The Van Buren press., 1874-06-16
United States Court of Western District
of Arkansas.

of Arkansas.
AT last the Congressional Committe,
appointed last winter to investigate the
alleged frauds in the w estern District OF
Arkansas, has made a report. We fine
the following in the house proceedings
of Saturday 9th:
Mr.. Sener, from the committee on ex.
pendltures in the department of Justice
made report in regard to the expenses
disbursements and general management
of the western judicial district OF Arkan
sas since its organization in ISL The
: testimony taken covers three hundred
printed pages. The committee finds that
the expenditures have been eAtraorJna
rily large, and are not in all cases sup
ported by appropriate vouchers. For
the year ending June 80, 1871, the dis
! hursements of tue marshal. VIM. A
/ Bntton, were Sl37 ,95S; nextycar, l.. H
Roots being marshal, they reached the
extraordinary sum of 1921 ,653, and the
next year, Britton being marshal for
most of the term, they fell to S264, ,447,
making a total Of 1924 ,04S for three
years, or, including payments to clerks,
district attorneys and commissioners
/ about three quarters of a million Of dol
! lars. The committee had not been able
to discover any sufficient explanation fol
! those very large expenditures, and agreed
| that there was most lamentaDle state
OF morals among the court officials in
that district. In order to form a judg-
ment as to expenditures, the committee
| for the whole state before the war, which
were in 1858 S25, 5,000, in 1859 Sl7, ,000,
I and in 1860 only $4,000. The commit
tee reported that with the abolition OF
the district, and such Legislation as they
recommend for the proper examination,
recordation, and the transmission OF acts
in that and other judicial districts Of the
| United States, every door to fraud will
| be closed, and the administration of jus
| tice can be more successfully maintained
| in the territory now comprising the west
ern district than at present, They, there
fore, unhesitatingly recommend the abol-
ishment of the western district, anneXa-
ton of its territory and the transfer Of
its business to the eastern district, and
that the whole district as thus reformed
shall be known and called "thc district
of Arkansas, with one judge, one dis
trict attorney and one marshal
Again in the house on Tuesday:
Mr.. Sener reported Il bill to abolish
the western district Of Arkansas, and to
annex it to the eastern district
Mr.. Sener asked leave to ohcr reso
luton directing the attorney general to
institute full and thorough judicial in"
vestigalion into the character of allow.
ances paid at the treasury department, as
well as claims still due for expenditures
in the marshal's office, Of the western
district Of Arkansas, since the first day
of July, 1870, and TO report the result
thereof to the house on the first day OF
the next session
Mr.. Hynes objected, unless he was per
mitted to offer an amendment that no
part of the claims shall be paid until the
department has been satisfied Of their
correctness.
Mr.. Sener objected to that on the
ground that it would permit the depart
mcnt to be the legitimate judge in the
matter, so the resolution was not read
Mr.. Spcer, member of the committee
on contingent expenses in the depart
ment Of justice, addressed the house on
the subject Of the enormous expenditures
IN the western judicial distrct OF Arkan.
sas The report of the committee was
embraced in the proceedings of the house
last Saturday. He spoke of the judge
of that district as person named Story,
who had remained in that position to
mock the administration of justice. He
recouuted the history of the western dis
trict of Arkansas, which had started, he
said, with the corrupt Judge who was in
| the habit of admitting to bail persons
tried and convicted of capital oifenses
and letting them 90 free alterward This
judge was shown to have bought certiii
Gates issued for the payment Of jurors
and witnesses at the district court at for
ty and sixty cents on the dollar-a Judge
who was charged with having received q
brbe of S2j00 for admitting nolle
prosequ to be entered in a certain case
a Judge whose records were marred and
interlned, and erased and confused; q
Judge who had approved one of the
marshal's vouchers for $4,000 in blank
Judge who had allowed the, govern.
ment to be pundered Of hundreds oI
thousands Of dyllars. 1t was, however
but justice to that judge to say that in re
sponse to the committees invitation ht
had appeared before it and made state
ment. That statement was lame and un
satisfactory. 1t was not a statement o
man conscious of his official and per
sonal integrity; it was not statement
of man who felt kesnly the injustice
done by such charges, but a statemen,
of a cringing, shrinking, cowardly and
corrupt man. The next step in frauds
was an infamous and corrupt marshal
named VIM A. Brtton, and means were
adopted for getting fictitious lists of dep
uty marshals and making out bills in
such names; also buying up vouchers
for Jurors, witnesses and deputies al
twenty, thirty and forty cents on the
dollar, and in some instances cart-loads
Of them could be gotten at two cents on
the dollar. Vouchers were aiterward
paid in full at the treasury department
He stated that suspicion having beer
aroused in Washington, an investigation
nv n GRAND iurv was ordered and IL wa,