fair market price.
q X x x x X
"a regiment of cavalry recently
:, reached Louisville, one thousand strong,
y and the board of army officers there,
, , appointed for the purpose, have con.
demned four hundred and eighty five
= out of the thousand horses as utterly
!, worthless. The man who examined
these horses declared, upon his oath.
that there was not one Of them worth
. twenty dollars They were blind, spa
II vined. ring -boned, afflicted with the
IS heaves, with the glanders, and every
disease that horse flesh is heir to-
E These four hundred and eighty FIVE
horses cost the Government, before
! they were mustered into the service,
d City eight thousand two hundred dol
= lars, besides more than an additional
d thousand dollars to transport them
from Pennsylvania to Louisville. where
they were condemned and cast off.
!: X x 4
"There are eighty three regiments
Of cavalry to-day, one thousand strong.
!. 1t takes two hundred and ffty thousand
dollars to put one of these regiments
on foot before it moves. Twenty mil
rs lions of dollars have thus been expeud
= ell on these cava'ry regiments b,foe
Y, they left the encampments whore they
! were mustered into service, and hun
y dreds and hundreds Of these horses
u have been condemned and sent back to
Elmra, and to Annapolis, and to this
ID city, to spend the winter. Any day
hundreds of them can be soon round
this city, chained to trees, where they
we're left to starve to death. Gangs Of
two hundred horses, in various places,
have been thus left to die and rot, till
the Committee on tho District OF Col .
umbia have called for a measure of leg
a islation to protect the city from the
r danger to be apPrehended from these
horse Golgothas. = * =
IN "There are outstanding contracts for
the manufacture of Springfield muske's,
the first one Of which cannot be deliv-
cred in six months from this day
There is n contract for the supply of
one million aud ninety thousand mus
= kets at twenty one dollars piece, when
. the same quality of muskets are manu-,
factured at Springfield for thirteen and
a.half piece; and an ex member OF
Congress is now in Massachusetts,, try
ing to get machinery made by wi i,h he
will be able to manufacture Ia six
months hence, at twenty-one dollars
' a piece, those rded muskets manufae
t. tured to day in that nrmory for thir-
team dollars and half. Providence.
before six months, will dispose of this
in war, or he will dispose of US. Not one
of those muskets thus contracted for,
i. will not be of the slightest service Ia
this emergency, or before the Provi-
'sr' deuce of God, whether for good or for
tn. evil, will dispose of it.
.. X X 4 H-ul
'nn 1.-TWO millions Of dollars were intrus-
ted 10 poor, unfortunate, honest, but
Oh entirely incompetent editor of paper
|. In New York, TO dispenseiki IN the best
-, manner he could Straigla~ay this
gentleman began to purchase linen pan
falcons, straw hats, London porter,