New-York tribune., 1875-09-28
THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT
GREATER EXPOSURES PROMISED.

GREATER EXPOSURES PROMISED.
c~, .xNryrr OF PROP. MARsH's COURAGEOUS
ACTION THE BIAcKMAILINa IN THE LAND
orrrcE-spEcpIATIoN As TO THE NEW sScRk-
rARY COMMISSIONER PRATT AND "AiNA
M'vEAaH PROMINENTLY NAMED
IBY rELRoRAPH TO Tns Tribunal
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27.-The Presidents accept
snce of Secretary Delano's resignation was Anv%"
10 very few persons in Washington until ths pu"h.
sa.;on Of the correspondence this morning Inc last
vsit Of the late Secretary to Washington was rather
. .comnulsorv ono. He had already ended his active
connection with his Office and had gone 10 ohlo'
and returned only to make his statement before the
Red Cloud Commission. During his VISIT ne seems
20 have taken but one man into his commence anu
syery one else about the Department was as much
In the dark TO his intentions as those WIZ INV
supposed to be his friends.
~ no,onos ret;rement decides the fate of the In
~srior Denartment Rings The Indian Ring, which
NAV he considered as q sort Of a parasite OF the
Indian Department, spreading over the entere
Indian country aud embracing hundreds ana per-
haps thousands of men-cOntractOrs OF all KINDS
Indian arents etc-has its root in the Interior De-
partment and is nourished and supported by the
negligence or worse of the officials here. The piow
that Prof Marsh has struck at this Ring has been
stunning one. Besides directing attention 10 tne
frauds that have for years been perpetrated al 'e
Red Cloud Agency Prof Marsh's crusade has aroused
honest men all ovor the West, many Of whom are
now ready to come forward and testify TO the exist
ence of greater frauds at other agencies. Some OF
these men have already put their stores upon paper
citing witnesses and documents to prove the trulh
of their accusations Many others are ready to doso
But the Indian Ring, bad as 1t has been, mas peen
decent in its methods, when compared with the Land
Of
from the Government and from the Indians, in con-
necton with Indian contracts may have found itself
into the pockets of officials in Washington, the bulk
of the profits has been distributed in the West
But the Land Office Ring has been close corpora
tion. Patents for land have to be signed by the
Secretary of the Interior and by skillful manlpu-
lstion on the part Of the members Of the Ring they
were able at one time to prevent the signature Of al
most all patents for large bodies of land, unless
heavy toll had been paid them. The conclusive evil
dence of this habitual blackmailing through
the operations of the Land Office, lald be-
fore the President last Spring, caused him
TO make up his mind at once to remove
Mr.. Delano. The very nature OF these frauds upon
honest men and corporations made them very hard
TO discover. Persons who have been obliged to pay
bribe before they could get the Secretarys sigma
ture to land patents, have been very unwilling TO
admit it, and it. in their honest indignation, they
have for time stood out and refused to pay, they
have found it impossible to get their business trans
acted. There is not the least doubt that If the
blackmailing operations that have been carried on
through the Land Office, though not by the Com
miss NOR of Public Lands, but by persons much
nearer the Secretary are made public, the mag
nitude of the scandal will be great as to throw
that caused by the Indian frauds into the shade.
The city is full of speculation in regard to Mr..
Delanos successor 1t is generally believed that he
has already been selected, and has accepted the
appointment. 1t has been the general expectation
all day that authority would be telegTaphed by the
President to make the name of tho new Secretary
public but at late hour this evening no such ALL
thority had been received as far as can be ascer-
tanned. Secretary Fish, who Is the only member OF
the Cabinet in Washington to-day, apparently has
no information the subject which he Is at liberty
TO make public. Two or three other persons claim
TO know who the coming man is but say they are
not at liberty to tell. Among the names
most prominently mentioned are those of
the Hon. Wayne Mcveagh and ex-Congress-
man Armstrong of Pennsylvania, Commissioner
Pratt, Assistant Secretary Cowen, and one
or two Others Ex-senator Scott was requested to
take the position, but declined it. Mr.. Armstrong
was mentioned in the Summer. but is not believed
70 have been the Presidents final choice. Assistant
Secretary Governs friends were very hopeful OF Sc
curing his appointment last juno He can hardly be
the coming man now, because the President In Sc
lcctng his Secretary, has consulted with several
members of his Cabinet, who are known to favor a
complete overhauing of the Interior Department,
and whatever Cowen might do, the country would
be likely to believe that the change had been only a
nominal one. 1t probable, therefore, that the
President will appoint either Mr.. McVeagh or Mr..
Pratt and the weight of opinion is that his choice
hes fallen upon the former.
Secretary Delano will return to Washington to-
morrow for the purpose Of closing his official and
private business.