The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-01-25
THE HORDE or CONTRACTORS
9491 DENOUNCRD.
The Asvful Corruption and Proflfsaev as
WaeA1n2tOn. = 80


In the House of Representatives on the I ath,
Mr., Dawes, (of Mass from the Committee o!
Investigation on Government Contracts. In re-
suming bis remarks commenced on Friday last,
said: Sir, have not failed to notice, AMI be-
lieve the committee of which ] am member,
have not failed to notice, in common with the
whole country, that for some unaccountable
reason the charges upon tho national treasury,
at this time Of war, have been such as to reach
nearly the bottom Of the chest. During the in
vestigation startling facts have come before the
notice Of this committee, and to the notice Of
the whole country, touching the mode and man
ner OF the expenditure Of the public money
Some OF these items propose to call public
attention to, and then to ask gentlemen the
plain question when they propose to meet this
question, If at all, and il so, how. when. and
where. The very first contract entered into by
this Government, and after the troops had left
their homes to come here, in April last, to de-
fend the Capital, by which they were to be fed,
was contract entered into for cattle. It was
not made with man whose business it was to
supply cattle to the market, not with man who
knew the price of beef in the markets of the
country, but was entered into by the Govern.
ment with man we'll known in this, and the
other branch Of Congress, for the last ten years,
as an old stipendary-one Of the class of men
who, in times past, made their money by such
operations as buying the certificates of members
tor books, at discount, and then charging the
full amount. This contract was made so that
the first twenty-five hundred head of cattle fur.
nished was charged at rate which enabled
their original contractor to sublet it, in twenty
four bonrs after, to a man in New York who did
know the price Of beef, so that he put into his
pocket, without stirring from his chair, thirty
two thousi nd dollars and the men who actually
furnished the cattle in question, put into their
pockets twen.y-six thousand dollars more, so
that the contract under which these twenty-five
hundred head Of cattle were furnished to the
army was so made that the profit of fifty eight
thousand dollars was realized over the fair
market price. II takes longer time for q
thousand head of cattle to reach this city from
the States where they are purchased, than it
takes the army to consume them. / ask the
House, at this rate, to consider how long the
most ample provisions of the Treasury would
be able to meet the simple demands for tie sub
sistence of the army. Sir, poorly as the army
is shod to-day, million Of shoes have already
been worn out, and q million more are being
manufactured, and yet upon every one Of these
shoes there has been a waste of seventy-fve
cents. Three quarters Of million of dollars
have already been worn out, and another three
quarters ofa million of dollars upon shoes now
being MapRts ctaEaav sIntbs tDdeB SO pfentv that
Government officials have gone about the streets
with their pockets filed with then, and NJ
which they made presents to the clergy,..n of
their parishes, and with which were healed "a
political sores and cured political feuds Even
the telegraph has announced that high public
functionaries have graccd the love feasts which
we're got up to- celebrate these political recon-
citations, thus brought about while the hatchet
Of political animosty was buried in the grave Of
pollcal confidence, and the national credit cru.
cited amongst malefactors. We have reported
to us the first fruits of these contracts. A regi.
ment of cavalry lately reached Louisville. one
thousand strong, 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 bis
oath, that there was not one Of them that was
worth twenty dollars. They we're blind, epayin.
ed, ring. g.bonsd, afflicted with tie heaves, with
the glanders, and with every disease that horse
flesh is heir to. These four hundred snd eighty.
five horses cost the Government, before they
were mustered into the service, ffty-eight thou
sand two hundred dollars, besides more than an
additional thousand dollars to transport them
fsom Pennsylvania to Louisville, where they
we're condemned and east of.
Ar. Mallory (Ky.) asked what regiment these
horses belonged to, and who furnished them.
Xr. Dawes They belong to Col. Willams's
regiment Of cavalry, and they we're purchased
in Pennsylvania, from which State they were
forwarded to Louisville, where they we're con
demned. There are eighty-thres regiments oi
cavalry to-day, one thousand strong. II take.
two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to put
one Of these regiments on foot before it moves
Twenty million OF dollars have thus been ex
pended on these cavalry regiments before they
left the encampmepts where they were mustered
into the service, and hundreds and hundreds o.
these horses have been condemned and sen
back to Elmira, and to Annapolis, and to thi
city, to spend the winter. Any day hundreds
Of them may be seen round this city, chained
to trees, where they were lett to starve to death
Gangs of two hundred horses, IN various place
have thus been left to die and rot, till tn
Committee on the District of Columbia hav
called for measure of legislation to protec
/ the city from the danger to be apprehende,
from those horse Golgothas. An ex-Governo
of one State offered to an ex;judge of anothe
State Eve thousand dollars to get him permis
sion to raise one of these regiments Of cavalry
and when the ex Judge brought back the com
mission the Ex-Governor takes it to bis room q
the hotel, while another punderer sits at tn
key-hole watching like mastif while the ir
side counts up forty thousand dollars profits o
the horses, and calculates twenty thousand do
lars more upon the accoutrements and the othe
details Of furnishing these regiments In add
tion to the arms in the hands Of the six hui
dred thousand soldiers in the felt
there are numerous outstanding contracts, mad
with private individuals-not made upon adve
tisement, not made with the knowledge of Il
public-but made by ex-members Of Congress
who knew no more of the difference betwee
one class Of arms and another than Methodi
m,nister. There are outstanding contracts f
the manufacture of Springfield muskets, the fr
one of which cannot be delivered in six mont
from this day. There is a contract for the su
ply Of ono million and ninety thousand muske
st twenty-eight dollars apiece, when the san
quality Of muskets are manufactured at 6prin
field for thirteen and half apiece; and an 6
member Of Congress 10 now in Aassachusetl
} trying to get machinery made by which be "
, be able to manufacture in some six mont
. hence, ut twenty-one dollars apiece, those rifl
, muskets manufactured to-day in that armory
! thirteen dollars and half. Providence, befo
. nix months, will dispose of this war, or He "
!. dispose Of ua Not one Of those muskets Ii
contracted will be Of the slightest service In d
; emergency, or before tho providence Of &C
: whether for good or for evil, will dispose of
ask my friends from the North and Northwe
!. how they expect to benefit by an armory
= Chicago, at Rock Island, and 1t Quincy, whel
million and ninety.two thousand muskets v
y according TO this contract, be thrown upon
: country, ard that after the war 10 over, and
!. such an enormous price, In addition TO osl
q outstanding contracts for the manufacture, 30