Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1863-02-21

The Terrible Frauds upon the
G0vermuaemt--Tee0 for Car
\ rypmg on the Wharf.-The Syvlnd-
IerB At work.
NJ From tte Philadelphia Inqalfer. iath INST.
.Asiotndias Exposure Of Pebble Phmdc.
\ Ngf itis'any longer possible for The peoplo of
this country to be shocked by the disclosure
OF frauds-apon the Government, they will be
.utlerly astounded by the report of a commit.
tee Of the United States Senate, published ia
the bqgirtr this incoming. 1t was our pur-
pose 10 brand and stigmatize these frightful
robberies Of The public moneys In such terms
MS they deaerse, but we confess that our 20.
cabulary is insufficient to do justice 10 the sub.
iect They are literally so monstrous that
terms In common use fail to give any idea Of
their enormoas turpltude. They must be read
by each man for himself II the record does
not make his blood tingle, and cause words o.
bitter e&ecration 10 leap instihctively to bis
lips, then he is notof "penetrable stuff That
such disclosures have been permitted TO pass
by heretofore without arousing ap effecteal
public indignation, can only be accounted for
by the fact that the swift current Of stirring
events, set 10 motion by the rebellion, sweeps
away the recollection Of crimes which, in or
dinary times, would shock society TO its cen.
ter. t.I -.,.
The report referred to is that Of Senator
Grimes, Of lowe, upon the subject Of ships
and steamers chartered to transport troops
and supplies In the very outset of II the
reader will find an account of the charter Of
thirteen bArges and steamers at Baltimore,
that will serve as an illustration Of the whole,
In that transaction il appears that these thir.
teen vessels cost their owners--middle.men
as usual--$65, ,2s3, and they we're chartered
to the Government at the rate Of S345, ,655
per Rnnum--an annual profit OF three hum
dred and twenty-five per cent Among these
was a rotten old hulk called Patapsco, which
was purchased by one of these middle-men
for VI, 200, and then hired to the Government
for $96 per day, and the barge Delaware,
which cost 81 800 hired for $50 a day. The
running expenses OF this latter vessel we're
about six or seven dollars day, and all the
rest were the profits of the culprits, whoever
they are. These vessels we're hired by man
named Hall who had monopoly of the busi
ness, under the direction OF Colonel Belger,
Assistant Quartermaster General, aud John
Tucker, Assistant Secretary of War When
it is borne in mind that two hundred and sew
enty.four vessels we're chartered by this man
Hall, some idea may be gained Of the fearful
amount Of which the Government has been
plundered by his operations. ta4r.
The modns operand was this Hail. as we
have said, was middle man, and through
the action Of Mr.. Tucker and Colonel Belger,
had monopoly of the business of chartering
vessels at Baltimore Nobody who had even
coal.boat to hire could get access to the Gov
ernment officers except through him. He was
the agent of the United States, selected the
vessels and fixed their prices At the same
time he was the agent of those who owned the
vessels, some of them being his own, and
others having been bought up by his creatures
In every case he charged commission rang
ing from five to twelve per cent on the gross
earnings OF every vessel chartered OF course
the higher the rate the more this careful agent
OF the Government was enabled to pocket
Thus, in the case Of the steamer Cecil, char.
tered of Captain Rice although the vessel was
offered at fifty dollars day, Hall had hired
her at seventy five dollars, and before the bar
gain was consummated raised the price to the
astonishment of the Captain, to eighty dol
lars per day, This scandalous feature appears
in every transaction, An agent OF the "a ov.
eminent raising the rates on his own princi
pal to rulnous prices, that he might get higher
commissions Here again we must remind
the reader that this man Hall, who was the
confidential agent of Colonel Belger aud Mr.
Tucker, chartered two hundred and seventy
four vessels
Baltimore, however, had not a monopoly o.
this "El Dorado" to the fortunate owners o
steamers, barges and tugs, and the lucky onei
who acted as agents for the Government Tn,
Committee extended their Investigations I,
the Delaware, and on our river they fouhd th,
same system OF plunder prevailing to the sam,
fearful extent Let our readers look and b,
o. amazed at the prices that were paid out O
their pockets for some Of the worn-out oil
hulks, formerly so familiar to their eyes Her
also we had agents Here also we have tn
sorry spectacle of men acting for the people
and at the same time acting for themselves /
q liking enormous rates upon their own yessel
q and all, too under the garb of exalted patrio
ism.
To show the utterly reckless and disgraceil
% character OF the Baltimore Operations, we il
vite attention to the fact that in one case
Y vessel in the service of the Government,
1 the exhorbitant rate of $3.50 per day, was el
v gagged In running on excursion trips for h
J. benefit oi her owners; that in another vess
. was fitted up With bankers, at Government e:
= pence, TO accommodate the private freight
Q some OF her owners who were at the san
Z TINS suffers 10 the army, one Of whom mao
4 S3OOO IN one Trip that in still other cRses Il
n Government tugs were used by their owne
to two private vessels for pay that in a lars
}. number OF casesths miserable old hulks th
were chartered at such monstrous prices, wei
so far gone that they had 70 be fitted up at q
expense equal TO their original cost, and tn
such repairs were made at the public expens
d IL there another instance in history of natlC
Q struggling Tor life being 80 heArtlessly al
o shameiully robbed by its own trusted citizen,