New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-08-11
WASHINGTON.
OFFICIAL EXTRAVAGANCE.

OFFICIAL EXTRAVAGANCE
PROMINENT OFFICIALS PROVIDED WITH CARRIAGES,
FURNITURE, AND SERVANTS AT GOVERNMENT
ExPEysE-THE LAST REPORTS OF MIsAPfRoPRI-
ATOMS OF PUBLIC PROPERTY.
GBY TELEGRAPH TIE TRIBUSE.l
WASHINGTON Aug 10-The Attorney Generals
Office is not the only one against which charges OF
misrepresentation Of public property have been made.
Every other department provides carriages at tho
public expense. and of them are quite a. ele-
CANT and costly as the now famous landa0let. Each
of the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United
States has a room in his residence furnished by the
Government complete from library to carpet book
cases. chairs, and sofa, with a servant who waits on
him at the court and at his residence. The same
course, somewhat modified, is practiced IN both
Houses of Congress. Senator'S aud members have
their secretaries and shorthand writers quartered on
the Government, and fine stationery and newspapers
are supplied almost beyond limit Workmen and
messengers at the Capitol are employed as house.
servants, and the carriages Of the Government arc
used as market wagons and private vehicles
for the families Of public officers. Follow
ing in the practice Of the Supreme Court
are members Of the Cabinet, each OF
whom, with perhaps one exception, has room IN
his private residence very handsomely furnished BY
the Government. In many cases, members and
Senators have in their houses furniture belonging TO
the United States. which they, no doubt, intend to
return; and other abuses Of a similar nature are on
every hand
The latest case reported is that OF an officer IN tho
Interior Observation-Disclosures Smith, now acting
Secretary. The report is that in December last the
Solicitor hired James Brown as q laborer messcn-
GER paying him on the Department rolls go per
month. No service was ever performed in the De-
mart I'm W ey rlueiye1V n
house servant. He has now received dismissal to
date from Aug IS, 1874 1t is also said that officers
of the Interior Department have furniture in tbei
houses belonging to the United States.
THE DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT CONTRACTS.
TIE COMMISSIONERS REQUESTED TO ANNUL ALL
OUTSTANDING CONTRACTS ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR
ILLEGAuTY-THE REQUEST NOT GRANTED
WASHINGTON, Aug. 10-A committee of tax
payers to-day called upon the District Commissioners
and entered their protest against the continuance OF any
Of the contracts for improvements made with the late
Board of Public Works. insisting that they should be
annuled because they Illegal that the prices are 10
Of those which should prevail and that they
should be awarded the lowest bidders Mr.. DennisoD
speaking for the Commission, said that no contracts
have been nor would any be awarded by them. The
Engineer had reported that there were III OF them and
after examination recommended the revocation OF
the suspension on OF numDcr,
the OF suspension. The work which had been done
and done upon them must 90 before the Board
Of Audit in accordance with law, and the contractors
take the bonds provided by Congress IN payment.
Should Commissioners adopt the suggestions as see
forth in taxpayers resolutions, OF reawardins tho
contracts they would 10 pay money In place OF the
bonds, thereby imposing heavier tax on the people OF
the District It would therefore be seen that the Com
mssioners were friends TO the taxpayers than
the association which the committee represented The
Commits sioners had under the law creating temporary
government decided that all these contracts, except
such as may fraudulent must stand and there
was power that of Congress to change this de-
cison SO that when the Association talked abous
courts and suits they talked about Idle things,
the courts being impotent before this law
OF Congress. The Commissioners recognize that they
have the power finish up these contracts and nec
essary to make The law covered all defects
II there are any the contracts and provided way to
finish them. The Commissioners have come 10 the con-
cuson that they will prosecute some OF them because
they think for the good OF the people. Tho
spokesman OF the taxpayers remarked that they had
nothing to say; they simply wished TO obtain informal
ton order that the people might understand the con-
dition Of affairs.