New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-04-29

| largest stockholders or the DaDK are men VI
ample fortunes and irreproachable character
| who will not for a moment be suspected OF
| completely with the swindling Cashier The
President seems to have been irresolute, and
the directors were too cOniding. In declaring
| that he alone is guilty of the embezzlement
! Taintor probably tells the truth. The suspi-
cion strongly prevails that he still has posses
| sion of most of the embezzled funds with
the design of compromising by returning a
portion and escaping prosecution.
| THE TREASURY AND THE MERCHANTS.
| The Treasury Department has not mended
its case by the publication of the correspond
ence in the matter of Phelps, Dodge g. Co..
These documents throw no light upon the
violations of the Revenue laws for which the
firm has been mulcted They make no sensa-
tional disclosures. They discredit none of the
statements which the merchants have pub
lished in their own defense. We have first
the report of Special Agent Jayne, reciting
the discovery of discrepancies in the invoices
and commenting with much impairment viz
tue upon the wickedness of frauds against the
revenue. Then comes the formal correspond
ence between Mr.. George Bliss, jr., and Solici-
tor Banfeld on the one hand, and the attOr-
neys of Messrs Phelps, Dodge g. Co. on the
other, respecting the offer to compromise.
| That is all. There is no confession of
guilt. There is nothing, except Mr.
Jayne's report, to show any intention to de-
fraud,-and when Mr.. Hand-cuff Jayne goes
after an importer, his ZEAL as we all know, is
not invariably tempered with discretion. of
course the Treasury Department does not
publish Messrs. Phelps, Dodge g. Co.'s ex-
PLANTATION of the discrepancies; neither does
it publish the letter of x-Distrct-AttOrney
Davis, who declares that an examination of
the whole case, in the light of their explana-
TONS convinced him that the idea of de-
" frauding the Government of its lawful duties
chad never entered their minds" The papers
now given to the public show, however, that
Mr.. George Bliss, jr., who succeeded Judge
Davis as Dstrict-Attorney, recommended the
Treasury to compromise the claim, on the
ground that the Government would not get
what it demanded if the case went into
court. 81 am influenced to this course" he
says, "by the fact that the nominal amount
" claimed is so enormous in comparison with
{" the amount of differentiation and fraud that
al believe it would be exceedingly difficult
" to obtain a verdict for the amount claimed.'
Mr.. Bliss in fact advised the Secretary to take
$271 900 because he did not believe he could
get any more. Judge Davis recommended it
because he was satisfied of the innocent intent,
and did not believe forfeiture of the whole
amount was deserved. But if there was no
guilty intent the Government had no moral
right to exact penny above the actual def
e ,,fiau or no
Secretary of the Treasury "to mitigate or re-
emit such fine, forfeiture, or penalty, OF remove
such disability, or any part thereof, if in his
"opinion the same shall have been incurred
without willful negligence, or any intention OF
fraud in the person or persons mourning the
"same." The officer upon whose representations
the Secretary of the Treasury is expected
chiefly to rely is the District-Attorney. The
District-Attorney, however was interested i'll
forcing a compromise, because he was entitled
to two per cent of the gross amount recovered.
The chief officers of the Custom hOuse-the
Collector, Surveyor, and Naval O6icer-heartily
co0perated with him, because they were jointly
to receive one-quarter of the remainder.
In this Matchmaking operation the Govern
ment officials stand in hardly more agreea-
BILE light than the spy who set the proceedings
on foot. The compromise looks like nothing
but a scheme to extort money, and the firm
made terrible blunder in submitting to it,
Their course, however, is not incOmprchensi-
BILE. Probably they had good reason to dread
any further quarrel with the Custom house.
Threatened with vexatious prosecution,
seizure of their books, interruption of their
business, and injury TO their credit, they went
before the Secretary of the Treasury in the
attitude of criminals suing for mercy, paid the
quarter of a million, and were told to go home
thankful that they had not been robbed of
three quarters of million more.
Long before the political campaign of 1872
we denounced the frauds and injustice that
flourish in our CustOm-house under the sys-
ten which makes the collection of the rev.
enue scheme for rewarding political fol-
lowers and pushing partisan advantages. The
Patterson Investigation in 1871 brought to
light an extent of dishonesty among the Off
Gals and oppression of the merchants far
beyond the current suspicious. A second in
vestigation, in 1872, revealed greater abuses
than ever especially ia the extortionato
charges levied upon commerce, tho license
granted TO spies and informers, and injustice
toward reputable merchants but the Admin
istration took no notice of tho disclosures be-
canse il had no desire for reform. One of the
most important witnesses before the Patterson
Committee was Mr.. William T.. Dodge.
who ( testified emphatically that, owing
To the extortions of General Order
storekeepers and tho various persons