The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1875-01-07
OYERHlLLLNG 7HE DEPART
lHEN7S. L.ItL

NEVIS. .t+.it-
A recent experience in the Treasury
Department ILLUSTRATES the rot'cnness ol
lis interior, aud furnishes warning OF
what may be expected in the event OLA
change OF Administration. Mr.. Brislow
had oc aston tO examine the papers con-
nected with the notorious seal-lOck Co .
tract, one of the many corrupt jobs sane
toned and protected by his predecessor,
under the known influence Of, if not by
direct orders from, the White House.
An exorbitant bill had been presented
by the contractors, and il was necessary
To examine the conditions Of the obliga.
tion and the correspondence, in order to
ascertain how FAR the department might
be liable for this monslrOus claim. A
thorough search revealed the astounding
.lact that every paper relating 10 this con-
tract except a single order for six thou
sand locks signed by Assistant Secretary
Sawyer, the same who figured so eXien-
,ively in the ; nborn and Jayne jobbery,
had disappeared from the files Not Il
letter or scrap Of written evidence WAS
leil to bear witness against this scandal
Gus fraud.
And what is more remarkable STILL is
that these papers were distributed in diff
tcrent offices of The Treasury, so that Il
perfect system of cullusiOn must have eX-
Isted between the chiefs or the subordi-
mates, in order TO have stripped them all
at the same time. The notorious men
and women who were able 10 procure the
Original contract, and to keep il too
against the most damning proofs of eX.
tortion and ra,calily, We're also powerful
enough TO enter the bureaus of the de-
partment and to carry of or destroy pub
lie records that would have convicted
them Of crime in any court of Justice.
This robbery could not have been con-
sumated, therefore, without the concert
and cooperation of various persons occu-
pying different positic ms, and independ-
ent of each other in their separate
spheres. So that it is clear these papers
were stolen by arrangement and that
the guilt is distributed in several branch
es of the Treasury. 1t cannot be difficult
to discover who had the custody of them,
or to fix that portion of the responsibility
if Mr., Bristow is determined to investi-
gate 50 as to find out. But he, like many
committees that started out vigorously,
may relax in zeal when the figure of the
President or his confidential secretary
appears on the field.
If this was a solitary example it might
be attributed to personal treachery or
dishonesty. But the practice has become
familiar if not common. The records Of
the Buell court martial disappeared from
the files Of the War Department. Awards
for large and suspicious claims are gone
from the Navy files. Valuable decisions
cannot be found in the interior. Era
sures, interlineatiOns, and forced balan-
ces, disgrace the books of the Treasury.
Throughout the public service, with rare
and honorable exceptions, the records
exhibit tampering and venal manipua
ton.
What the chiefs have done on large
scale, the subordinates have initiated on
aolesser. a A Ring, composed Of certain
agents for claims on one side and certain
clerks in the accounting and warrant Off
Ces on the other, control absolutely, and
divide the profits between them and their
coniederates, of great business before
the departments. Honest claimants are
thwarted, delayed, and menaced in their
rights, until they are forced to yield to
an organized system of blackmailing, and
10 employ "the right man"
All this and much worse is well known.
But when the proofs are presented, which
require dismissal and disgrace, then
friend of Speaker Blaine, or some other
leading Republican, is found criminated,
and he must be protected in any event.
So the thief, or the forger, or the Ring
confederate, is retained in the place
which lie has corruptly abused, and runs
round again in the same vicious circle as
before.
the departments are rotten, and the
corruption i'll them is appalling. A 1.-THE
Of the real truth is not known to the
country, and if ftold. without the support
ing testimony, would seem almost in
credible. Now that an Opposition House
of Representatives is certain in the next
Congress, and that investigation of the
iniquities which have been perpetrated
under Grant will be among its first du-
ties, the incumbents are beginning to
prepare for this contingency, by conceal
ing or burning or mutilating the records
which might establish their completely
in criminal offences, and send some of
them to the penitentiary.-N Y. Sun.