Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1874-05-14
THE SANBORN CASE.

After long and laborious lnves-
tigation, the House Committee OF
Ways and Means have agreed upon
report on the poiety cases re-
ferred to them. IL was charged
thai law was smuggled through,
under which certain men, Sanborn
and Jayne especially, had obtained
contracts from the Treasury de-
partment, giving them fifty per
cent. of certain uncollected rev.
enues as a compensation for max
ing the collections. These reve-
nues consisted of concealed legacy
and railroad taxes which the regu-
lar government officers had been
unable to collect. 1t was charged
that the percentage allowed was too
large, and that under the terms OF
their contracts they received much
larger compensation in the way of
moieties than was justifiab!e, and
for this the officers of the Treasury
Department were blamed. The
case had a bad look all round. So
far as the responsibility rests with
the department, the committee agree
unanimously, and in concluding
their report say, that feeling al
armed at the apparent looseness
with which the law had been adj
ministered, they were DESTROYS Of
ascertaining where the responsible
ity rested. They have had before
them the Secretary, Assistant Sec
rotary Sawyer, and the Solicitor of
the Treasury. The Secretary gave
little information, and exhibited an
entire want of knowledge as to the
manner of making contracts, of adj
ministering the law, or Of the pro-
visions of the law itself. His only
connection, 50 far as he could re-
member, with these transactions
was in atfixing his signature to va
rious papers presented to him, as a
matter of office routine, without
knowing their contents. The AS
sistant Secretary disclaim any par
ticular knowledge of the law of
contracts, and in like manner affixed
his signature as a matter Of office
routine. The Secretary and Assist
ant Secretay show that the papers
were prepared by solicitor, who,
in turn, testified that he is simply
law officer of the Treasury and a
subordinate Of the Secretary, with
out power in regard to the admins
tration Of the law, except that en-
prcssly given by the Secretary
that he consulted, in every instance,
with the Secretary or Assistant See
Rotary; that he had, in all cases,
simply obeyed the directions of his
superior officers, and that the con-
tracts and the various orders of the
Department were well known to the
Secretary and Assistant Secretary
The disagrcements and contradict
tlons given respectfully 10y these
gentlemen is matter greatly de-
plored by the committee, as by it
they are unable to fix upon any one
or anywhere the responsibility for
the maladministratiou of this law,
and they look with serious appre-
hension upon the apparent efforts
of these gentlemen to transfer the
responsibility each from himself to
the other. While the committee,
therefore, are unable to determine
,chere the responsibility rests, they
cannot, in justice to themselves, ig-
nor the fact that these three persons
deserve severe condemnation for
the manner in which they have per-
mitted this law to be administered.
While the committee thus severely
criticise the officials of the Treas
ury Department, directly charged
with the administration of this law.
they find nothing impeaching the
integrity of Secretary Boutwell's or
Richardson's action, and the testi-
mony does not prove that the Sec
retaries, or any of their associates,
were influenced 10y corrupt motives"
-OShkoSh Northeastern.
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