The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1875-10-27
ROSS GRANT AND HIS STRIKERS.
now THEY TRIED TO LEVY UPON MR..
GEORGE WILKES.

The testimony ycstaday in the cas-
osB. H.. Cheever against Henry Clew
4 Co., developed som8 pfl That III
lJonse OF Representative VIII rslAbl
find it neccssafE 10 ihtesrig af8 Til
testimony relasee to the freas0fis nisd Ia
anences wl,ik4 pfocnfed Tho appoint
ment, ia 1859 0f Henry CIews q Co. q
. tinancial agent or banker of the Uni
rcd States Government In Europe =
This appointment, rs the public vel re
member, caused establishment at tn
time, and it now appears by this evi
denee that preliminary to it was a,
agreement by which Henry Clews g. Co
agreed to pay to Louis Dent, the broth
or-in.law of the President, one-eightf
If fine profits to be derived from the an
nointment; and this one-eighth they
Guaranteed to Dent should not be les!
tIan tile sum of $4,000 year. Thus. il
the testimony is true, we have the bro
tber-in-lawg of the President, and the
Observation-Disclosures Of the White House
cneagediu the business of selling, at q
hish price ,ione of the most lucrative an.
nointnents In the gift OF the Govern.
ment, and an appointment. too, which
not only seemed to all Intelligent peo-
nile an improper one to be made, but
which finally resulted In a heavy pecu-
mary loss totlie Treasury. The aues.
tIon is, whether Grant shared in this
$4,000 year: and besides,S 1t should not
be forgotten that this was not the only
instanceihswhich Dent took money for
nm appointment to be made by his bro
ther-in-law, the President.-[New York
Sun, October 9TH.
The aboye statement and the pro-
blem involved within it, though it
may astonish some people. does not
in thealeast surprise the editor of
this paper.
In thespring of 1869 Mr., Wilkes
was appraised by confidential letter
from Washington that General Grant
had chosen him for United States
Minister to Mexico and that, in a
few days his appointment would be
proclaimed. On the day following
this communication a Mr.. Page, of
the firm of Dent Page, lawyers of
Washington, (Which Dent, by the by,
is the same Louis Dent alluded to in
the above tCheever case, came to
this city, and applied to the Treasu-
rer of the Lower California Company,
in which Mr!|Wilkes was largely in
terested, for fee, in order to aid Mr..
Wilkes in making sure of the Next
can mission; and for this service the
said Page & Dent We're willing to take
money and stock of the Lower Cali
fornia Company. When, however,
this communication was made to Mr..
Wilkes, he promptly refused to en-
terrain it, and even declined to have
an interview with Mr.. Page. This
overture from Page & Dent was made
on u Friday; on the next day Page
returned to Washington, where,
doubtless, he made his report on
Sunday to the parties who had sent
him, aud the result was that, on the
hext day, Monday, the name of Mr..
Wilkes was renewed from the diplo-
nai!c slate, and m unthonght of
person appointed in his place.
4 short time afterward General
Grant seemed to have taken the no.
ton to make amends to Mr.. Wilkes
for this transaction, and q new noti-
ilcatiou was received by Mr.. Wilkes
that he had been chosen for the Chi
nese mission, whereupon Page ap-
peared here, in manner as before
Nh Wilkes treated this overture,
however, precisely as he had the first
by paying no attention to it, where
upon he received no further signs
from Washington upon the subject.
Shortly after this Mr.. Wilkes went
to Europe on pleasure trip, and
while in Paris, in the middle of July
MIR. Arson Burlingame, Minister
from China, came to Mr.. Wilkes
room, at the Grand Hotel, accompa-
MED by other friends to congratulate
aim upon the unmistakable news,
which had just then been received,
that Gen. Grant had chosen him for
the Chinese mission. Mr.. Wilkes,
however, quickly cooled the enthusi-
asm Of his friends by remarking that
ne must take the liberty of doubling
the consummation of Gen. Grants
complimentary Intentions, as he had
lett no one behind him in the United
etates to deal with Dent & Page
ills Judgment proved to be correct,
LOT soon atterward another person
was appointed to the Chinese mis-
sion. There can, be no doubt that
had Mr.. Wilkes consented to have
gone to Washington and lobbied for
either Of the above named posts, and
mad been kind at the same time, to
rage & Dent, as it seems Mr.. Chez
YER was, he might have securely
made his choice between either of the
Ah0yn a