Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1871-08-23

have charged and received payment. upon
this cXhorbitant basis, i'm numerous in
stances, four times for Mc same cork.
some little explanation is necessary to
make this fact manifest to the reader.
The appendices, to which reference
has been made, are made up of
documents submitted TO and printed bv
order of the Legislature during the pro-
gress of its sittings, as for instance, the
Governors message, the reports of the
Deaf and Dumb and Insane Asylums, the
reports from the colleges from the Trustee
of the Bank of Tennessee, investigating
committees, etc. These were printed by
order of the Legislature as they were pre-
scented to that body; the House ordering,
say from five hundred TO thousand cop
les, and the Senate a like or less number.
In addition to the copies thus furnished to
the General Assembly for current use, n
thousand other copies Were printed and
subsequently bound into volumes called
the "AppendiX.n These thousand copies
were printed at the same time and upon
the same type upon which the copies fur
nished the Legislature were printed. There
was but one composition. The appendices
are precisely alike, letter for letter, in eve
rything, except on the back five hundred
copies are labeled blouse Appendix" and
the Others labeled Senate Appendix
According to recognised principles of JUS
tice as well rs the terms of their contract,
the public printers were entitled to but ono
"conpositiOn' bill. Yet they have made
out, presented, demanded and received
four payments, to-wit; LIST, for Compost
ton" for the copies furnished the House
and I'd, Composition for the copies fur
nished the Senate during the sittings of
the Legislature; and Sd, "compositionU for
the Senate appendix; and 4th compost
ton" for the House appendix, realizing
upon their false and fraudulent basis Of
nearly double the work four PAYMENTS fO,.
the same Scrlicc, and in this way obtaining
OuCr four dollars per thousand ems, instead
of the Sirty screen and q hair cents author-
i-Cd By Tar.
BY such means not less than fifty thou
sand dollars have been fraudulently with
drawn from the public treasury, and taken
too, at a time when the people were i'm
poverished by war and oppressed by tax
alton; at time when honest bona fide
creditors were being turned away from a
depleted treasury unpaid and unsatisfied
The amount taken is enough to pay the
suspended interest for two years ON the
Agricultural College fund; to maintain
the judiciary of East Tennessee for about
TWO yenTs to liquidate the legitimate ex-
penses of the incoming Legislature for the
seventy-five days, allotted by the new
Constitution to that honorable body, or
uOlltN lIlG IN DcuStS VI lllt Nltdl anu uuulD
and insane assylums for period of nearly
or quite two years.
And permit me to enquire by whom has
this great fraud been perpetrated? By the
prOprictOrs of the two central and leading
newspapers located at the Capitol, and re-
Cognized organs of the dominant party in
the State; men who in virtue of their
positions as party organs, assume quasi
dictatorial powers in party management
and who are daily endeavOring to cover
their own pcctautlOn5 and dCfOrmHiCs 10y
inveighing, Ia q general 1rQY, against the
COrruptiOus of others.
Against such hypocrisy and wrong |
most solemnly protest The pecuniary
wrong and injustice which such raids upon
the treasury impose, is enough to Justify
my protest. But this is the very least evil
which such frauds produce. The people
to whom our republican institutions are
cOnfided cannot maintain them unless they
are honest and well informed in relation to
men and measures. From necessity they
must depend upon the public press for cor
rect Information touching all questions of
public interest; and if the press becomes
corrupt to whom can they look for the
facts as to men and measures, essential to
an enlightened exercise Of their right of
suffrage, through which this great republic
can alone be preserved. y corrupt press
will Sympathize with corrupt public SER
wants. For pVcunury subsidies and other
personal advantages, it will suppress the
truth, propagate talsehoOd, assail virtue
and independence, vindicute fraud, euCOur-
age tcmcrity and exert all its influence to
supercede honesty and efficiency, whercv-
er it may be found in public positions. with
supple Instruments OF its own.
Take the two papers referred to rs exam
pies. With these exposures Of their delib-
crate frauds upon the public treasury, they
could never expect to be elected by an hon
est legislature, hostile to peculation by par
ty organs upon the public funds. No leg
islature could re-Clect them public printers
without making themselves parties to the
frauds which they have perpetrated. In the
presence Of faithful representatives of the
people sustain ed by competent and vigil
lent executive officers and q sound and
healthy public sentiment, "Othello's oc-
Cgratiopn would 10 gone. The necessities
cfTLC;, sjt,saJio, ,JgD50j16 n ScyyjIc Icojsy,,-
tire ami n cO,72,Dt end ObscIuiOUS country
press. They realize this truth, and of
course, in order to sustain themselves, must
do everything to secure the only state or
condition Of things that can possibly pro-
tect them from exposure and general rotr-
button. And how can the press be more
easily corrupted and hushed into silence
than by n judicious distribution OCCASION
ally of a few thousand dollars of spoils
There is no such guaranty of fidelity as
mutual participation in crime. The press
generally possess the means of exposing
fraud. Left untrammeled, it would do it,.
But if the great central organs are allowed
to seize and appropriate the public Teven-
ucs as hereinbeiore stated, by annually
distributing part Of their plumber to their