New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-01-24
MR.. LEFT on THE STAND.

|
but from this unwilling witness some lnforma-
t;on has nevertheless been obtained which
seems to be worth great deal of considera-
ton. His estimate of the profits of his bust
ness is not of great importance 1t Is enough
for the public to know that the General orucr
charges are serious burden upon commerce.
maintained apparently for the emolument OIL
firm of young adventurers, and that the eI-
forts of the merchants to have them reformed
have thus far been entirely fruitless. Mr'
Leet acknowledges that they are greatly III
Acxcess of the ordinary warehouse charges, Dut
fails to give any good reason why they
should be 90. We might take the
current complaints against the system
TO be substantiated on his testimony,
without any further inquiry. lie represents
the expenses of the two warehouses I'd DC
s94. 900, while other warehousemen are ready
TO swear that the business can be done Tor
half that sum, and responsible men are ready
to take il to day for one-third of the present
| charges. He bases his calculation OF the prof.
it's on the assumption that each package pays
| only one months charges while 1t appears
from his own testimony that about 2oOVO
packages pay storage on second month"; anu
he has retained some of A. T. Stewards goods
over year. Suppose the Committee examine
the books Let them see to mhom the nemS
of expense pere paid, and ,ohat they represented.
Then perhaps we shall come little nearer the
| truth.
! Popular curiosity is chiefly aroused just now
! by the question how he obtained this valuable
privilege. Mr.. Leet testilies that he beard
what a good thing it was from ono OF Mr..
Johnson's secretaries, and having made up his
| mind to 20 for it, he spoke to Gen. Grant on
the subject before the inauguration. we 40
! not know what was the result OF tins hrst ap-
picaton, for he only tells US that Gen. Grant
did not seem to understand what 1t was;
but when Mr.. Grnnell was about to be APP
pointed Collector he thought the time had
come to push his pretens0ns. lie got gen
era letter of recommendation from the HON.
| +. b. Washburne. He waited upon the PreSl-
dent, and asked leave to go to DIR. Grnneli
| with an authoritative announcement OF inc ap-
pontment. The President, in reply, gave him
the letter already published, commenting Col
Leet d" as possessing all the qualities necessary
to inspire tho new Collectors confidence.
And when Mr. Leet, presenting his credentials
and his news, asked for the General Order
business, what inference could Dir. Grinnell
possibly draw except that this was person
whom the President expected him to obliSef
How he got first share of the business,
under pretensc of being Mr.. Bixby, and after
ward the whole custom of the North River;
how he continued to draw pay from tho War
Department while he was the actual holder OF
this privilege in New York; how Bixby was
Obliged to give him half the receipts of the
| business besides q guarantee of $4,000 year,
and to furnish the building, the capital, the
| skill, all tho personal superintendent,
and pay all the expenses. in return
| for nothing except Leets influence at
the White House; and how he was
strong enough to hold his prize in spite of the
] circumstances of the mercantile community,
are facts well known to everybody. But there
is some secret in his power at Wash
ington which has not yet been told
While he was drawing half the receipts
from Bixby, be was the intimate associate
of the Presidents secretaries, Babcock
and Porter. He was al honorary guest"
as he calls it, at their mess, towards which he
contributed his share of the expenses. Yet if
he tells the truth these two comrades knew
nothing whatever of his New-YOrk enterprise.
Mr.. Leet must have been a sngularly rcticent
friend, and most unsOcial guest. Porter Is
represented in Mr.. Mudgett's testimony as
having been very active with Dir. Grinnell
in pressing Leet's claim. Judge Dent is said
to have made journey from Washington on
q similar Grand But according to Mr.. Leet,
Porter remained under the impression that his
friends application was rejected, and Judge
| Dent, so far as he is aware never interested
himself in the matter at all. Perhaps these
two gentlemen ought to be examined.
AS for the threats that Mr.. Grinnell should
be removed if he did not comply with Leets
demands, the memory of the witness is unfOr-
tunately at fault. 1t has been 80 long ago."
he swears "that / cannot remember what
"said, but know / never made any threat
" of any kind against Mr.. Grinnell.n An answer
of this sort opens wide field Of conjecture as
to what Mr.. Leet did say, and it is to be hoped
VIC may yet get at it, We have certainly
learned enough to make us very cautious in
accepting his statements. He represented to
Gen. Grant when he applied for the General
Order business in March, 1860, that he was
about to resign from the army, but he did not
resign until August, 1870, and he drew pay
until August, 1871. He swore that he "did
"nOt belong to any mess at the time of his
partnership with Bixby or for three years
previously" but acknowledged the same day
that he did belong to the Porter and Bah
cock mess at that time, and in one of his let
tiers to Lindsay he speaks of it as "Our"
mess. He denied and admitted that he had
correspondent confdentialy with Lindsay about
Grinnell and his Office; denied and admitted a
correspondence with Lindsay about Santo Do
mingo. Mr.. Leet evidently has not told all he
knows.