The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1862-02-15

The COnR4sssIOnat 1nquiFy tate GOv'
srAAsAt Contracts.
The corrupt administration Of the af
, fairs of the War and Navy Departments
Is being exposed by the COngressiOna
Investigating Committee. The rascality
Of gentlemen prominently connected with
the public service, the corrupt system o
brokerage by which the treasury has beer
plundered, and the prostitution of public
confidence to purposes Of individual ag
|, grandizement are graphically depicted ia
the report Of the Committee. Frauds
astounding and stupendOus, unparalleled
in extent and audacity, have been com
United by Agents Of the Government, and
connived at If not shared in by members
Of the Cabinet.
The Investigating Committee is com:
posed of prominent Republican members
Of Congress, anxious to conceal not ex.
aggerate the corruption and frauds Of
their party friends. The Philadelphia
Inquirer Republican organ) says, "it is
not an unfounded estimate to regard hall
Of all the money paid from the treasury
on account Of war and navy contracts as
extravaganza, waste and plumber, and in
this way the people have been already
s,cindLed to the rtent Of a hundred mil.
lion dollars" The Navy Department
employed an "agent" to purchase vessels,
business which he knew nothing about,
which he transacted at fearful cost to
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been much better done by officers Of the
Navy. This agent was Mr.. George d.
Morgan, the brother and business partner
of the Governor ofthe State of New York,
and the brother in-law Of the Secretary Of
the Navy" He received two and a half
per cent upon all the purchases he made
tor tie Government from the Government,
and according to the sworn statement Of
Mr.. Bushnell, President Of the New Haven
Propeller Company. from whom he pur-
chased a vessel called the Stars and
Stripes, he received two and n half per
cent. commission from the President of
the Company upon the purchase. lie
was acting at one and the same time as
the agent of Government and the agent OF
the Propeller Company, and receiving
commissions from both! The more he
paid for vessel the larger his commission
in both ways!
The committee say: "Thc compensa-
ton paid to Mr. Morgan for the purchase
of single vessel, a negotiation Of few
hours or days at most, sometimes amount
ed to fire thousand dollars! The Sec
rotary of the Navy, his brother.in-lnw,
has paid him ninety:fre thousand dollIrs
for his services as agent of the Govern.
ment for period Of four and half
months
We quote again from the report Of the
Committee, and we want our readers to
recollect it is all Republican evidence:
"No department Of this Government has the
right to place its agents in position, or clothe
them with the power, under pTetence OF com.
pensati0n for services rendered the Government
ITSELF to take from The packets Of the patriotic
citizens coming forward with their means to the
support of the Government IN the day Of it's
trial, such sum Of money as is here found to
have been diverted into the pockets of MIR.
Morgan. No citizen can .justiry any sHch at
tepnlt to coAceIt the public necessities into &C.
cdsiOH far mnL'inQ fortunes. The Committee
are at Il loss 10 understand upon what principle
prevailing in business or morals the agent OF
one party is put in the pay Of the other party"
Mr.. Morgan had no responsibility for
the disbursements Of a single dollar on
account of these purchases; he executed
no bond, and could claim compensation
for no unusual responsibility or liability.
The Morgan family made "big thing
out of the Navy Department!
Here is another specimen Of the manner
in which another honest and faithful and
patriotic agent of the Government, named
Comstock, prominent Republican, per-
formed his duty. Gen. Wool ordered Col.
TompkinS, Assistant Quartermaster Gen.
eral, to charter two light-draught steam
ers to ply between Havre de TRACE and
Annapolis. Col. Tompkins, relying, as he
states in his evidence, on the assurance
of Captain Comstock, Government Agent,
"that all was right" chartered the steam
er Catalne. Previous to chartering her,
the Report of the Committee states
"Captain Comstock, in company with Sam
uel w. Morton, visited the CdtdIi"e, then own
ed by Margaret COrlis, and lying at Brooklyn
New York Morton made a conditional con
7 tract for her purchase, and on the next dav i'll
formed John Z. Develn, lawyer OF New Yorl
City, and one Of the prOprietors OF the AstoI
House Hotel, that he thought there was {
pretty good chance of furnishing boat to tn,
Government, and that something could bt
made with good management; and on th'
oath of April, John E. Develin purchased thu
vessel for eighteen thousand dOItdrs."
Comstock, Develin and Morton are lead
ing Republicans. They purchased thu
Catalina for eighteen thousand dollars
and Immediately after Comstock advised
Col. Tompkins to charter her at the rat'
of ten thousand dollars a month for tire
months, which he did, having confidence
in Comstock's honesty. In addition sh
was not covered by insurance, and IN In
event of her loss it was provided tina
Government should pay fifty thOusdnc
dollars for her-tifty thousand dollars 70
vessel which had Just been purchased
for eighteen thousand Benz. F. Woolsey
an experienced ship. chandler, testified be
fore the Committee that the Catalina wa