The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1871-11-18
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
w AsfiINGToN, Nov. 3d, 1871.
THE STOKES swINDLE.

the attention of tlIe Department and
our Police authorities. A few days
aro Gen. VIM. B. Stokes, member Of
Congress, who is said to be the chief
i swindler. was arrested at the Balti-
! more depot. OH the charge of deflflud
! ing the Treasury out of 100000, and
for receiving fees while a member of
the House Of Representatives. He
was placed under $4,000 bonds to
answer. Learning that Stokes was in
the city, your correspondent paid him
visit, to learn his version of the
matter. After stating that the object
of my visit was to ascertain the real
facts in the case, and that | had learn
ed from the Department that he, with
others. was guilty of defIauding the
Government by collecting claims for
a number of men who never existed,
by having their names placed on the
nn,ster-roll Of Captain Beaty's COM
pany OF Tennessee Scouts. The De-
partment claims that the company
only numbered so men, but the rolls
claim that it numbered 1927. In re-
ply he said that he was anxious that
the ca se should b.. brought to trial as
| soon as possible that he could prove
that the 102 men borne on the rolls of
Captain Bcaty's company are all
! living i'll Fentress county, Tennessee,
except those marked dead on the
mu>ter-roll, and are not fictitious
names. us asserted by the prosecution;
and that the amount of pay due them
for services as soldiers was just, to the
best of his knowledge.
| Captain Beaty's company was an in
dependent Organization, acting as
! scouts, and not being regularly mus
tered into the service of the Govern
ment, of course drew no pay. The
act past for their benefit had for its
object to place the men comprising
this company in such a position as
that they could be paid. The law
provides that the Captain and his
Lieutenants should make out the roll,
making affidavit to the same, and
upon this the men should be paid.
! Hon. Horace Maynard introduced the
! bill, and Stokes aided Captain Beatty
| in raising the required amount of men,
whether by fraud or otherwise, am
unable to Ay. The Department, /
| learn have some of Stokes letters that
/ x1. fa hi hi
i point.]
| The rolls were made out as required,
and sworn to by Captain Beatty and
his Lie,itelallts. and forwarded to tile
! War Department. and approved lafter
some discrepancies were satisfactorily
explaineD. II any fraud was COM
mitted, it was by Beatty and his Lieu
/ tenants. The only connection he had
in the transaction was perfectly legiti-
mate, and nothing but that which
was due from him as member of
Congress to his constituents. The
certificates to pay the men were not
issued to him, but to the authorized
attorneys for the claimants.
Il know not how the truth may be,
| tell the tale rs told to me-
THE CIyu. SERVICE COMMISSION
has at last, after being in session some
three months, and playing six. come
to the conclusion that there is no doubt
| III their minds that they call perfect a
system whereby the civil service will
be relieved from the burden of main-
tanning incompetent persons, because
of political services. If the Commits
sion will only do something besides
talking and drawing their. pay, they
will receive the thanks Of the Amer
lean people they have been i'll ex-
istence since the last session of Con-
gress, and have failed to make a
single reform.
THE TREASURY.
The Secretary of this Department
has ordered the Assistant Treasurer
in New York city to buy one million
dollars worth of bonds on each Wednes-
day during the present month, and
sell one million dollars worth of gold
on the first, third, and fifth, Thurs
days, and two million OH the second,
and fourth, Thursdays during the same
perioli. The receipt of the Internal
Reyenue Bureau for the past month
amounts to SO, 43o, 81 81 for the
fiscal year $i6, $50, $50 .s5.
APPOINTMENTS. ~.
During the week the President made
the following appointments: George
G. Bates, U. s. Attorney for the
Territory of Utah; Howford T.. Cor
don, Register of the Land Office at
st Cloud, Mimi; Geo. Andrews, Z.
s. Attorney for Eastern district of