Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1862-06-19
NEW SERIES-VOL.24-NO. Is.

practiccd in the various departments oil
this Government than it is from the oper
enemy in the field" Sir, call upon the
people Of all ranks and conditions in life
Of every, party, Of every creed, and o.
every faith, to give ear to this warning
and to defend themselves at the grca
tribunal Of the ballot. box against wrong,
50 wicked, oppression 50 inhuman, crimes
80 revolving. abhor treason; my soul
has never sympathizcd with the designs
Of traitor to the Constitution Of nv
country; | would stand here and consume
all my time in denunciation Of the fataI
doctrine Of secession aud all its deplor.
able consequences, If any result would
thus be accomplished; but when | find
proven oflenses in our midst Of sufficient
enormlty to PROSTATE any nation that ev-
er had place on the pages Of history,
if not speedily checked, sec not why
l should pass them by, in order to dis
cuss a subject on which there is no diver
sity Of opinion.
have not, however, completed my
proof Of the charge which / make of gen.
eral and Widespread fraud in the manage
mcnt Of the financial concerns Of the
Government. There is one dark cha ptei
more to which wish to call the atten
tion Of the House and the country.
allude TO the melancholy history Of Tho
! Military Department Of the West, a.
J written by the Committee on War Claim,
at the city Of ST. Louis. Would to Cos
that this Republic could have been spared
this additional and most bitter cup o
shame. The report Of this committe i,
SO extraordinary, SO utterly amazing in
its monstrous revelations of lawlessness,
and fierce, devouring cupidity. that the
mind almost refuses belief in It's state
III ntS. | venture to assert that it is
without parallel in the recorded trans
actions of any notion on the face of thc
civilized earth. But painful and humil
itating as the facts thcrin contained arc
20 every man who loves the purity ofoui
| national name, yet the character of the
gentlemen who compose that committee,
eminc 1t alike for their ability, their pat.
riotism, and their integrity, together with
the clear and unqGestioned evidence on
which they base their report, riyit the be-
lief in every candid mind that the sim
pie truth has been conscientiously told.
There is no escape from this damning
exposure. Its light is as scorching, with
ering, as the hot blast Of the simeon oi
, the desert. 1t will not do for gentlemen
on the opposite side o. the Chamber to at
: tempt by studied silence to ignore its ex
7 istence 1t is not document to be treat.
. ed in that way. 1t emanates from Q
, source Of the highest responsibility. Ii
5 is the work Of honest, faithful labor. Nc
malacc from personal griefs or political
rivalry can be charged against it. lie,
us see then how so fair, so able a report
deals with the idol to which great par
ty has linked its sinking fortunes. l
can quote but enough to show the gener-
al license and corruption which prevailed.
My time forbids more than this.
; In July 1861, General Fremont
. surrounded by his personal and political
favorites, gathering from the Atlantic
sca-board and the coast Of the Pacific,
like vultures to their prey, assumed the
command of the Western Department
with the rank of Major General, nd es
tablished his headquarters at the city OF
St. Louis. lie at once proceeded to in
auguarate a system in the purchase Of
military supplies, Of which the commit
tee speak as follows:
"Ihis system alike fatal to the pecunary in
| tercsts OF the Government and the morality of
/ the service, was not confined to tents, but ex-
/ tended to every portion of the field of army sup.
plies which was sufficiently fruitful to attract the
avcrlce OF this class Of men. Honest mechanics
who had tents for sale, merchants who had sup
plies which the Government needed, aud men
from the country Offering horses and mules were
. turned from the quareImastcr's Office without Il
conference, and driven down into the mcshes of
middle men, to become, in common with the
Government, prey to their rapacity."
Starting with such system, each day 5
practice under it was a new page OF cor
ruption. Whether in fortifying St. Louis,
at dead loss to the Government OF
$3.50, ,0O0, or in the infinite folly of build
ing worthless pontoon bridge at Padu-
cab, at another loss of Sl2j, 600; wheth-
er in ordering the construction Of railroad
cars, at loss Of S15, 900, or in the pur-
chase of forage, by which $4,000 was
| pludered from the people; whether in the
purchase Of arms, of clothing, the build
ing of boats, the purchase of horses,
mules, and their equipments, the rent of
houses, of barracks, Of steamboats,, the
Use Of railroads and the telegraph lines.
in all, in every thing, everywhere, all
| peryading and omnipresent fraud Of the
6oldest and most audacious character is
discovered and dragged to light By the
labors of this committee. 1t is not, sir,
poor, ptilul, sneaking fraud. but fraud
of gigantic dimensions, and of a daring
satanic aspect. 1t is fraud such as a cor
rupt and aspiring consul at Rome might
commit in some distant and opulent prov
ince, whenIhe cast his ambitious and.long-
ing gaze upon the imperial purple. 1t is
fraud such as has marked the career in all
ages of those who entertained the usurp-
er's designs against the liberties OF their
country. That do not state this case
too strongly, let the following extracts
from the report before me bear witness:
"The most stupcndous contracts, involving an
almost Unprecedented waste of the public money,
were given out by him General Fremont in per-
sou to favUrts, over the heads of the honest and
competent officers appointed by law. 1t seemed
to be his purpose to present himself as the en-
bCdiment of political and military power, and to
show alike 10y his words and conduct how little he
depended upon the Government of his country
and how utterly he disregarded its laws. its regu
lations, and its policy. OF course such an exam