, 1873-08-20
THE FORT SMELLING FRAUD.

Moro Interesting Particulars OF this
Hugo S,vindto--CoNlL Secretary ftol-
knnr Possibly INnvo lfccn 4Eh0fnnt
Of Its fraudulent Clanrnctor9."Whnt
Some Ut His prctlcccssors Thought
OF tho lsMsincsn. -......'
St. Ru tAug 10y Coyresponlrnee qfthe Nto YORK. sun.
Frank Steele presented his s102,o0o bill for
ront of tho Fort Smelling reservation III Iatl',ary,
1868. On Fob. %, 1868, Mr.. Dodge, OF 1own,
submitted tho following resolution 1n the uouse,
whlch was adopted:
lesclrfd Tint tho Conttseo on Military Affairs t,o
instructed TO ASCERTAIN was por.9n my, o, ho NIL
ncI(ent 10 rctain for military purposes, and Upon whnt
ter,mn uniapited title eau DO acquired BY Tho Govorn
sarn mr 10 NJ ,nabe te War Department to make m state
ne.,t between tho Government and tho purchaser Of
rs reservation no ns q tho purchase Of Tho same
Dy un!tc States troops, and to report by blu or ether-
The Hon. J. A, Garfield, Chairman Of tho
Committee 30 instructed, applied to tho War
Department for copies Of reports. records, anil
pnpers IN tho matter Of the sale Of tho roserya-
ton. On Dec. 10, 1862, Gen. scholold. thon
Secretary OF War, made n report, which WAS
submitted to tho House, reforred to tho COM
mittee on Military Affairs, and ordered to be
printed. Tint was tho lust ever heard OF tho re-
port. invo lnto]y procured a copy OF this
docnment, aud its contents arc even more dis
aBtrous to tho reputation Of Secretary Bo1knnp,
his Military Board, aud the Forty-arst Con-
gross, especially the Military Affairs Committee,
than previous disclosures In this matter have
becn. In tho light Of this report mono OF thom
can for momont plead ignorance Of tho history
Of tho fraud as an oxcuBo for their share in It.
oKN. sIIRnsiANs VIEWS.
There arc herein four lo.ters from Lieut.
Con. Sherman. Thoso repeatedly urge tho abso-
luto necessity Of tho Government retaining tho
tchole reservation, except two little sections,
ono east Of tho mississippi and the othor south
OF tho Minnesota, botwoon which rivers tho
ommends that Steele be given back his $3.50. 900
inetallment with interest, and bo made to ac-
count for the profits Of ferry, ront, etc. Tho
idea of paying ront, Or Of making aettlemont
land. noyer soeEns to have enterou Gen. sher-
mans mind, These letters nro d0te1, one May,
&c, 1866, two March TO, 1868. and ono April 90
1868. In ono OF thom tho doneral says:
Fort Smelling viii always DO . military point from
tho northefn irontof and Should never bo sold. Tho
former sale by Mr. Floyd was declared fraudulent,
ana was @ Gus aS, ~ ma examination "
fraud.
It will be perceived that even Sherman was 80
far balnboozlea BY the conspirators aa to boliovo
that the chief benoteinry Of the O. conspiracy
goes on to say:
fair compromise should bo made with him {steee>,
md none would Be ,o oro @ far tha to creit him with
In I'm ~s ii a b IL a sa sa1fS &
Of tho valuable ferry privilege and AnR had thu
e ohe. sss md so and sh04a mskS
reservation embraced hy tho htisas'Ippi, st. Peters
tho Ainncsota) and A1innehaha arc emillcnty
eary for the military Of tic United states for all
kime 10 cumo.
MORE FACTS FOR SECRETARY DE1KNAP.
find other interesting correspondence in tho
oTn {n h&YF 2nt&1 fall W.
Hon. Cyrus Aldrichy Congressman from nlinne-
eota, writes under date Dec. 7, 1860 to Secretary
Floyd, saying that the Auditor Of Honnopiil
County, Mimi, in which the Smelling rcscrye ia
situated, desires to know whether the property
Ii Liable to be taxed by tho Stnte and county a,-
thorites. III this communication tho lion. j..
Holt. Secretary Of War I'D intcriu, responds as
follows:
SIN: In answer to your lettor OK the 7th nno, III
closing addressed to you by the Auditor Of licnne
pin County, Aunn,, have the honor to Inform you
that tho sle to the Fort Smelling reserve will, under
The contract OF sale remain In the United States unit!
he laat payment hAs been nado by tho p9rcha4cr Tho
spectfully your obcdlent servant
J. HoLT, Secretary Of War all interim.
From this 1t is learned tllat ovon the Admins.
tration that made tho contract with Steele did
not conslder tho land his property. He never
beknap, yet ho asked and WAS allowed rent for
Che property by the United 8tAtcs and absorbed
all the other profits. Whom thore WAS anything
to make from tho Government. tho land was his
when there WIS anything to pay to tho Govern
nent, tho land was not his. As Dellnap finally
decided, by allowing rout, that tho laul WI.
steolo's all the time, tho State Of alinneuota nut
County Of Honuepn ought now to collect a nice
little snsn OF back tGxea.
Tho report of Gen. SahoAold also includes
report of the Board at Claims OF tho War De
pnrtinent, signed by Con, Jas. A. IIaslie, rYesi
don't Of tho Board. and Col. Geo. Gibson, llo'
o,nJ,
Sept. 20, 1868. This report, after narratug tlle
facts, concludes us follows;
settlement Of the was lust urged upon the Sec
retary Of WHr Ly Mr. Steele fn person OIL tile eth 4,
August, 1868. he Representing that III acr0raeu With
the opinion Of tue Attorney -tirrrai iDluck) cro va,
abundant authority In the head Of lne War Depart.
nlent to adjust the cAAc, notwithstanding thHt III tlt
present condition of Legislation epecij athu.latio,
Of Congress- IL necessary to the aalo Of any mihtar,
reservation by the War Department;
It not necessary to proceed further with this
than simply to note ifs situation. II is one concerning
which there has been great deal Of public scandal
which lIas attracted tho Intention OF both Houses
CoigreBs a1,l hns een nude thu 0rt OF special In
vestgatious Of those bodies
In obedenro the suggestions Of Of 4he bodies
,re to requirements ~ public through
out Tic countrR tic Secretary of War refruiuc1 from
conveying title Mr.. Steele, and though repeated Of
rase, several Secretaries Of War lavo declined to III
erfere, and lilo subject Ia III process Of consider
alton Ky tho House of Representatives.
Auy interference by tho War Department looking
the adjustment Of the claim iu fts presout condition
or Of any compromise, even upon the terms suggested
By Gen. Sherman, til anticipation Of Congressiona
1egislation, would 10 inlud'cous, II not improper.
The Beard add however. an 3presaion Of tlolr en-
tire concurrence III tho vews anu recommendations 0
Gen. Sherman as to tho necessity Of the retention o
the reservation, the equities Of Mr. Steele, and III
propriey of selling auch portion Of the reservation
actually uee1ed for tho Of the United States wi
realize sufficient to reimburse to Mr. Steele th
money already paid by h!,n, $50, 100.
THE JOB 1SDEFENHInLE.
From all these letters and reports it appear
that several Se2retgrioR, Including Holt Secro
tary under buchanan, bud refused to acknowl
edgc stocle's ownorship in tho lind that Ger
Sherman was of the same opiuion that til
Board Of Claims OF tho War Department coin
cdal; that the two latter aud Gen. schollelt
who "fully concurred" III Gen. Sherman
opinions, thought Steele ought to bo paid bao
hls 900 and seut about lis busineAB; ant
lastly, Tint Steele himsolf by not paying take
had dAayowed Lis ownership. In spite of a
these authorities, Belhaap settled Steele's clai.
by admitting tho validity Of tho contract, an
Then did not compel Stoolo to fulfil Ills part, b.,
gave linn the land for nothing. and allowed hi1