The Portland daily press., 1872-02-27
From the N. Y. Times.l
Arms for the French.

HOW THEY WERE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
OF THE UNITED STATES OFFICIALS In THE
TRANsACrIoNs-EvIDEN FROM WELL
INFORMED SOURCE.
Senator Summers ill-considered effort, at
the behest of Carl Schurz, to blacken the
character of the administration, BY making
IL appear that there was something wrong In
the sales Of arms by the government during
the Franco-German war, is estimated at its
true value by firms engaged in the purchase
and sale of arms in this city, who are familiar
with the facts in the case. The head of the
firm of Joseph w. Frasier & Co., Nos. 90
and rs Dey street, characterized the whole
transaction as 1t deserves, in conversation
with Times reporter yesterday. The dis
crepancy to which Senator Sumner called at
tention, between the arsount paid by the
French government for arms received from
America and the amount received by the
United States government, he said, is very
/ easily explained. A large portion of the ma
terial received in France from America was
not purchased from the United States author
tiles at all, and what was purchased from
them was sold to private individuals at prices
much higher than the rates at which war ma
terial had been sold previous to the demand
for such supplies from France. Mr.. Frasier
himself sold to agents of the French govern
ment nearly million and half dollars
worth, obtained partly from the United
States government and partly from the States
of Vermont, Connecticut and Maryland, with
which latter material the government of the
United States had nothing to do. A large
quantity of arms was obtained from the State
governments by him at from fifty to seventy
five per cent less than the United States gov
ernment obtained for their arms. Springfield
muskets exactly similar to those which Gen.
Dyer, the Chief of ordinance of the United
States government obtained $12.3 apiece for,
were sold to Mr.. Frazier for 81, $3.50 and So
80. He bought from Col. Crispin, United
States; Ordnance Agent at New York, parts
of harness that he had to supply in a hurry,
paying him fifty per cent. more than he could
have got the same article for from private
parties if he could have waited for them to
furnish them when they were not ready at
the moment to do so. Under similar circum-
stances he paid $3.50 to the United States
for cartridges which private parties would
have given him for s12.50 and $l4.
If there i, a military ring, - said Mr.. Fra
zier, 81 don't know where the evidences of it
L
ally advance their prices in this way. As
soon as the United States agents found that
there was demand for these things, they put
up the prices of them. No doubt the action
of the Ordnance Department in this respect
gained for the government st, ,0O0, 900. If sell
ing 1000, 900 worth OF arms for IS, 900 900,
and thereby obtaining for the United States
government profit of 50, 100000 should be
called a crime, then they were guilty of it.
For my part think it was a meritorious
transaction. If the skirts of the Administra-
ton are as clear on everything else as they
are on the sale of arms during the French
war, it ought to stand remarkably well in the
eyes of the people,"
Mr.. Frasier proceeded to relate that, on
Sept. "a, 1870, the United States authorities
| offered at public auction, at Springfield,
| large quantity of ordinary Springfield mus
| le-loaders-"cleaned and repair
| ed" (not new) The custom is to limit the
| price at these auctions, and If the limit is not
attained in the prices bid the arms are not
| sold. The prices bid are, however, noted,
and are made the basis Of future transactions.
After the auction the authorities are at liber-
ty to sell the arms at the prices bid at private
sale. In the case referred to the limit was IS.
only 81 So was bid, and the arms were not
sold. Within the ensuing week came the first
demand from France for arms. Here was
chance for the United States agents to make
money if they had been inclined to, and that
without any technical violation of law. They
could have turned right around and sold these
arms for 50 IS. The demand was immense,
The ordnance officer, instead of doing this,
advanced the price at once and sold these old
arms at 90 80, while for new Springfield mns-
kets they obtained sl2 80. The government
officials could have pocketed millions ofdollars
ON the transaction by simply giving a friend
one days notice and letting him have the
arIgs at the old price.
Gen. William b. Franklin, President of the
Colts Patent Firearms Company, of Hart
ford, Conn.,, was on the commission, acting
on the part Of the State of Connecticut,
which condemned and sold to Frasier & Co.
about this time, for s. so, new Springfield
muskets belonging to the State. At the
same time the United States officers sold the
same kind of arms precisely for $12 80. There
was a poo; undoubtedly that bought arms
here to sell to the French agents, but the Uni
ted States authorities were evidently not IN
| il. If they had been, they would not have ex-
| acted such prices from confederates.