Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-09-03
DELANO.
Mr.. walker "GOes For the Secretary
OF the Interior Again. and Pub
fishes n Review of the De-
Partment Irregular
ities.
Flowers and Horses for Private Use nj
Government ENpense-The M'Cann
Contract Just Cause for I'M
peachment of DeIanO.
New York Tribune.I

New York TribuneI
WASHINGTON, August 29.-Samuel
walker, whom the interior department
80 severely assailed, returns his attack
upon the interior department. He saws
1.-The secretary's office has, at the ex.
penss OF the government, four Carriages
and i've horses. These are attended 10 by
q foreman OF ,ables at $40 per annum
one watchman at $500 per annum; two
stable hands at $500 per annum each,
and two drivers at S720 per annum each.
The cost Of harness and repairs, repairs
of carriages, etc, for six months was re-
ported to have been over $2I00. AT the
same rate for the balance Of the year,
the entire cost of carriages and horses
for the secretary's Office alone would be
about $4,000 per annum. The secretary
doubtless does not use all the carriages
and horses himself exclusively, But il
makes no difference to the tax. payer
who pays for them. / am eredibly in.
formed that one Of the carriages, 8
driver, and two horses. have been at
Mount Vernon, Ohio, the past four
months, and the wife Of the driver, who
is employed in the patent office, draws
his pay during his absence. None Of
these things could take place
without the absolute knowledge and
concurrence Of the secretary and his as
| sistant, who thus concur in and profit
by the misappropriatiOn of public
moneys, while crippled soldiers starve,
that they may have able-bOdied stable
hands.
In addition to this landaulet accom-
mediation for the secretary's office, and
friends in and out of the department.,
the land, patent, pension and Indian Of
| t1ces have horses and carriages costing
enormously for their support. Besides
this, there is another expense incurred
under the supervision of Mr.. Bond, one
OF Mr.. DelanO's confidential assistants,
which is only for the benefit of the sec
retarles, their wives and friends. That
ls geranium and bouquet nursery. To
attend to this, an assistant engineer is
acting foreman gardener. Two garden
ers at $720 each, and the services Of
| nearly ten labOrers at $720 each are
needed. In addition to the flower gar
dener, the grass plots around the depart
ment are attended to by this costly
force, with the aid of still another super
visor, who is paid as engineer, the whole
force costing more than $4,000 per an
mum. The report of expenditures shows
that purchases Of flOWer-pOts, etc., are
made at public expense.
1t is q singular fact connected with
the Indian service that no report ad-
verse to the.interests Of ring agents or
contractors has ever been acted on, ex-
cept to appoint commission, which in
variably reported in favor of the ring
and against the unfavorabIe report; and
all unfavOrable reports have been SUD-
pressed. No better example can be fur
nished than M'Cann's .ranspO. .ation
contract for 1873, IA, rs, and '76. In
1884 it was found that M'Cann charged
the government for carrying goods 1872
miles, the actual distance travelled be-
ing 80. Subsequently, under a new con-
tract, made necessary by the removal of
Red Cloud agency, he was allowed pay
for distance of 2l2 miles, while the de-
parment had the evidence Of M'Cann's
wagon-master, sub contractors, and
Red Cloud emplOye, showing the dis
tance to be much less. The loss by that
single operation was over 81, 900, anG |
Mr.. Delano knew the facts personally, |
for he got them directly from me through |
the chief clerk Of the Indian office, as |
well as officially from the board Of In |
dian commissioners. The same dis |
tance was paid for, the succeeding year,
az corresponding lOSS u the PUBIC |
purse. M'Cann's contract for the cur
rent fiscal year should be jus! cause for
against the contracting
officer of the interior department. The
contract was let to him from Omaha,
thus throwing out the lowest bidder for
wagon transportation from Cheyenne to
Red Cloud agency, which was the kind
Of transportation advertised for. BY
law, the Union Pacific railroad is COM
PEELED to carry government goods with
out cash payment, the corporation be-
i;g indebted to the United Stateq.
Economy and the public interest de
that this law should be carried
ouS, and all government freight carried
for the government as far as possible on
that road. By making M'Caun con-
tractor the government is cheated out OF
the cash paid him for transportation
from Omaha TO Cheyenne. And the Law
was violated 10 not giving the contract |
to the lowest bidder