Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1876-04-07

0lioOAOu 1utU dill dSIttIuOlo esoooo Wy 'e.Ao
Of goods. He was to give me $4,000 In
cash and two lots in st. Louis. The lots |
were charged to me at $4,000, and l was
obliged to sell them at 81 800. | took his
notes for So. 900. On account OF the terms |
forced upon me by Dent, l was obliged to |
settle with nv creditors at 40 cents on the |
dollar. The transaction ruined me imam
cially. When Bernard wrote to General
Grant, asking for the Fort Union post, he
also wrote letter to Mrs. Grant, request
ing her influence. I don't know whether
General Grant ever got Bernards let
ter, other than l know was appointed.
q. What means had you of knowing
that Bernard had influence with General
Grant?
A. Well, General Grant lived with Ber-
Dard in St, Louis when he was a poor
man.
Q. Was General Grant ever a poor
man?
A. 1t was so understood in st. Louis
when he lived there. Just after l left
Fort Union to 60 to st. Louis to buy goods,
and was still the trader, Bernard, whom
[ left there, bet two wagon-loadS of sugar
and coffee belonging to me on the result
of New York election. which he lost.
This shows what kind Of man he was.
A GIGANTIC CORRUPTION FUND.
f. G. TAYLOR was again before the Post
Office Committee to-day and testified sub
stantially as yesterday, the books OF E. P.
Sawyer being produced and his statement
corroborated. Prominent in all the trans
actions from 1865, when Randall was Post
master General, down to the middle Of
1872. Thomas Hood, a modern Daniel
Lambert IN size, and king OF the post-office
lobby, was paid over $4,000. He was al
so presented with a gold watch and had
numerous bills for sundries paid by Sawyer.
This Hood was cover of more rascality
than Gao be found out by this Congress
He, was potent with Postmaster Generals
Randall and Creswell received over $780,
600 dollars for securing payment of a large
claim for printing postal routes i'll the
Washington papers, and is now the audi
tor of the Supreme Court OF the District
of Columbia, which is position he is en-
inently fitted to fill, his reputation enti-
Ting him to the confidence of everybody
who can pay his price for services render
ed. The books of SAWYER also showed that
over 900 was paid on account OF him
being disguise for covering bogus con-
tracts. The Presidents brother-in-laW,
Louis Dent, was well paid for his services
us attorney. Ex-Congressman Clarke, Of
Texas, got five hundred dollars while he
was a member of Congress. d. 0. Floyd,
contract clerk in the Post Office Depart
ment, received one hundred dollars month
for his services. Judge Pascal was Saw
yer's attorney for several years, and his
fees foot up $4,000. Unknown" (sup-
posed to be Routt) got a gold watch cost
ing $3.50, and Johnson's attorneys got over
$4,000. The expense account, not enter
ed until May, 1875, has the following re-
markable record of transactions in 1872:
Expense account to E. P. Sawyer, attor-
neys' fees and costs paid in purchase Of
contracts, S72,S46; ard again the entries
of the book show that $50, 900 WAS paid to
attorneys. The explanation of the attor-
ney business is simply this: The officials
in the Post Office Department received at
least one-half the amount paid to attor-
neys. No man whose business WAS honest
ly conducted had any reason for being
taxed as Sawyer was, and no man who was
doing an honest business would have eX-
pended such sums as Sawyer did. But the
suspicion falls upon the Post Office Com
mittee of the House, which in 1872 was in
vestigatiny the very charges now made
clear by the possession of the books OF the
late Mr.. f. 2. Sawyer, who then swore
that he never spent q cent in purchasing
contracts.
Members Of the Post Office Committee
are now confident that Of the $120 600
charged to the expense account some OF
that money was used in quoting the Re-
publican members Of the committee. The
books of Sawyer show how fearfully cor
rupt the Post Office Department was an
der Randall and Observation-Disclosures
the later. How poor men could bald rows
of elegant brick dwellings on a clerks sal
AIRY is now fully explained.
TIE WAY THEY MANAGED TO GET BAB-
COCK DEF.
Tin the War Department investigation
&. L. Bell, Of jackson, testified that Bel
KNAPP asked him If he could pay $4,000 q
year for a ost-tradership, for which he
had made q personal application.
Bell was appointed a secret detective.
His duties were in st. Louis to look up
pension frauds. He was employed by
Dyer's hand and to see what evidence they
had against Babcock. He took hold of it
surreptitiously and reported to Lucky. In
November last he told Luekey that the evil
dence against Babcock WAS weak. He
read over IL great many papers in the case
in Dyer's office. Dyer did not know that
he was Luckey's agent. Subsequently,
said witness, Il took measure to inform
the President that Babcock was guilty,
because the President had told me that if
Babcock was guilty he wanted to'know it"
He was then dismissed.
A. G. Bradley, who was also in B2bcock's
interest, told Bell to get the papers from
Dyer's office and destroy them. Luckey
had told him to act under Bradley's orders.
Met Babcock. He told Bell that he must
get oil the papers, as q part would do no
good. He told me that if he got the evil
dence I would be we'll rewarded. Bell was
to be appointed a special agent by the At
torney-General. He had a card from the
President to Pierrepont, saying, This is
the man of whom l spoke.'' He did not
get the appointment. Dyer tcld Pierre
pont that he would not allow me to work
in his office because he had an idea that [
was coming for d correspondent with
Luckey in cypher. Babcock repeatedly
said that there were kilograms in existence
which, if the prosecution got hold of, he
could not explain. Bradley paid him sixty
and Babcock one hundred dollars. He was
not employed for any other purpose than
to prevent the conviction of Babcock. The
President, however, did not 50 understand
it. He told Bell in the start that if Gen
eral Babcock was guilty he wanted to know
it. Attorney general Pierrepont was
dV6fSe 10 Ills SOlllS W oG. LUulS play my spy
on Dyer The President wanted him to
find out whether Babcock was guilty, but
Luckey, Babcock, Bradley, and Storrs
wanted him to destroy all the evidence of
his guilt A. G. Bradley is the brother
in-law Of A. R. Shepherd. Secretary
Chandler knew what Bell was to do before
he started for st. Louis.
s'EX-GoYERNoF:" WELLS OF VIRGIN
IA.-The Baltimore "Gazette" says: The
President evidently knew his man when he
appointed ex-Gov. Wells, of Virginia, Dis