The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1872-08-15
COLUMBIA. s. G.
lursday Morning. August l5, 1872.
For President of the United States.
GaORACE GREELEY. or New York.
For Vice President
b. GRATZ BROWN, OF Missouri.
The Armed Force Fraud-The Full E1-
hlbIt.

We publish this morning in another
column the itemized account of expend-
lures made by the State Treasurer, un-
der pretended authority of tho EARNED
force" resolution. This is joint reso-
luton. passed in February, 1869. au-
thorizing and empowering the Governor
to raise an armed force to the nfmber
of one hundred, if 80 many be needed,
and to mount them, if it be deemed ad-
visable by him. The Treasurer was in
struoted to pay whatever expenses might
be incurred-the amount of which was
attempted to be left entirely to the dis
.cretion Of r. X. Scott. In other words,
the General Assembly seemingly endea-
vored to transfer their legislative powers
60 the Executive. He was virtually to
mako the appropriation OF the public
funds. There was no legal limit put
upon his powers in this respect, and he
might have ordered millions of dollars
to be so paid out, if he saw proper to do
1T. Precisely what amount has been
squandered under color of this bogus
armed force we do not yet know. The
account we publish is from the COM
mencement OF the present fiscal year,
November l, 1871, to the 1st of March.
a period of only four months. The joint
resolution has been in operation for
; three and half years. It is probable,
however, that there were never before
,noJ opOrp,ouoly 1,ooyy nv MN 1;t,ra, ~
der it. Judge Orr has charged-and so,
nlso, have other Republicans-tha r.
K. Scott 'bribed the General Assembly,
. in order to prevent his impeachment last
: winter, when Ut was 80 seriously threat
ened by Bowen, Whipper and others.
and for this purpose actually used the
Aoatlio funds of the State. and gave Par
ker vouchers for the same in fraudulent
drafts under this inexhaustible armed
force appropriation. From the names
which appear upon this list in whose
favor the orders were drawn, the conclu-
sion seems irresistible.
To r. B. Elliott, who was Scott's at
'torney in the matter of impeachment,
and who left his seat in Congress to at
tend to this business for Scott, was paid
the enormous sum of $40. 500. T. J.
Moses. Jr., Speaker OF the House. and
who now has the audacity to offer him
self as q candidate for Governor, re-
ceived $4,000. Other members of the
General Assembly, it will be seen, re-
tile money paid them was bribe in the
impeachment matter, is not 80 clear, but
the presumption points that way. They
must. at any rate, explain the matter, if
they would clear their record. The peo-
pie should mark every one of them and
bring them to an account. The largest
amount paid was to J. Mooney. to whose
sccount lie credited $25.545. Who J.
Mooney is, we are unable to ascertain.
No one seems to know or ever to have
heard of him. It is generally believed
that he is an entirely imaginary charac-
ter. He is not in esse, except for pnr-
poses of impeachment. In short, J.
Mooney is q fictitious name. employed
in the drawing Of the orders upon the
Treasury, in order to prevent its being
immediately apparent who drew aud
used the money.
J. Leggett, to whom $10,6 was no.
minally paid. is an equally mythical
character, as is also D. 81. Wilson, to
whom $12,5 is accredited. They are
what his Excellency would, doubtless.
with propriety, term his secret seroice
force. If this armed force swindle does
not furnish unquestionable evidence of
fraud, bribery and corruption, we should
like to know what wonld.
Robert Kingston Scott. the penitentiary
is gaping for you and your guilty asso-
ciates. You will have, too, to disgorge
your ill-gotten gains, for you and your
Financial Board will have to restore to
the bankers in New York the money you
have received on fraudulent bonds
palmed off upon them. To you they