The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1870-01-20
TIE Great Navr Frauds.

LE EGtt4tE aAE taailIa tBl@ 10 EAUsf
Why ihe naval authorities G. Vice, Al
mIral Porter and bis tEustly henchman. o.
u. Robe,oH-are 80 apa,heiic IN the mat
ter OF bringing he delinquent officials 10
account. No less than mae pay niasl ers are
known at the uavg department to be short
A.. In large amounts. as follows:
Payu.a,tgr VIM. q Marcy. ..$ii0 001
paymaster b j. Cahooue.............100 coo
Payuiaster Forte Parker. AZ Olts
PaymasteT 4. j ClasG..................30.t $50
Paxma-'eI l.. Aaiiarh. 600
Paymasier Richard ashlugton...- ..25 900
Paymaster c. Il. Lock wood ......3, COZ
and two othe.s whose names are a. get
withheld from the public, in about $20.-
600 each.
Beyond the simple announcement Of
these dctd.ca ions, nothing seems to haze
been done 20 recover the money or TO pun
l>h the offenders.
1t is not known that any Of them have
ever been summoned before c0nrt>maftial
to explain the deficiency, which. when We
consider Secretary Porter hostility to this
class OF officers MAY be regarded as very
( singular fact. Perhaps it right be account.
eator upon the theory that TO investigate
these matters now would likely prejudice
( the interest OF the line IN their coming fight
I IN congress fer supremacy.
1t may not be generally known chat
commanding officer Is held personally re-
spUnsinle for the correctness of all dIsbuTse-
men,s OF board his vessel, and to tins end
I he i Tcquired - sign a certificate setting
forth that be has examined ami found COZ
rect all vouchers for disbursement made
while the vessel was under his command,
such certificate to be attached 10 the account
1 Of the paymaster
To slgn such certificate in the CAGES
alluded 10 .yonlL place the commanding
/ officer in very equiVocaI position, viz
/ that OF being cognlzant OF the frauds, or OF
! having certified 10 that which he knew to
/ be false-that he had examined and found
correct, &c
In recent trial by court martial at the
nayy-yald In BrJokin, this same question
was brought up, aud 1t was then shown
that commanding officers invariaiably sign
/ this certificate without knowing anything
at all about the disbursements.
! The bringing to light OF the frauds allul-
! ed to- and the probable discovery OF many
more whose existence is strongly suspected
III naval circles, from Il knowledge Of the
! personal hahlfs OF many paymd>tcTs gives
raise to a be LET that the corps needs
| thorough oyerhauIlng. Many persons crcpt
/ Iato II during the war without that rigid
| scrutiny OF their antCcedeuts usually given
| 70 the applicants tor 50 important posi-
] ton as paymaster IN the navy. With one
/ exception, al who have proved unworthy
/ are OF that ass OF appointments; and
! when We remember that previous TO the
! war such thing as a tetalcatIOu Was never
/ known to have occurred in the navy, il
/ would seem that the government should
| examine more closely into the character of
/ these gentlemen. Many Of them are
! known to lead rather fast lives One gain
/ cd quite a notorlety on the Pacific coast
some months since by his lavish expendl
! lures IN gaming houses, saloons &c. An
ether, year ago, in New York, drove a
/ s., 900 trottlng team, and was known 10
/ have private bank account OF $50 600,
accumulated III an incredibly short space OF
1 time. san another known 10 have
! lost large sum In " all street, without
| feeling at all disconnected III regard TO 1t.
| OF course 1t Is known that the money so
| ,quandered belonged TO the government
bat people cannot understand why otloer>
capable vi making such outiays from a phi
the service, anu sttuur etrn11y amt.
and yeX.ions OF RANK, Sc, for the patty
! sun OF s. 800 pr year.
/ The $ steem Of settling accounts Of iaYnla.-
/ tiers at present IN vogue aud under winch
these heavy delalcat.Uns have been permit
/ ted 10 semlj;i 80 long undiscovered. should
/ be promptly changed. Not only are :hcy
permitted 10 lie unQistu.ped ior month,
and even years subsequent to their receipt
! at the treasury, but when an examination
| does finally take place, no comparison are
| ever made between the different sets of
accounts IN the different bureaus. The
effect OF tins Is strlukIngiy illustrated in the
case Of one OF these deInquents VI hen his
/ accounts were being examined in the audi
tor Ofice, one OF the clerk noticed that
upon one OF the quarterly statement 1t was
ciaimei that 81 90 had been paid for com
muted T@tIons. As the amount was ungsu.
ally large, an examination was made in the
bureau OF provisions, aud 1t was found, that
oU fatOns PEI day were Issued IN kind dur
ing that quarter. IA examination OF the
records OF the bureau OF equipment wa.
then made, and it was found that at no
ume there were were more than I20 mel
on board the vessel Now, as there were
80 ratlons issued III kind, this would leave
10 committed. Yet the paymastar claimed
to have paid 200 rati0us, at S23 each. /
leaving net profit for his pocket OF IS,
6oU tor three months.
VI course this discovery was made by the |
mere>t accident The paymaster made his
figure lIttlo 90 high, au5 the clerk 5 sns
Wclo1s were therefore.aroused, and the re-
specilve examinations referred TO above /
followed. Had he been content with a
profit s., $50 Instead OF the larger amount, /
the chances are the fraud would never have /
been discovered.
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TER RTRT Z TIP CEDv