Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-02-06

make comment on the subject. but ! avail
myself Of This opportunity 10 call the attention
Of Republican gentlemen 20 the official docu.
ment. | viii ask the Clerk to read the record
which ~as made in S62 bv Republican com
mitiee OF the House. and | ask them to bear IN
mind that of this mans associates one u in
prison and the other ought 20 be, il the public
r1mor Is true.
The Clerk read from the Report OF The Com
mittee on Expenditures for Public Buildings to
the House Of Representatives at the Thirty
seventh Congress. follows:
"For evidence OF the extravsgant expenditures
OF public money uhder the Buresu OF Construc-
ton now and heretofore organized. ne refer TO
the testimony in relation to the Charleston Gus
tom House and the Treasury Extension A sin
gle item relating the former will illustrate the
system by which building about one hundred
and fifty feet lOag by one hundred and
twenty feet wide from outside TO outside Of the
columns. and carried some forty-hve 10 fifty feet
above the ground, entirely unfinished rOOtiess
anu hare. has already cost the Government over
two million OF dollars. and half million more Is
asked for by the engineer without any intimation
that il will do anything more than continue the
work At Hastings. New YORK. EDWARD LeT,
ned & Co. carry the business ofquArryIng apd
cutting marble A contract was made with them
for the marble Of the Charleston Custom House,
contract so indefinite and confused that any con
structiOn could he put upon IT, even the style OF
architecture being misnamed and the material be
ing changed from granite to marble alter Prev
Gus contract with the same parties In January,
| 1861 after South Carolina had seeded. Learned
Co notified the Treasury Department that
they had certain material on hand. and claimed
| inspection and payment under clause of the
contract Nj Clark the acting engineer IN
charge. to whom the matter was referred By Sec
rotary Dix, whose letter We herewith submit.
went tn Hastings and returned with schedule OF
material there 10 the amount OF Si3 ,O6l 60
which he and Mr.. Young the supervising archi-
tect reported to be correct, aud the sum OF 49,.
296.20. or seventy-fve per cent on the amount
was paid ont il: that Is TO say, S2S ,3e2 40 in
! cash. and SO 9l3 30 allowed by contractors for a
previous oyer-payment Mr. Clark, IN a letter
TO the chairman of the Senate Finance Commit
tee dated February - 1861 states N the result
of "a careful resume of his notes, after an of
/ fetal visit 20 the quarry. that he found a large
quantity of marble in every style of progress
/ from the rough block to the elaborate carved or
namental work, ready for shipment and he think:
sits total value would not If any. exceed SlOO,-
900 =" DESTROYS to ascertain il this large quantity
of marble was really at II ,stines. the committee
/ sent there Mr. Oertley, the Government compu-
ter an officer in the Bureau OF Construction, an,
Messrs II milton and Claskey. practical stone
cutters and architects There perfect con
currence between these gentlemen upon their re
turn Their testimony shows that the marble OF
which Learned x Co. were paid at the rate o
$40 06I o. the schedule of which will be iounC
in the testimony of Mr.. Young. worth 1T
fair market price from nine thousand TO twelve
thousand dollars; that all the marble outside o
the schedule. even at the rate of price named il
it, could nat exceed $40. 900, aud, as Mr. Oerle
said, at "A liberal market price would not be wortl
more than Sc 900 BY the testimony of theS
gentlemen il seems that the Government unde
the auspices of Messrs Clark & Young, hav
been paying S5.7s5 93 for capitals that. cut il
Italian marble would be worth not more thai
one thousand or twelve hundred dollars; tina
upon the item of capitals alone. shown partc
. ularlv bY Mr. Hamilton the Government pay
1895 OIL 81 for what would cost. at fair mar
ket rrice S5l 600 or an excess over the valu
Of S24I 0el 80
Mr. Brooks-All that have to say, in concu
sion il that this public document long ago
to nv knowledge, brought to the attention 0
the Secretary of the Treasury il not to the Pres
dent of the United States and yet that gentlema
has been intrusted with the terrific power G
, printing the public money.
Mr. Wilson of Iowa. desire to ask the gen
teman from New York, under what administra
ton this amount of money extravaganza
expended i'm the construction of the CharestO
Custom House. and under what Administrative
; the contract with Learned & Co. made.
Mr. Brooks--I am not going to enter into par
ty conflicts | stand on my own bottom. fin
that there is this difference between the Democrat
ic and Republican parties. that when the Demo
Gratis Law their hands deep in the public MONEY!
as Fowler the defauting postmaster at Ne'
York-ttey hide their heads and sneak off in tn
first stea mship to a foreign country. whereas de
faulting Republicans stand on their native heat
and to day claim the highest public Offices
Laughter
The only point | make. and which wish III
r committee to comprehend, is this When th
Mr. Spencer NJ Clark was known to have report
, ed fraudnlently on this matter of the Charlesto
! Custom House, he was not only kept in office
J but promoted to the highest pecunary position i
: the conntrv-thit OF manufacturing the publ
r money That has been known for months {
the Secretary of the Treasury. if not to III
President of the United States. That Is the issue
IL matters not whether he is one of my party O
one of his party; that is not the question; bu
did the Secretary of the Treasury know. or not
when he made Mr. Clark the printer OF the publ
money that there was public document charg
: ing him with fraud, and made nv the party /
which the gentleman belongs? That is the issu,
Ii he has anything tn say on that shall b.
happy TO hear him That is all | have TO say.
Mr. Stevens do not feel very much dispose
to confrovert the remarks of the gentleman ror
New York Two years or more ago | took oc
casion to say to the Administration. and e.
pecially to gentlemen that side of the House
that did not think they realized the Tagnitud
of this contest / said to the Administration
believed this war would be more expensive an
carried on with much greater pertinacity tina
would seem by our diplomatic correspondent
: and otherwise was anticipated by the Admins
: tratiOn | agree with the gentleman from Ne
! York, that theN have not always properly com
pretended the magnitude OF the war. and hav
not aiw ,ys ttken the necessary steps 10 bring
D to u close: aud wish his remarks would stint
late them still further to the desired energy.
: do not believe the war is ended nor do | beliey
; it i TO be ended in six, eight or ten months.
= believe still further burdens TO be laid on ii
c people.
I, Is The Washington correspondent OF til
). Cincinnati Enquirer says: