The sun., 1872-04-27
ROBESON'S MIGHTY FRAUDS.
THE LAW BRokE Ac-
CUMgL1TED.
The First Of the suas Charges Agaias, Sec
rotary RobesOn Proved and Bruuded upon
Him so that IL can Never be Ehnccd.

The First Of the sans Charges Asaiasi Sec
rotary Robeson Proved and Bruuded upon
Him 40 that IL can Never be Ehaccd.
From ne Aation.
Since we made last week the charge
against Secretary Robeson Of having Illegally
paid $4,000 on the SecOr claim, Senator Wilson
has appeared at the Cooper Institute and assert
ed that this charge unfOunded, and that Mr.
Trumbulrs account OF It, in his speech at the
Liberal Republican meeting, was Inaccurate
Mr.wilson. At tho same time, read written state
ment of the case, doubtless prepared at ashing-
ton, as the true version. We shall now show that
Senator Wilson's own story is misrepresenta-
tion' and that the written statement which he
read was another; II is charitable but difficult
to suppose that both he and the writer Of the
statement were ignorant of the facts.
During the war in lsG2 the secors contracted
to build for the Government three iron-cad
monltors-the Mahopac Tecumseh, and Man.
haitian for $l3sO,O00. The vessels were COM
plcted In 1854. All bills and claims Of tho con-
tractors were presented, while the vessels were
being built and after their completion, to
Board Of which Admiral Gregory and aiterward
| Admiral RinggOld, was the head. On the report
| OF these Boards tho contractors were paid the
I contract price, and for extra work over and
above the contract price. slai 1873 and in 1851
| the whole matter was settled so far IA the Navy
/ Department was concerned. The contractors
had other claims which the Department refused
| to allow. They then appealed to Congress,
which passed the following law:
CHAR CNLvIIAn act for the Relief Of certain Con.
tractors for the Construction Of Vessels Of War AMI
| steam MACHINERY
Re epaendty ne Senate aad Ron,s NJ Pepveseu.
re, 2L Re igtsf S,ats, Of dn.,ta q ,t9agr,,,
aulonrcd and directed to Mtcsigais 1S !aims 9j III
chncy or the same un8cr made @ after ,he srst
Gay 0i My eiehtGcn hundred and si,,y9ne aud prior
four, and said nyssgai6b 70 be made upon the follow
Was necessarily Incurred by each contractor in tSe com
plcton OF his work by reason Of any changes atea
he Es Or the ~Ss e %
tne apTns not PrIiTsu PrTssncsso sor Mm Mm
any AK, fiysaSs n iGs price Of labor %.,eris
Ing the prolonged time for completing the work rem
of he GoyernneS y sfoTessa and then only When sueh
advance could not have hen ayolded by the exercise Of
tractor aud from such additional cost % be ascertain
have been paid each contractor for any reason hereto
S T SyS snd a9Sse S" se sS1sS Se s9d s
shal contain the name Of the CONTRACTOR description
Sest WORK contract he smSast
the tSs ad% % dHf he asS aa9
Approved March 2 is6'. ''''''
The concluding section, which we omit re-
lated solely to the Dunderberg.
Under the above act a board was organized to
examine tho claims Of Secor a Co., Perine, Sc
cor S Cos and other contractors, and on their
report the Secretary OF tho Navy reported to
Congress that there wis due TO Secor & Co. and
Perine, secor s Co. $ll5.539.Ol, and thereupon
Congress, In 1868. passed the following act:
tPritate-NO. 56.l
Az Act for the Relief OF certain Government Con
Ic i clicied By ne senate apd Bou~ Of Ecprs'en,a.
nre, @ "s m'ei >t,is, W ine,'eei &C. ~ oong'es T.,
no5cy sgleGgfd @ and lrc.'ga @ pay TO 20 sgSor @ 3
on hundred snd fitecn thousand NE hundred and
/ ~ y'nuc dollars and one cent TO Harrison lQrng,
o tr Atlantic Iron Wotss, fno.ton, Mass four thou.
c,nts 10 Aqunla Adaus the OF four thousand
eight hu and nih.two lars aud my eight cents
and ms two dollars sud hfy.cgut cents to Toninson
ad"G aed lSG SIS'a dollars si1 to '9Gfaa Ssa ORS S
worth TIE sum Of ulriy ,igt thousand ave hundred
TIRE thousand sX hundred and uneytoar dollar and
each u the parties hucn r,tp.ctNoly named by the
ssffa ssea ' act u"asr an nes r C5 oSSfTS,s seTs,s
| eoniracior- for tie construction OF vessels 81
teen hundred aud siXiy-scven th.ct shda BE- Jli at
o. r.si ,Ii ,rt 4 h. Ei,i ,i ,i, a 5 s
p ter hcr ri ", under the act OF March two egh'
Approved july d, iscs.
Tho $ll5,5aOi was paid to the secors and their
| receipt given in ls6s.
This, according to the act Of Congress, was
In fun discharge Of all claims against the nlted
States on account of the vessels upon which the
Board made the allowance" Notwithstanding
| the payment Of the contract price, $l,3sOOJO aud
| Si2l, 1913 for extra work, aud afterward of
tll553q.0l In full of all claims on account OF tho
vessels constructed 10y secor & Co. and Perine,
Secor & CO., the present Secretary OF the Navy,
| Mr.. Robeson, In 1863, directed a reinvestigation
Of the claims OF these contractors by Board ~
| officers in his Department, and on their report
/ paid the contractors, in lsi0, $4,000 more. In
doing this Mr. Robeson, we repeat, violated lD
| the settled rulo of the Department not 20 open
accounts settled 10y previous Administration,
| except possibly In the case OF newly discovered
! evidence; (sl positive act OF Congress- which
directed that the Sll5,5aOl should be In full dis
charge Of all claims against the United States
on account of ne rc.s,ls uTon Uhich 1t was paid !;
and %, another statute by taking money appro-
priatcd for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1870,
to pay claim which arose six years before.
Mr.. Wilson, In his New York speech in reply
ing TO Mr.. Trumbul, who had charged Mr.. Robe
son with paying money out Of the Treasury
/ Illegally, and ON claim that had once been
settled, said " A Board was appointed under
the law OF 1867, to examine into damages, not
| into work done, not into material furnis he'd
The law directed the Secretary Of the Navy "to
investigate the claims mot damages Of all cou-
tractors for building vessels Of war" SC.
This, VIC see, was a plain misstatcment on the
J
further said this claim of $4,000 " was never re-
ferred to Board ut ALL" and In the written
statement he furnished, tho source Of which
cannot be mistaken, II IS said to be for work
actually done" deLt :" but the fact Is, the
| whole contract price, and more than half a mill
lion besides for extra work, had been paid by
| Mr.. Wcllcs, tine former Secretary ot the Navy, on
the report Of Boards who passed on the bills of
the contractors at the time, and refused TO allow
/ tie $G3Oy0.
Mt. W lsou Wrttcu statounSnt further alleges
that the act Of lsGs did not provide that the sun,
Of llj5,,0l should be i'm fun fur an claims on
uccouut OF tho Vessels" &C., but OF the claims
"upOu which the Board made their allowance
Gs rcr report" why, then, were the words con
account Of the vessels % inserted iuthc law. tn"
language OF the law l., "ail claims ON Gc,o.lu NJ
thc rC@ upon which the Board made thoir re-
port" Ac., and % say that ID didnot embrace all
claims on account II those yc .cls rs "A plain per
version Of the very letter, as well "a, the whole
spitt, OF the act Worse romans TO be told
however The Senate Committee On Navn Az
fairs made, May L., ls,OutCpurt No, lG0, report