, 1862-03-14
$heG.y Uniforms, EEaod.y Shoes a1lA
Contractors.
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN GENERAL uALLECK
AND TILE 1IAKTEIsMAsTER GENERAL.

CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN GENERAL uALLECK
AND TILE VIAKTEfNASTER GENERAL.
ST. LOUIS, Feb. +. 1862
t;:ua-;ermastcrGcneralM u. c. Mcigs. Washington:
G.7st;x.l -Rr;.;;aaier- General Curtis writes
from Lebanon That the shoes issued to the
troops On the Ilsrea wear Ou: in four days
4 rair Of boots were presented few days ago
Which had been OILY wori. :s4.gt days. and !s2 !2
splcs w.re completely 1s3
Bstween III" or,ter and inner solcs the sn,ce
L. a" III viii: pieces ef old plate iron, which
wos1; loose and cut the Stitches. It is al o:,t
rage On Our troops to issue such shoes and
clothing at all, and still greater that they
should be charged At full price. i have already
urged :. reduction Of prices. It must be done,
cf The West tosctll:S.
Much If this worthless Trash has been re-
ccaEcd through tho Governors Of States, and
there is 80 way Of tracing nut t;lc contractors.
IA!5 should ccasc- It seems that the troops
uvr. are rrc;cd upon by all The ra5caliy con
tractors in The United States. Tnis must be
storprd- It viii not be endured much long.
TT. l urged the importance Of sending good
materials here: aud that shoes and clothing be
manufactured in St Louis, thus Giving an op-
porlnIity to detect and prevent frauds, and
al the sanic time afford employment to The
wives and flnilics of volunteers, wlio, by clos
Ing the workshops, are left i'll Il destitute and
suffering condition.
THIS you t!.iak cannot be done, because of
SO large an amount of inferior supplies now
on hand, which have been paid for by tae
Government You say that the inspectors at
the Philadelphia Arsenal, where these great
frauds have been committed, were appointed
ag,ainst your wishes, and that you used cvcry
Argument i'll your power to prevent such
appointment No one charges you with blame;
but it rests upon the War Department, aud the
government should suffer The cONSeuuence,n not
the poor soldiers. # the Government will en-
rloy incompetent and dishonest agents i'll the
Quarter1nastcr's Department., and against
Your advice {:o1 say you fcrewaT11ed the Sec
re.ary Of the resnlt), the Treasury, and not
thS army, should bear the consequence Of the
frauGs Of these agents. It therefore seems to
me that taese interior shoes and clothing
should be condemned and sold, and the work
shops of St Louis rcopcucd.
Il absolutely necessary to issue inferior ar
tie1cs, the tariff Of prices should be fixed by
the actual value Of the articles issued, and not
by what the Government paid for them in
Fhiladclphia. respectfully request that this
letter be laid hrfoTe General Mcclellan aud
tic Secretary of War. Very respectfully,
zour oIcdient servant, H. y. HAlIEcK,
Major General.
Mr.. adciggs replied at some length, instruct
ing Gen. Halleck what to do with tho trash
to sell it to the soldiers at 4 reduced price
~uu NEE4tH1IG5 ~ Atft uOtl@. 9Htta VI C1utAAd.
manufactured in st. Louis.
EAI.1EcR KEso1NED:
HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT or THEl
NzssoC1;1, ST. Lofts, Feb. =, 1SSa. {
Br:ea1ier General IL c. Mcigs, Quartermastc
Gcnera1: Washingtor:
GENERAL: III regard to the clotl
sent here for making clothing, I would rvmar!
that it is not damaged, but Of such lnferio
quality as to be nearly worthless for service
Moreover, it seems that the usual tickets, :.
to The number Of yards in each bolt, have bee1
/: pu1posely taken oil, SO as to require tho meas
ll1cnlcnt Of each one in order to ascertain til
deficiency. To measure each bolt here Woul
employ the Quartermaster for Z whole month
F.; Again, it is frequently impossible to ascel
tain here, from any marks or invoices, VIII
j arc the contractors for this defective clot
and clothing. This is especially the case Wit
: clothing, shoes, &c, which arc distributed
this and other parts before came here. Thi
evil must bc remedicd in Philadelphia, IN
other places from which the supplies are sen
The rasca1ly inspectors there should be turne
out Immediately, and honest ones appointc4
We cannot here, with all our efforts, fully d
colnp}ish the object and detect the frauds.
>; Very respectfully, your obed't sery't.
e. II. HAlLECK, Major General.