The daily gazette., 1876-03-27
About BrfsfOaC'sIu IuuJeI( ase Money
In Southern Elections.

hoOtts 6I4uateIt use --AOutV
In Southern Elections.
WASHINGTON, March 26.-The con.
nection of Secretary Bristow with the
mule claim. it is understood, has also
been looked into by the judiciary
committee. There are many who are
not at all satisfied with the aspects of
the case, and comment is freely made
en- the facts that the committee on war
expenditures evidenced disposition to
subject Mr.. Bristow to more than the
merest show of cross examination.
Mr.. Bristow, according to his own
statement, had no other connection
with the case than to argue it before
the Court OF claims. His argument
could not have lasted more than two
hours, and yet for it he states that he
received $10,870. If Mr.. Brist0w had
been the most eminent lawyer of the
Supreme Court bar this would have
been good pay for q two hours argU-
Isent in mule case, but the fact was
that Mr., Bristow was not an eminent
legal circles in Washington by reason
of the political appointment he had
held as solicitor general.
nC ClCIh Vi TIC SOuIb vi SldiLlb has
testified before the Judiciary commit
| tee that the mule case was filed there
on referance from Secretary Belknap
! on April 10, 1872, at which time T. j.
Fuller was the attorney. On March
20, 1878, the Attorney General filed
plea that the statute of limitation had
barred the case. On April 81 this plea
was withdrawn, Mr.. Bristow made his
argument, and on January 8, 1874, the
court rendered judgment, There are
five members Of the Court of Claims,
and only three sat on this case, Chief
Justice Drake and Justices Mott and
Milligan. Chief Justice Drake dissen-
ted, and judgment was therefore deliv-
tered against the government in a
| doubtful case of over S100. 600 by but
two judges of a tribunal which consists
of five. Such is the testimony of the
clerk of the Court of Claims. What
now demands explanation is first, why
Attorney General Williams withdrew
his plea Of limitation, which he did
after Mr.. Bristew was engaged in the
case; and second why he did not ap-
peal the case to the Supreme Court
after it had been decided favorably Dy
but two judges out of five of theCourt
of Claims. 1t seems, further. that there
were not enough available funds to
pay the claim to the credit of the ap-
preparation for the judgment of the
Court of Claims, and it was paid out
of the quartermaster' funds by order
of the Secretary of War, Gen. Belknap,
the claim having once been rejected
by the quartermaster general.
Gen. Bristow says he did not regard
his fee of Sl0,870 as unusual, bat Col.
Rowland, the assistant quartermaster
with whom the mule contract was made
land who talked with Groome about it
after Groome got his money, says it was
rather more than the usual fee. Col.
Rowland says further that Groome told
him that it cost between $50, 600 and S40,-
900 for attorneys fees to get the claim
through, Gen. BrIstow says he only got
Sl0,S7O. Who got the rest? Another
singular feature OF this mule case is that
the parties making the claim declared
that they We're obligaed to sell the mules
which the government refused to take
at Sl2 50 each. A letter has been receiv-
ed here from gentleman of Chicago
, who was contracting for mules at the
same time, and which the government
declined tot take. He says he suffered no
loss, as mules were in large demand and
sold for all they were worth.
KuKLUX.
The committee on expenditures of
the Department Of Justice, of which Mr..
Caulheld, Of H., is the chairman, has
commenced an earnest inquiry into the
expenditure OF the contingent fund of
/ the department, and has already traced
large sums us having been expended in
the kuklux raids. Ex-Attorney General
Williams and Comptroller Brodhead
were before the committee yesterday to
explain the expenditures. Mr.. Williams,
it is understood, did not hesitate to ad-
NIT that the bulk of the fund was ex-
pended on account of the kukluk.
. ELECTION FUNDS.
The testimony before the judiciary
committee OF Whitley, ex-chief OF the Sc
cret service, and of VIM Falls, confirm
fully the statements made in this cor
respondence as to the lavish use for po-
litical purposes in the South of the gov
, ernment funds entrusted to the dispesi-
tion OF the Attorney General.
AND STILL ANOTHER
MANCHESTER, n. H., March 25.- An
J evening paper here publishes state
ment that j. q. a. Sargent. of this place
paid Secretary Belknap $4,000 for d
contract to furnish heating apparatus in
the Government buildings at Fort Leav-
enworth.