The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-04-28
%PLUNDERING THE PEOPLE,.
HOW THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE
HOUSE WAS FURNISHED.
General Dennis,s Nice Little Bills
Eight Dollar Spittoons for Negro
Members-A $4,000 Chandelfer-Smoky
L-gisIators-How They sChoke OF"
an Obnoxious Speaker.
Correspondence Of the New York sum-
Cor rNpT. e G. April II

an Obnoxious speaker
Correspondence of the New York SUM-
COLUMBIA. S. c., April lG.
have rot at some facts about the fitting up
of the Statehouse here, and kindred subjects
interesting to South Carolina taxpayers. Gen.
eral John. B. Dennis, who had the matter IN
charge, is disposed to be r%eticeE.. bat through
another source I have got at the little
bill of furniture and ixings, and the fig
ures it contains are somewhat startling.
It. seems that when the job was first
put up to saddle the cost OF this extraTa-
CANT furniture upon the people = was intend
eG to coufine it simply to the as mbly cham6-
er. which, by the way, was in rather a dliapi-
dated condition. Speaker Moses took the
thing in hand and gave an order in writing TO
Dennis to contract for the furniture, ut the
same time enjolning upon him the necessity OF
strict economy and q wholesome regard for
the then impoverished conditioner the people.
In upholstery Dennis is an artist, or. at least he
thinks he is, and he didn't propose to throw
away his talent upon the mere decoration OF
an assembly chamber. He resolved TO furnish
the whole Statehouse, and for this purpose he
went TO New York to consult his brother az
fists, Messrs. Nicol & Davidson. The latter
firm were
NOT AvERSE TO Il LITTLE JOB,
and of course they did their best to secure it.
Stewart Sutphen, Of Brooklyn, also had q
finger In the pie, and furnished carpets enough
at So so a yard TO fit out every private house
in Columbia.
In course of time the furniture and uphol-
sterv arrived, and was put in the Statehouse.
went all over the building a few days ago,
and was enabled to Judge Tor myself OF the
value of the articles. a plain clock, with a
carved walnut frame, that Benedict would put
up for about 500, is charged on Nicol q
Dayidson's bill at s4s5. The clock has not run
but q few hours since it was placed over the
door of the library in the rotunda. Another
clock of the same kind hangs in the Assembly
Chamber. It cost s%475-worth about SIS.
There are abeut twenty small rooms in the
Statebouse known as committee rooms. These
are never used except as loatng places 1or
negro members or as convenient retreats IN
which 10 enjoy a little game OF draw at odd
times while the Legislature is in session. into
each of these little rooms General Dennis put
q handsome carpet, q black walnut table Gov
cred with greenscloth (very Convenient l0r
poker and walnut. chairs by the dozen. He
purchased for each OF these rooms a large
German mot French) plate mirror, Win cheap
walnut frame. NicOl & Davidson charge on
the bill 1855 each for these mirrors. WHAT the
per cent. on them IL, OF course, no one can
tell, but certain it is that they are
NOT WORTH q MONEY
So certain is Governor Scott that there IS
fraud III the purchase Of these mirrors, that
he will not allow them to be unpacke1, and
says they shall not be placed in the rooms.
He has ordered Dennis to send them back to
New York.
In the Assembly room We have a central
chandelier, invoiced by n. o. D. at $4,000. 1t Is
a gilt chandelier, with lG0 burners, but eX.
zaGel;z,,, nl,sr~s nna thnncana d0llare uy0ull
be Il very high price for it almost anywhere. IN
New York. Mt. Speaker Moses sits 10 front OF
a crimson silk reps curtain, furnished by
Stewart Sutphen, Of Brooklyn, at sl3G5, and
under a gilt cornice bearing the palmetto
tree and coat Of arms, put up by Nicol d
Davidson for ss65. But the grossest swindie'
and one that excites more comment and in
dignation here than any other part OF the
whole bill, is That Of the .''cuspadors" or jar
spittoons. They are OF French china, hand
somely enamelled and marked in gilt Q
of Representatives, South Carolina" They
were invoiced by Nicol q Davldsen at S9o u
Governor Scott says: They (the cuspadors)
are so thick in there 1.-THE House, that the ne
groes that wear No. fonrteens can't uttheir
feet on he floor without crushing one or Two TO
atoms" 1t is so; there have been nearly forty
broken already In that way Or course, In
Legislature like South Carolina's 1t Is necessa-
~ ior the health and convenience OF all that
ABLUTIoNs SHOULD BE FREQUENT.
General Dennis kindly afforded the necessa-
~ facilities in elegant china enamelled toilet
sets. at Sos each. Each comlnitte (or poker y
room has one. But have neither lime nor
space to devote to q more particular enumera-
ton of the articles in this huge swindle. l
have given The prominent ones. anu tnat Is
enough 10 Judge by. The whole bill amounts
to ss2. 500. and it Is safe to say that fully one
half OF IT, Is q fraud.
was here the night of the adjournment Of
the Legislature last month, and saw the ma
chinery in full blast. The complexion OF tins
wonderful body is both critically and politically
very black. In point OF intellect, l wouldn't
give much for the Lower House. There are
some smart white men, and one or two rather
Intelligent negroes In 1t, but what brains there
are are go swallowed up in rascality as TO be
utterly useless In framing laws Tor the benefit
of the State. The majority OF the negroes are
either wholly ignorant field hands, or ex-por-
tiers. BARRIERS, or walters In hotels, who can
lust manage to read and write. OF this latter
class is Jones, who, like the President OF the
United States, always has q cigar in his mouth
in session or ont.
JONES Is A POKEI-PIAYER
and . clever fellow. but he doesn't even mir
self deny that he is q great rascal. .Wmpper
is another. He has natural ability. but, like
some of the plantations hcreabouts. ne. lacHs
CULTIVATION. hhiptei 10 SSHS"t Cay
brolherln-!aw Of the young and beautiful
Misses Rollin wto ';dxei up the little claim OF
$1,000 Tor Speaker Moses to sign, just as if it
had passed the Legislature" the young and
beautiful Misses Rollln ''ca!ed this q school
claim ior teacl!rg.'
Smoking in the Lower House while it Is in
session is an indecent habit that lC would De
well if Speaker Moses would abolish next win,
ter. If there Is no rule to prevent it one should
be made. In one sense, however: the naoit OIL
smoking, ,''while on duty" so TO SPEAK, ma!
be made useful. They gay that when a mem
Der gets up to make a speech in opposition TO
any Scheme Of plumber, or upon any mSe other sro alsi
tasteful subject, the other inem s ci eMS
While pretending TO be deeply interested in
what the fellow is saying, Quietly pun cloud
see The speaker nor get his breath. This pro-
cess they call 'schoking of a speech anu 1t
certainly Is effective. Perhaps it is TINS Gus
tom that led General Dennis to provide sIlch
handsome reccptacles for the saliva engender-
cd by such rapid smoking as is necessary TO a