Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-05-27


internal arranseuenfs al connections q ID railroads
q Pennsylvania, whcl supplies are a. g shipucf
and be invested VIII The coagro Of s3oe0eo0 70 pur
ehsSe equipments fsr army and charter vessels Tor
tran porting troop. and suppes he takes oath ard
such system Ct Puae roliey mast lead Inevitably to
persoual tavortm a. The puhc rxpsn e. the corruption
q the public mersi and 4 ranoas grodiEacy the ex-
pena'tare Of the public treasure. orEaaszng army
would scarcely be less effective than the open assaults Of
Is tra.torous enemies.
Again, this subject:
Can the Secretary Of War pretend tha, the national
perl sud the necessity for Immediate seton justified these
irresponsible expenditures Of the public money with
settlement Tor Tour mouths afterwards, # there had
been responsible and experienced public officers IN
New York to perform the duties
On the subject Of buying srms, as conducted
by the late Secretary of War, the committee
state loss of over ninety thousand dollars to
the Government in one transaction, and say:
NoGovernmcn that ever has existed can sustain itself
with such mprovdence the management 81 its affairs.
In regard 10 the purchase of horses and wagons
for the public service the committee sum up a
follows:
appears from ali the evidence which is detailed in the
record q evidence accompanying THIS report that the
parties 10 these dseretitabe transactions had perfect
understanding with each other and engaged in a system
Of corrupt peeuniary gains ~ Of acquisitions and
etef's si-eu ~ bank ad false iiNpsces al time when
e oVer-taXed finances OF the Government snd the con-
hdenee Of generous and patriotic people demanded the
most rigid integrity.
Sir, in view of this dark record of atrocious
guilt, 1t ia no wonder that the chairman of the
committee Mr.. Van wyckl, in his speech of
February :, on this floor, should excIaim:
The nsnaifoi stealing seems have through all
70 the drummer 10y, from those the thToue
power TO the nerest Underwater Nearly every who
deals With the Government feel desire that
would not long survive and each had common night to
pluaidcr Will u lived.
Again the chairman SAYS:
While II j. n0 Justification. the example has been set
IN The very Departments Of the Government. As gen
eral thing favorit.s gain access there and none
other obtain contracts which ar ENORMOUS profits
The department which has allowed conspiracies after bid
ding hal been closed TO deiraud the rnuen of the
lowest BID and by aowingt the guilty reap the fruits
their crime, has itself become Etlticeps crsnliais
And well might the able and fearless mem
Der OF the committee from Massachusetts,. Mr..
Dawes, in view of these revelations also assert
as he did before the House and the country. that
Startling facts have come to the notice of the
committee, and to the notice of the whole country,
touching the mode and manner of the expenditure
Of the public money!" that lin the first year of
Republican Administration, which came into
power upon professions of reform and retrencll-
ment, there is indubitable evidence abroad in the
land that somebody has plundered the public
treasury well nigh In that single year Us much
a. tie entire current yearly expenses of the Gov
ernment during the Administration which the
people hurled from power because of its corrup-
ton And further, that those heavy measures
OF taxation which have been brough, forward by
the Committee of Ways and Means would fall
IKE Il dead pail upon the public, unless before
them goes this assurance, that these vast and cx-
tFcmc measures instituted to resuscitate and re-
vlve and repleniSh the Treasury. are not merely
for means to fill other and longer as well as the
already gorged pockets Of public plundercrs."
But, sir. passing on from the evidence of fraud
and corruption in the management of our public
affairs, as furnished BY the proceedings of this
House, l proceed to other fields. The result of
the llbors of this committee are before the coun-
try, and L can do no more in my brief hour than
to extract few conclusive sentences But in
vestigation of this kind has not been con incd
alone to this body The other branch of Con
gress has had the subject of official delinquency
also forced upon their attention. ! hold in my
hand report of the Senate Committee on Ma
val Affairs, relating to one single transaction in
which the Government suffered loss of sc. 900.
read from its concluding portions
IL is said TO be necessary only that Justice should
be DONE but that the public should be satisfied that il Is
done and in this view your committee regret that in the
city or New York could De found 10 transact
thi- business for the Navy Department, the family
connection OF the Secretary for however pure and honest
his purpose may have been in the selection it
To give TO suspicious that other motives than a single
NltfNe the PUBIC interests possibly have
influenced tlto cheise that ms.le. The lime too al
which this made by which such vast
and d~lrop"rtioise amount of tn rul lie money was
pad or - uncomfortable service wa peculiarly uor-
tTnafc- lae country engaged in a winch its
very existence a. stake. The nation had aroil>e
AMI was contributing and ney without stint 10 de-
ieud tee national life, viudicate national honor and
restore The ii atfgl supremacy of Constitution and
the laws The energies aud the industry of the country
were 10 be taxed they had been before and the
pressing necessities of the Government had compelled
TO resort 10 and ured Of revenue The hut
cf poverty and the splendid mansions of wealth were
alike calie' aid in bearing he burden ~hich
bciion and civil had thrown upon nation All
this borne and would have been horne cheerhly if
the taxpayers had been convinced that their
money TO be faithfully ard economically applied TO
tie purposes for which il raised Bot when they see
immense Sums lavished personal political favor
lies for small ana iuconsderable services confidence in
the Government is impaired, public credit paralyzcd,
aud the very eAiSte5ce Of the nation i imperled.
And in commenting on this alarming state of
corruption in the Navy Department, a very dis
tinguished Senator Mr.. Hale used the following
strong language:
When the country taxing itself it never hal be-
fore, when bleeding al every pore when new aud
untred Sources Of resorted to- when YOU
we're taxing The H. ceSSarcS of the hmblest OF
your land and when the land sraning itself and all
M citizens and they sending their young men TO the
nell aud giving their money 20 the Treasuryat that time
aud IN that hour when il seemed the very existence
of the nation stood in the scale doubtful which way
to ilrT, George d. Morgan. merchant Of New York
hrother-n law of the Secretary Of the Navy
ceving from the hard earnings OF this hartaxed people
compensation equal to about twelve thousand dollars
month.
he further saws: