Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1871-09-06

How Evans Minded his own business The
Vision Of A Seer.


However, Evans set notable exam.
pie to his fellow creatures, and ospcci.
ally TO his fellow rogucs, in one par
ticular. Hc minded his opn business
strictly. He did not seek Improbable
notoriety. Ho Stunned newspaper
fame, He did not even poster tho
government with the annual report no
had bound himself TO make, aud no
was slow and shy when he got war
rant into his pocket about passing IL
over to tho State Treasurer. And 80
the devoted fellow labored for more
than four long years, silently but per
sistently, with single eye to the pub
lie interests, and two to his own, and
would, doubtless, had his own wishes
been consulted, have descended to tho
grave in aflluent and cozy obscurty.
But the newspapers will not lot Mr..
Evans blush unseen. They have drag
gcd him forth from his modest retire
ment and he has grown famous in %
day. 1t seems that he has deducted
from the amounts that bc claims to
have collected ot Washington since
1867, for his services in signing re-
ceipts therefor, the neat little SUN of
TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY ONE THOU
SAND DOLLARS.
The joint resolutions under which
Evans was appointed provided that
the agent should be allowed as com
pcnsation not orer ten per cent. Of the
amount collected by him. The reso-
luton clearly contemplated that this
allowance was to be fixed by the &C
counting officers of the Common
wealth after he had paid his collections
into the treasury-that it should be
based on the amount Of labor, thought
and time which il might appear his
duties had exacted, and that in no
event should il erceed ten per cent.
But Mr.. Evans was unwilling to run
any disagreeablc risks. Accounting
officers are mortal like other men, and
therefore tickle, and il was just possible
that the Auditor General and State
Treasurer might, in I'll of caprice, do
eide that five per cont, or even beg
carly one per cent, would amply com
pensatc tho special agent for the ar
duous loa6ng be had done about
Washington while waiting for tho
warrants. Mr. Evans believed firmly
in the scriptural plan of leaving the OK
that treads out the corn uDmuzzled,
and he availed himself Of the blessed
freedom Of the law to gobble the pro-
duets of the government granary in
fashion which may be mildly termed
hoggish. lie held fast to nearly three
hundred thousand dollars--his "ten
per cent" he called it--and tardily
paid the rest Of his collections into the
treasury without advising with tho
accounting officers as to the rate of
his compensation or condescending to
inform them of the delightful balance
in his pocket.
But there is darker page still in
the black story of Evans. Not only
did be, with the vision of seer, dis
cern, three years ago, the exact
amounts that the United States would
pay in this year II, but, with admi-
rable thrift, he paid himself his COM
missions on these prospective amounts
out of the monies collected in '67 and
'6S. But he did better still. His ge-
MUS and his garb were not only pro-
phetic but retrospective as we'll He
pockcted ten per cent. on the sum of
Sl,304,7ll which tho general govern
ment had allowed Pennsylvania in a
settlement in 1862, fve gears before his
appointment. He held fast also TO zen
per cont on the sum of s606,000 paid
10 the State September 10, 1861 near
ly sir years before his appointment.
These two items which hs allowed
himself for service never rendered and
as percentage on money which he
had no moro agency in collecting than
he had in the creation of the world,
foot up to the amount of
ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY-oNE THOU
SAND DOLLARS.
Leaving out OF consideration alto
gether the swindling charges by which
he has stretched his pay to 100000
beyond the above amount, just think
of this amount By itself. Nearly $780,
600 Of public money deliberately put
into his purse by scoundrel who had
no more claim to it than he has to
your watch or spcctacles, and this gi-
gantic and audacious robbery perpe.
iratcd under the noses Of a Republican
Governor, Auditor General and State
Treasurer, and only brought TO the
notice of the public at last by the
faithful Democratic press What a.
state of morality in high places does
this case reveal
OF course our readers will naturally
ask is Evans in jailg Is the Governor
indignant at this robbery of the State
and bent on bringing the criminal to
Justice Not bit OF it. He is doing
his best to screen the villain and
Evans is sporting over the land in
high enjoyment Of his stealings. For
ought we know he is at Long Branch
racing and guzzling champagne with
Grant, for he has plenty of cash to
make presents and Grant is not par
ticular in his inquiries about where
money comes from SO long as it is Ju-
diciously invested in horses, watches,
houses and cigars for himself-Edston
Argus.
The most popular doctrine to preach
in these times, and the hardest one TO