Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1876-10-19
NEW SERIES--VOL. II, NO. Al.

been one OF the chief bureaus Of cor
ruption upder the Grant administra-
ton. The system OF warehousing
goods which had been in vogue for
years and given entire satisfaction to
New York merchants. was changed in
1870, and an cxtortion monopoly given
to one Of President Grants proteges.
This monopoly was obtained through
the President and his Secretaries, Bah
cock and Porter. Charges imposed by
this firm OF Leet and Stocking some
times amounted TO more than the
freight on the same goods from Liver
pool to New York. Their profits from
these extortions were estimated as high
as 100000 year, in gold. Stewart,
Dodge, and other eminent merchants,
protested in vain. Under Collector
Murphy many other abuses grew up.
Horace Greeley and other witnesses
showed before the Investigating Com
fmittcc, that the Custom House patron
ago was used TO control the Rcpubli-
can party. Public indignation com
PEELED Murphy's resignation, but the
President wrote hun a fulsome letter
Of compliment. H
PRINTING FRAUDS.
In 1874 the management of the
Government Printing Office was inves-
tigated by the Republican Senate, and
although charges of fraud were sus-
tanned, Printer Clapp was whitewashed.
In 1876 the House committee on print
ing, whose chairman, Mr.. Vance, is n
practical printer, made thorough in.
vestigation. This showed, on the tcsti.
mony of the best experts in printing
and binding in this country, that Clapp
ovcrcharged from 80 TO 800 per cent;
that owing TO the enormous supply Of
type and materials, books of 1000
pages were kept in type, and when
now edition was ordered, the Govern
ment was charged a second time for
composition that full composition is
charged every year 10 this way for the
Army Register, which is kept standing,
and in which few changes are annually
made that bills were made for articles
not purchased. Tho investigation
proved that while the Government
Printing Office cost from 1861 TO 1875,
exclusive Of taxes, insurance and i'm
proyements, s2l 767 ,496, or an annual
average of sl,G74,422, that the work
could have been done honestly for 60
per cent. of that amount, or about sl3,-
100000, the waste and fraud amount.
ing in thirteen years TO $4,000, 900.
The House lcgislated Clapp out Of
office new office was created TO
which the President appointed Clapp
the nomination was confirmed by the
Senate, notwithstanding all these dis
closures.
THE sANBORN FRAUDS.
In 1872, Secretary of the Treasury
Richardson made contract with John
d. Sanborn for the collection of taxes
withheld in all 5000 cases, for collect
ing which be was TO receive ffty per
ccat. of the whole amount. The con-
tract was made without consulting the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue or
any officer of the Department. The
amount collected by Sanborn was
s427 600; the amount retained by him
was s2ls,500; the amount justly due
TO collectors would have been $4,000
so that the Government overpald $780,
500. Tho Ways and Means Commit
tee Of the Republican House reported
that probably all this amount could
have been collected in the usual way.
B. f. Butler, now leading Republican
candidate for Congress from Massachu-
setts, was Sanborn's champion in Con
gress, and is generally supposed to have
been hls partner in the transaction.
THE HOUSE ApPoISTEEs
VIM. A. Wheeler, Republican candi-
date for Vice President, recently re
peatcd several, already refuted false
hoods with respect to the appointments
made by the House of Representatives.
The truth is, that of the 1873 appoint
ments on the roll Of the door-kcepcrs,
30 served in the Union Army, 10 in
the Confederate Army, . in the Mexi-
can War, IL arc colored, and 65 are
non-combatants, page-boys, &c. The
former Republican House had l53 ar
pointccs, one Of whom states that there
were only Is Union soldiers among
'hem'
ron''iO "'Nhi ~ h'h' 'oNs'
Inc House Committee on the Dc
partmentof Justice examined at length
the accounts OF John |. Davenport, and
found an expenditure OF s3i ,OOo, which
he attempted to account Tor by receipts
for work on registration books The
receipts were obtained ana ierniSned
by Davenport after the investigation
began. The committee further report
that they found other evidences OF I'm,
proper use Of the Secret Service fund
OF the Government ior political, social
ana other purposes IL was evident
That that iund was used 10 influence
elections IN New York City. They
feel compelled to report that ne FreS,.
dehf and ne Attorney Generals, MesSs
Acsdrmdn and llMiams, who supplied
Davenport with s3l ,oOO from the lat
ter fund, diverted It from It's proper
purpose to one entirely foreign to the
Objects Of the law.
FURTHER CHARACTERISTICS or THE Ap-
MISTsTRATioN.
prcsont.takiur bv the President and
tho opnointment of The prcsent.makcrs
,o oGino. 10 wholesaio onno;n,mon,