The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1876-09-07

'nioc "Clo oiiOnIiJ puiieu W .hio Poi
ty, which prides itself so much upon
investigating and reforming itself. If
it had performed this honorable work,
Belknap and Creswell would been
driven from the Cabinet in 1872 and
Blaine would have retired from the
Speakership in 1873.
TREASURY COMMITTEE.
A Committee was appointed to in
vestigate expenditures in the Treasury
Department, to which was committed
the inquiry as to what had become of
captured and abandoned property be-
longing to the United States. This
Committee did not finish its invests
cations or make a report. But its
testimony is published, Sc far as taken.
The following little gems are extract,
ed from the testimony of a lawyer, Mr..
Brown by name. See Page 76. 1t
appears that Fessenden is still a clerk
in the Treasury Department, notwith-
standing his defalcatIons
30. Do you know anything about the
former positions held by Noah or Fessen.
den?
A. OF Noah's antecedents 1 know moth
ing. FesseEden was a paymaster in the
army, and was dismissed from the army on
account of embezzlement. 1 know that
from an examination of the record in the
Adjutant Generals Office.
Q. Do your politics and those of the
Secretary agree2
A. Yes. sir except that 1 am a republic
can of the extreme type. l went to MIR.
Bristow with the papers in ~Fessenden's
case. Mr.. Bristow said to me that MIR
Hamlin of Maine, Mr.. Blaine of Maine, and
Mr.. Eugene Hale of Maine, had youched to
him for Fessenden's integrity and good
character, and that under these ~circumstan-
ces he did not feel called upon to take no.
tice of it"
Mr.. Fessenden has never repaid the
SIS, 900 he had embezzled, but still
draws his salary with commendable
regularity, backed as he is by such
powerful influence as Blaine, Hale and
Hamlin, patriots and incorruptibles of
the State of Maine.
The same witness being under ex-
animation, the following question is
put, with the answer as received, in re-
gard to fraudulent charges on govern
ment cotton by government agents:
Q. Can you inform the committee of any
| cases where fraudulent charges were made ?
A.. referring to the document In
case of Hamilton & Obenchain there were
100 bales of cotton shipped from Sewer
| County, Arkansas, to New Orleans, by R
G. Curtis. The cotton was collected by I.
| Maginuis. The expenses of freight to New
Orleans were. S6,384.12; the expenses OF
freight to New York 1891 and the expenses
at New York S371 1853 making the total ex-
penses of the 100 bales 81, TAG, IS. The cot
| ton was sold for $40; 1867: Another case
was that of H. c. Boyd. The cotton was
collected in Lafayette county, Arkansas, by
Fl. A. Miller, and was shipped by A. Il. Mil
Ter, S3 bales. The gross proceeds were
S6,249.99, and the expenses to and at New
Orleans 81, 763.70.
@. What were these expenses for?
A. 1t was simple stealing, that was all
In the sale of BOyd's cotton the
government, according to the testimo.
ny, realized nett S141.4 on a sale Of
| Sc, 249.0 0 And in the case of Thos.
B. Triggs, the government realized
nothing, where the cotton sold fol
s3,3s8.
These instances, are put as examples
of the dexterity of republican officials
in intercepting the money of the gov
eminent on ats ,0ay to the Treasury
1t takes a bold thief to rob the treas.
ury, or default in his accounts, after
the money has passed to the credit Of
the government. Our corruptionist'
have reduced their practices to {
science. They sell Offices, contracts
influence and become rich in a -dozer
different ways on small salaries at the
expense of the people. But they art
careful, as a general rule, not to lay
their hands on money or property
where detection and punishment arr
certain. Hence they boast that de-
falcations are not greater now thai
under former administrations. Having
organized plumber on a more scientific
basis, they are probably correct. Blu
when we learn that 26 millions of dol
lars were actually turned into thu
United States Treasury, as the net
proceeds of the sale Of captured ant
abandoned property, u imagination
is dazzled in the contemplation of tn
many more millions adroitly stole
under the color of expenses, freight
commissions, etc, after the mamie
above narrated.
One more extract from the testimon,
of this committee and | have don
with it. Francis E. Spinner, for NOR
than fourteen years the Treasurer O
the United States, was called as a wit
ness. His testimony will be found o,
page 176. On page III is found tn
following extract from it:
Q. Was any part of that fund used t
balance the public debt statements, to you
knowledge
A. l cannot tell. The public debt state
ment was a curious thing. l do not kno'
how the law has been ~latterlJ
but when l first came into tn
Treasury, the Treasurer was directe
by law to publish weekly statements in on
or two papers in the city of Washington.
found they prepared a statement upstair
and published it, to which my name was a
tached, and 1 objected to that. They di
, not want me to publish my statement.
III I. - -@- IL.