New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1864-02-16
THE RECRUITING BUSINESS IN
ORR CITY.

| The system oil recruiting WHICH mas Ieceilliy
been followed in this city is one OF the greatest
scandals Of the war. Ii has been one OF organ
| ICED pillagc resort being had 70 focusing with
narcotic poisonF threats, violence, false repre-
sensations and kidnapping in order TO furnish
victims TO the bounty-brokers and I'LL up the
army with Disconnected and unfit men. Grip
pies, old men, mere boys, men laboring under
incurabe diseases, and soldiers previously dis
charged for physical disability, form great
part of tho recruits recently enlisted in this city.
A bad eminence has been given 20 Lafayette
Hall. the headquarters of Gen. SPINDLE in this
matter; but the evil. though perhaps most fla
grant there, is one which has peryaded the en-
tire City and State.
And who, in our city more especially are to
Do held responsible for this state OF things ?
First, we answer, the practical working major
iiy OF the Committee appointed by the Board of
Supervisors TO dispense the county bounty of
500 for each recruit. The majority are the
responsible parents Of the system Of assignment
aud brokerage TO which al the frauds that have
taken place are TO be attributed. They would
not see the recruit; they would not, rs has been
done in Brooklyn, pay the $500 into his hands;
they would only deal with brokers who adj
vanced the money and took an assignment
therefor from the recruit, on which, and the
certificate Of the mastering officer, the County
Committee would alone di3bur3e. How I'M
wisely and unhappily the whole business has
been managed will appear from tho following
exposition:
Some months 400 Gen. Spinola received au-
thority to raise brigade, to be commanded by
himself when raised. Why, or upon whose re-
commentator, Gen. Spinola was selected for
this duty, at variance with the ordinary practice
of the army, does not appear. BE that
as it may, spinola's Brigade WAS TO BIO re-
cruited Independently Of the general recruit
ing machinery OF the army, and the result is be-
fore us. How that result was brought about it
is not difficult TO comprehend, when we exam
inc the special machinery put in operation by
the General TO nil up his ranks.
By General Spinola's appointment, and with
the concurrence OF the Board Of Supervisory
'uiti DlVh'A hHo rpF'ihltt az ctAc
Hall, in which he had regular Office and
wherein, with force Of clerks and runners,
he brought up the recruits, cashcd their assign
ments, and took, ostonsibly, for such cashng
tho sum of fifteen dollars (bcing the proper re-
cruiting fee) on each sum Of three hundred dol
lars advanced. In other words, for the loan of
three hundred dollars for rs long time az it
would take man TO run from Lafayette Hall
to the County Committee Rooms and back
again-probably thirty minutes--the broker os-
tensibly and avowedly received five per cent.
This gives thirty thousand dollars profit in
about two months on the two thousand recruits
paid for by the County Committee as enlisted
at Lafayette Hall, several hundred Of whom, It
is now believed, never reached Riker's Island,
the recruiting depot. as two thousand dollars
would have been m ample capital on which to
commence this business, it will be seen that
the broker-even taking his own view of the
case for gospel truth-has been doing large
and extremely lucrative business.
But lot us for moment go behind this view:
The Jaets ore, that Of the 2,o0Q men IN