Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1862-01-11
Tn. on.iaush, on the Secretary of the Navy

The Onslaught on the Secretary of the Navy.
The tendency Of the legislation Of the times
TO keep pitching in" against everything and
everybody instead Of laboring earnestly as legisla
tors should to discharge their own important duty
Of promptly providing the Government the means
Of keeping up its credit without which Il must
prove abortivel-is aptly illustrated by the attack
Of the Van WICK committee on the Secretary Of
the Navy, and the corresponding use of that por-
tion Of that committees report, in Congress:
The committee proceeded to make what they
called an Investigation" concerning the De-
partment's purchase ofvessels. They made no in
vestigation whatever, however; contenting them
selves with becoming the mouth piece Of various
disappointed Spectators whose stories and griefs
they aired without deigning to ask the Depart
ment for any explanation of the charges thus
brought againstit
The main charge is that the Department estab-
lished brokerage upon It's purchase OF ships, and
that Of its brokers paid SIS OO for the propel-
Ter Stepping Stones, which was more than she
cost originally; and, further that the broker en-
ployed at New York .s the Secretary's brother-in-
law.
II happens, fortunately, that all the facts in
volssd are well known to hundreds here and
could have been known to the committee If its
members had been anxious TO get at the truth
rather than generate sensation by way Of show
ing how desperately valuable their labors are to
the public interest In the crisis
These facts are as follows. Viz:
For years past all such purchases by the Depart.
ment have been made Indiscriminately This
bred an army of well-known ''drummers, !" eter-
nally hanging around 1t, each seeking to make
the most for himself by getting orders or con-
tracts for his employers; charging the latter from
hve to twenty per centum for doing.
To put step to this system Of doing business.
Secretary Welles resOr ted TO the agency of navaI
otacers in purchasing. But II was soon found
that however honest and faithful they were-and
none others could have been more so-their mex
perience in commercial affairs made them dis
advantageous agents of the Government in mat
ten Of trade. The Department therefore resorted
TO tAs VISUAL commercial practice in making its
future purchases Of ships; and I'm so doing has
doubtless already saved to the Treasury hund reds
OF thousands Of dollars
This commercial practice Is 10 make the DIR
chase through regular brokers, just as merchant
IN the commercial centers do and to have the
brokers look only TO the sellers for their compen.
sahon-rxed at 2K per centum by the New York
end other boards Of trade, to be paid by sellers
To that end broker was selected by the De-
partment at each point where IT sought to buv
vessels at New York Mr.. Morgan, the brother
1n-iaw OF Mr.. Welles being employed II ia mot
charged that he was ever paid 81 pence more than
the regular commercial price for his services. a,
that he was employed In any manner difte,sn,
from the way in which similar broken. are unI.
versally employed to great advastage to both
buyer and seller In heavy transactions in the cities
Of commerce.
So much for the principle involved.
As for the case in point-the purchase of the
''Stepping Stones"-it illustrates that In resort
Ing to the services Of Mr.. Morgan, the Secretary
tinstead Of buying before through Comma
dore Breese) did well, indeed, for his charge
When purchased she was under charter part
lYwith the War Department at sIO, 600 per month,
which that Department would gladly have re-
newed with her. She was new vessel of $50
tons burden, and on inspection was pronounced
one OF the very best vessels for the service de-
sired Of her, TO be found in the United States
IL was known that her original cost n bsr
builders was less than S55 ,OOO while II WIS also
known that but for some extraordinary facilities
IN their purchases Of materials, machinery, the
use OF ship yard, &c, she could not have been
built for s55 600 when built; and, more especial
ly, when sold to the Government a few months
afterwards, the price Of materials, labor and ma.
cbtnery having gone up meanwhile
Now, to illustrate the difference to the Treasury,
between the Departments current rule of Dur
chasing ships through a single broker In New
York and elsewhere, and buying through naval
officers, we may take the cases of the fine pro.
pelles Penguin and Albatross, bought by Com.
modore Breese, shortly before. They are about
$50 tons burden, against $50, the "steppipg
Stones'" tonnage,) and had been in use three
years, (against az many months previous use of
The Stepping Stones) The prices paid for the
Penguin and Albatross was SIS, 600 each that
paid for the Stepping Stones, much more valu-
aole, larger and more serviceable vessel, but
-, 600.
DO not these facts forcibly illustrate that such
commune and Congressional charges as those
against Secretary welles, should at Ieas; be
received by the public,xuna grano Saiso