The Cadiz Democratic sentinel. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1854-1864, 1862-01-29
Astounding Frauds in Govern
ment Contracts--Spceech ofMI .
Dawes, Of Massachusetts.

tives in Congress on Monday, Januar!
13. The disclosures made as to the al
most boundless corruption and fraud il
Government contracts, and the pointed
and direct manner III which Mr.. Dave,
makes his statements, cannot but ar
rest the attention Of the reader and vii
amply repay an attentive perusal. Mr.
Dawes, it will be seen, is Republican
member of Congress from Massachu
sets, and a member Of the House com
mittee appointedto to investigate Govern
ment contracts. His statements are
therefore, made upon facts proven be
fore the committee: E
Mr.. Dawes (Rep.. Nass.,) from the com
mittee OF Investigation on Government Con
tracts, iI resuming his remarks, commences
on Friday last, said: ...........
Sin: ! have not failed to notice, and De
leve the committee Of which | am a membe,
nave not failed to notice, in common witt
the whole country, that for some unaccoun
table reason, the charges upon the Nationa
Treasury, at this time OF war, have beer
such IS to reach nearly the bottom OF the
public chest During this investigation, start
ling facts have come bet0re this committee
and to the notice oil the whole country
touching the mode and manner of the expen
diture Of public money, Some of thest
items propose TO call public attention TO
and then to ask gentlemen the plain question
if at oil, and il so, how, when, and where
The very first contract entered into by this
Government, after the troops had left ,heii
homes to come here, in April last, to de;end
the Capital, by which they we're to be fed,
was contract entered into for cattle. II
was not made with a man whose business il
was to supply cattle TO the market, not with
a man who knew the price OF beef in the
maj kes OF the country, but was entered into
by the Government here with a man well
know n in this, and in the other branch o.
Congress, for the last ten ,ears as an old
stipcndiayy.-one OF the class OF men who
in times p st, made their money by such op.
eratipns as buying the certificates of mem.
bers at discount, and then charging the full
amount.
This contract was made SO that the first
twenty two hundred head Of cattle furnished
was chaig ged at the rae which enabled their
original contractor to snbs!et It in twenty
four hours after to u man in New York who
did not know the pi lcesof beei so that he
put in'o his pockets, without string from his
chair, $32, eco, and tis man " ho actually
furnished the cattle in Question put into their
pockets $4,000 more, 30 that the contract
under which these twenty two hundred heac
OF cattle were euini>he,laoAhe army was SO
made that The profit Of SIS, ,00D was realized
over the fair ket price. 1t takes longe
time for thousand OF cattle to reach thi.
city from the States where they are purchas
ed than 1t takes the army to Consume them.
askahe House, at this rate, to consider how
long the most ample provisions of the Treas
ury w0u d be able to meet the simple de.
mands for the subsistence OF the army. Sr
poorly as the army is shod 70 day, a million
of shoes have already been worn ou and a
million more are being manu- actued, and
yet upon every one OF these shoes there has
been waste Of seventy five cents. Three
ready worn out, and another thee quarters
OF a million dollars upon shoes is now being
manufactured. In that department Of the
Government contracts have been SO plenty
that Government officials have gone about the
streets " ith their pockes filled with them
and OF VIII ch they made presents to the cler
gyrnen oil their parishes, and with which
we're healed old 1litical sores and cured po-
liical 'euds. Even the telegraph has announ-
ced that high public iurctlonaries have gra-
eed The love easts which were got up to eel
ebrate these political reconciIiatians, thus
brought about wu,le the halchet Of political
animosity was buried in the grave of political
confidence, and the national credit was cruel
fled among ma.eactors We have reported
to US the first fruits of these contracts A
regiment OF cavalry lately reached LOUISVILLE,
o,e thousand strong, and the Beard Of Army
Officers there appointed ior the purposes have
condemned four hundred and eighty five hor-
ses outof the one thousand as utterly worth
less. The man who examined those horses de-
clared, upon his oath, that there was not one
OF them that was worth twenty dollars. They
were blind, ringhoned afflicted with the
heayes, with the glanders. and with every
disease that horsehesh is heir 10. These
iour bundled and eighty five horses cost The
Government, before they weremustered into
the service, $5S, 200, te, ,ide more than an ad
ditional $l,UOO 10 transport ,hem from Penn
sylvania TO Louisville, where they were con
demned and cast off. ss ei
Mr.. Mallory (un, Ky.,l asked what regi
ment those horses belonged 70, and who iurn
lshcd them. e st s
s Mr.. Dawes--They belonged 10 COL Will.
lianS regiment OF cavalry, and they were
purchased in Pensy lvahia, rom which stale
they were loi wardtd 10 Louisville. where
ahey were condemned There are S3 regi-
mcnts OF cavalry to day, enc thousand strong.
II takes $25UiUUO TO put one oil these regi
ments on loot before II moves. Twenty mil
lions OF dollars had thus been expended on
these cavalry regiments before they lett
the encampments where they were mustered
into service and hundreds OF those horse
have been condemned and sent back to I'll
mira, and to Annapolis, aud 10 this city, TO
spend the winter. Anr day hundreds ol
them can be seen around this city, chaiped to
trees, wheae they ale lett TO slarye TO death,
NdIb6 VI TWO nuIuFtu uOISSor III tailuuS pa
ces, have been thus lett 70 die and rot, Ill
the committee on the District OF Columbia
called for legislation 10 project the city
from the danger 10 be apprehended from
these horse Golgothas An ex Governor OF
one State offered to an ex Judge Of another
State $500 70 get blu, permission to raise
one Of these cavalry, and when the ex Judge
brought back the colnmission, the, ex Cover
nor takes il TO his room al the hotel, while
another plunderer sits az The keyhole watch
ing like a lnastiF while be inside counts up.
$40, ,OO0 profit on the horses, and calculates
$4,000 more upon the accouterments, and
on the other details OF furnishing these regi
ments. In addition 70 the arms in the hands
otathe 10000 soldiers in the held, there
are numerous outstanding contracts, made
with private individuals not ruade upon.
advertisement, not made with the knowledge
Of thc,public, but made BY ex members 81
Congress- who knew no more OF the differ
ence between one class Of arms and and an
o.her than does Y Methods minister. There
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