Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-10-31
THE LASTNEW DEPARTURE.
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The Stokes Powell Tinker Dave Beatty
Frauds. sas
Rebbing the Government Under the
Guise OF Love for the Soldiers. q

From the Washington Republican radical,
30 - a-.tt Oct. %.
The arrest of Congressman Stokes on
Thursday afternoon, at the Baltimore de
pot, did not, it appears, surprise large
number of officials in the Treasury Depart.
ment, who were aware, several weeks since,
that warrant for his arrest had been
issued. When the President was first &C
quainted with the evidence accumulated
against the ex-member of Congress, who
for some time past has been holding the re-
sponsible position of supervisor of internal
revenue for Tennessee, he peremptorily or
dered his dismissal, but upon representa-
tons that the Government had claims upon
him to answer the charge of defrauding the
Treasury of large sum of money, the Or
der for his dismissal was revoked, until
Stokes should have been arrested. This
having been effected, the President yester-
day directed that Col. Stokes should be dis
missed from the Office of supervisor of in
ternal revenue.
The loss to the Government by the false
muster-rolls of Capt. Beaty's company of
mounted scouts is about $685. 900. The
act of Congress authoring payment to one
hundred and two men alleged to belong to
this company was engineered through by
Col. Stokes in July, 1870. All the papers
necessary to establish the records were pre-
pared before the resolution was introduced,
and after it passed Col. Stokes paid particu-
lar attention to the final settlement of the
accounts. In February last he visited the
Treasury Department and asked that
claims of the officers and men of this COM
pany should be made especial" Between
the 18th and 18th of February last
all the accounts were passed, amount
ing in all to $111,029. Ninety men
received s., 064 each, amounting to $50, 760.
The heirs of twelve men, who were reported
as having died in service, received about
$1,000. The balance was divided among
the three commissioned officers of the COM
pany.
1t is evident that the documentary evil
dence was carefully prepared by parties
thoroughly acquainted with the routine
work of the War and Treasury Depart
ments. The clerks though whose hands
the claims passed could not take exception
to the character of the evidence offered, and
as Congress had made special provision
for the settlement of the claims, their
official scrutiny ended with the establish
men of the validity of the papers
offered. But in the course of the examina-
ton it became a matter of doubt how nine
ty men had served throughout the war
without receiving dollar of compensation.
Another suspicious circumstance was, that
two parties were named as attorneys in the
case who, upon examination, were found
to be fictitious. An attorney at Jamestown,
Tenn, was finally the recipient of all the
checks, and the Treasury deprived of at
least $685. 900 through the bold fraud perpe-
trated in the name of loyalty, and sane
toned by Congressional act.
Shortly after the settlement Of the &C
counts trustworthy agents were sent to
Tennessee to investigate the merits of the
claim of Capt. Beaty's company, and after
a patient investigation reported that at least
tWo-thirds of the names on the muster roll
were fabricated to swindle the government.
1t then became necessary to connect the
leading parties in the transaction with the
fraud; and upon the accomplishment of the
task warrants were issued by United States
Commissioner Johnson, of this city, on evil
dence furnished by United States District
Attorney Fisher, for the arrest of the lead
ing conspirators in the case. Thus far,
Stokes and Powell only have been arrested;
but, unless the others accused elude the
United States officers, every one implicated
in the fraudulent transaction will be arrest
ed before another week has passed.
The Department of Justice has also in
hand the working up of a similar fraud,
amounting TO about $50, 600, connected with
false muster rolls of a company of infantry,
originally organized by Capt. Goodwin Bry-
son, in Tennessee. Upon examination by
agents of the War Department these We're
found to embody glaring irregularities, and
the parties implicated in this transaction
will also be broughtts justice.
There are ether claims pending in the
Treasury Department bearing unmistakable
evidences of fraud, which will be turned
over to the Department of Justice for pro-
secution.
What stokes Has to SayI''Pfty n Poor
Truly Loyal Man."
Special to the Louisville Ledger.
WASHINGTON, 29.-Stokes, the Exon
gresham, will not submit to his being cat
echized as to his connection with the Ten
nessee bounty frauds, but has prepared a
written statement which he reads to every
inquiring newspaper man, after wiping the
tears from his eyes,and expressing the hope
that his personal disgrace may not attach
to his two sons in Tennessee, who never
swOre an oath, or who can not tell whisky
from water. -
The following facts can be gathered from
this written statement: He admits that he
engineered Capt. Brittish's claim through
Congress, and he says he had a right to do
so, and did not charge anything for his ser
vices; but after the bill had passed both
Houses it stuck in the War Department, and
its provisions were entirely diSregarded.
This misfortune called for more work, and
his Congressional aid smoothed over the
difficulties, and put the claim on the road to
payment. For this timely assistance,
he received twenty-five hundred dollars.
He went to Tennessee and expected to hear
nothing more of the matter; but while there
two of the agents who were employed to
settle the claims came to him and insisted
upon his receiving five thousand dollars
more, as they were realizing handsomely
out of the transaction. This sum Stokes
also pocketed, still thinking there was moth
ing wrong or illegal about it. Finally, some
of the claims got into trouble at the Second
Auditors office. There was something
wrong about the papers, and the payment
to the claimants under this bill was
stopped. Stokes assistance was again de-
manded. Last August he came on to
Washington again in the interest of Capt.
Beatty's comp any, and through his personal
influence and his knowledge of officials
again removed the obstacles 10 the complete
adjustment of the bounties. For the third
time he received fee, it being on this Occa-
sion twenty-five hundred dollars, and there
he supposed the matter would end.
He cannot imagine why the Government
should have ordered his arrest, or why the
President should add to his mistOrtunes by
removing him from his Tennessee collector
ship. He thinks his military record and
his past services to the Republican party
should. plead trumpet-tOngued in his be-
half.
The Solicitor General now has all the pa
peIs ready in this case, and it is not antici-
pated that there can be any defense to the
mass of evidence in possession of the Gov
eminent which goes to criminate all the
parties engaged in this swindle.
Special to the Cincinnati Gazette.
Mr.StOkeG, of Tennessee, declares that he
was not concerned in the fraudulent trans
actions in connection with the bounties paid
on account of Capt. Beatty's scouts. He
admits, however, that he received at three
different times sums amounting in the az
gregate to ten thousand dollars for services
in getting the claim through the depart