The Placer herald., 1862-03-22
SPEECH OF MIR. DAWES.
Government FinaMces---COrruptiOn and
Contracts.
House OF REPRESENTATIVES,,
OH SED


House OF REPRESENTATIVES,,
WASHINGTON, January 18th, 1862.
The House resumed the consideration of the
amendments, reported to the House from the
Committee of the Whole on the State of the
Union, to the Civil Appropriation bill.
Mr. Dawes, (Republcan) of Massachusetts,
from the Committee of Investigation on Gov
ernment Contracts, in resuming his remarks COM
menced on Friday last said:-Sir, | have not
failed to notice, and believe 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 the
National Treasury. ut this time OF war, have
been such as to reach nearly the bottom of the
public chest. During our investi cation startling
facts have come before the notice of this CON-
mittee, and TO the notice Of the whole country,
touching the mode and manner of the expendi-
ture 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 if
how when and where? The very first contract
entered into by this Government, after the troops
hid left their homes to come here, in April last,
to defend the Capital, by which they were to be
| fed, was u contract entered into for cattle. 1t
was not made with man whose business it was to
| supply cattle to the market nor with man who
| knew the price of beef in the markets Of the
country but was entered into by the Government
| here with man well known in this, and in the
other branch of Congress, Tor the last ten years,
as an old political stipcndiary one of the class
| of men who, in times past. made their money by
such operations as buying the certificates of mem
| bers for books at u discount, and then charging
| the full amount This contract was made SO that
the first twenty-five hundred head of cattle fur
| nshed was charged ut a rate which enabled their
original contractor to sub-let it, in twentylOur
hours after, to a man in New York, who did
know the price of beef so that he put into his
pockets, without stirring from his chair, thirty
| two thousand dollars, and the men who actually
| furnished the cattle in question, put into their
pockets twenty-sx 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 ffty-eight
thousand dollars was realized over the fair mar
ket price, 1t takes longer time to enable
thousand head Of cattle to reach this city from
the States where they are purchased, than 1t
takes the army to consume them. | ask the
| Honse at this rate to consider how long "the
most ample provision of the Treasury would be
| able to meet the simple demands for the subsist-
ence of the army. Sir, poorly as the army is
| shod to-day, II million of shoes have already been
worn out, and another three-quarters OF mil
| lion of dollars upon shoes is now being manu-
featured. In that department of the Govern
ment contracts have been so plenty that Govern
ment officials have gone about the streets with
their pockets filed with them, and of which they
made presents to the clergymen OF the parishes,
and with which were healed old political sores
and cured political feuds Even the telegraph
has announced that high public functionaries
have graced the love feasts which were got up
to celebrate these political reconciliations, thus
brought about while the hatchet of political an
mostly was buried in the grave Of public con-
fdence. and the national credit crucfed amongst
Indicators. We have reported to us the first
frnits of one of these contracts. regiment OF
cavalry lately reached Louisville, 1000 strong; ;
and the board of army officers there appointed
for the purpose have condemned loar os nunarea as
and eighty-fve out of the thousand horses as
utterly worthless The man who examined these