, 1862-12-30

ernment- commences business in this cit7 IN
December, 1851 They arst did 4 legitimate,
though very shaving business, but they sooa:
bills BY alterations in the 1garea, and follow
ed up this fraud by making fictitious bills
which we're youehed for by downright forgery.
On the 8th Of December, 1851, Cot. saekett'
vacated hfs pOstas disbufsfng Officer for thfa;;
city, and va. succeeded by Lieut.. Col Mich
olst also Of the regular army. Before Col.
Sackett left he was In the habit Of REQUIRING
atf1daEHs from the special contractors Of the
correctness Of their bills, and also employed,
as an additional guard against fraud, detect
ives to ascertain whether the affidaFits were
disbursing officer until June, 1862, when be
Eas relieved By Capt. ,Larned, who in tuftr
gave WHY on TIE 26fh of August 1astto Lieut.
Col. Reed, who now holds tie position DUR.
ing the latter part Of Col. Nichols term, and
all through the term Of Capt. Larned,
the brokers were in full blast, and con-
ducted their business with 1 recklessness Of
yillhinY that is perfectly astounding. They
employed runners to visit lager-beer shops
and boarding-houses, and any and every place
where it con1dfbe sscertafued that a recruit
had ever eaten meal or slept over night, and
induce the keepers Of these places, under Va,
bribery,) to certify and swear to bills against
the Government. Not satisfied with this,
they employed clerks to manufacture bills
out Of whole cloth, and forge signatures to
them: Mr. 0lcott has In his possession over
been verified as forgeries by the Colonels and
conhnctors whose names were used. IN
I: :6ttsncss hayes been discovered Mhexe brokers
ehaVe purehaae1 5claimz::nftfp tfp61r Germans;foE
$25, and on the following. day have called at
his place and got him to Sign what purported
to hea receipt, but which was in reality 4
fictitious bill for $4,000. Their frauds have
been perpetIated mainly through the agency
| Of ignorant German people, who could not
| read our langusge, and who were made to
swear to bill Of 81 600 when they supposed
it Was only $40, or to certify to tie correct
| ness OF large claim when they supposed they
we're signing receipt for 4 small one. Some
Of this class Of people, however, who had no
claims against the Government, large or small,
have been induced to certify and swear to bills
through the agency Of bribe*
Recruiting officers are also discovered tc
have played the same game Instances have
come to light where recruiting officers have
induced lager-beer men to sign Il bill for 81 ,5N
where the claim was only twenty-five dollars
and the bills have been sworn to before no
tary, who, either through negligence, or be
cause he was pryy to the fraud, asked no ques
tions, and in some cases did not even ai11n1n
! lister the oath. Cases have also turned VI
where the Union Defense Comnittee had pail
t the regular forty cents per ration for recruits
and the contractor has been compelled. to pa,
five cents Of each ration to the Colonel Of tn
regiment, and ten Per cent. Of his E.oss re
ccipts to the Quartermaster-
Mr. O1cott commenced his labors by inves
tigating the frauds Of the army brokers, au'
after disrosing of these lie was presented b
the Secretary of War with IL bill which ha
been paid in Washington, and was sworn t
by the Colonel Of 4 New York regiment
large number Of sub-vouchers for the differ
ent. items, all Of which, except two, th
Commissioner has discovered to be forgerics
A further Investigation has brought to ligh
the fact that this same Colonel has swindte
The Union Defense Committee, swindled pr
vate citizens, sWindled the General Govern
ment, and sTina}ed every one Of bis subord
nate officers and prfyates, and that the SUI
total Of his swind1ing cannot fall short {
$1O0. 600. The wholesale fTnuds developed j
this case hare induced the government
directA1r. Olcott to investigate the transas
; tions Of each and cVcry regiment raised i
this city, where the circumstances connectc
| with its organization are open to suspicion
The Commissioner is not now prepared I
give the names Of The actors in these swint
ling operations, as many Of them have notEt
: been arrested, but the principal ones will b
made known in few days. It is thonght tllt
nearly thousand persons will be shown
, hare been implicated directly OR Indirectly
} the frauds. Many Of the men who have bee
trumpeted as martyrs to the system Of ill
gal and arbitrary arrests are men who wei
sent to Fort Lafayette for these very fraud
and when their names come to be know
! they will doubtless turn out to have been Il
+ most noisy dtf;llners of tile government, al
the sWiftest to accuse everybody but then
G selves Of ropbing the publicly treasury. It
} | to be hoped that the investigation will co
l tinue until every one Of the sroundrels is e
: posed and punished. The government has q
+ ready saved thousands Of dollars by the i
ycstigation i'll this city: Within week af;
r the Commissioner commenced has labo!
G bills amounting to over SIC, GOO zone bill alo1
9 bclng &G, Goo were Withdrawn by the holder
f and there is no knowing how many frauduIe
t claims would have been presented and pa
had not the government Instituted the inyt
: tigatlon.
+ In addition to the enormous frauds up
lInizad States -TnYeEnment- which a
: brought to light in the Efaseneh5 suure7=
have still another feature, of the general s.
tenn Of swindling to which, it Is said, the Stt
and country have been subjected, almost e7
n | since the offer of bounties for the cnlistme
l. | OF private soldiers was made But, neyertl
l. less, the fact is notorious among officers
r. | priYatcs that an immense amount OF mon
ia has been taken from the resources Tor boI
r tics, and that the men credited for recclFl
n it are reported :: missing
Il is also stated that there are men now
Il the city, in citiZ.'n's clothes, WHO have bs
20 enlisted from two to six times under the 6
. eral bounty acts under different names,
who have neyer been arrested. 1ti also sta1
wild, equal confidence that while Rhs
- Island was paying promptly very heavy boz
u u ties, it was not uncommon for men here
L enlist, get their bounty, leave the pFfncl
- - | portion of it in the hands Of the recruit
III officer, receive the accustomed pass, and Il
ce start for Rhode Island to enlist again.