Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1876-03-09
The Case Of Secretary Belknap.

| spent three weeks at Long Branch, and on
our return to New York Mrs. Belknap and
'her sister, Mrs. Bowers (the latter the pres
! en' "lIe OF the Secretary. the former having
"leu III lSIO) by our invitation came for
sisIt 20 our house. Mrs. Belknap was Ill
ouIlhg This visit some three or four weeks,
ana' suppose, in consequence of our kind
ness 10 her, she felt under some obligations,
lor she asked me one day in the course of
| conversation why did not apply for a post
leadership on the frontier. l asked what
| they were, and was told that many of them
| were very lucrative officers or posi-
| lions in the gift of the Secretary of
| war, and that if | wanted one she would
ask the Secretary for one. Upon my re
| plying that | thought such offices belonged
10 disabled soldiers, and besides that / was
without political influence, she answered
| That politicians got such places, etc, etc. |
| do not remember saying that if l had a val
liable post of that kind l would remember
| her, butt do remember her saying some
| thing like this: If / can prevail upon the
Secretary of War to award you a post, you
| must be careful to say nothing to him about
presents, for man once offered him 10000
for leadership of this kind, and he told him
that If he did not leave the Office he would
kick him downstairs Remembering,
as L do, this story, 1 presume the
antecedent statement to be correct. Mrs.
Belknap and Mrs. Bowers returned to Wash
ingtOn, and a few weeks thereafter Mrs. Bel
KNAPP sent me word to come over. l did so.
She told me the post-tradership at Fort Sill
was vacant; that it was a valuable post as
she understood, and that she had either
| asked for it for me, or had prevailed upon
the Secretary of War to agree to give it to
me. At all events 1 called upon the Secretary
of War, and as near as | can remember made
application for this position-a regular print
ed form. The Secretary said he would appoint
me if l could bring the proper letters and
recommendations, and this | said could do.
Either Mrs. Belknap or the Secretary told
me that the present trader at the post, J ohn
S. Evans, was an applicant for reappoint-
ment, and that had better see him, he being
in the city, as it would not be fair TO turn
him out of office without some notice, as he
would lose largely on his buildings, mer-
chandise, etc, if the office was taken from
him, and that it would be proper and just
for me to make some arrangement with him
for their purchase if wished to run the post
myself. | saw Evans, and found him
alarmed at the prospect of losing the place.
/ remember that he said firm of
Western pOst-tradGrS who claimed a good
deal of influence with the Secretary of War
promised to have him appointed. but he
found, on coming to Washington this firm to
be entirely without influence. Evans first
proposed a partnership, which l declined,
and then bonus of a certain portion of the
profits if l would allow him to hold the posi-
ton and continue the business. We final
ly agreed upon $4,000 per year Evans
and myself went on to New York together,
where the contract was made and exc
cuted, which is herewith submitted During
our trip over, however, Mr.. Evans saw some
thing in the Army and Mary Journal which
led him to think that some of the troops
were to be removed from the fort and that
he had offered TOO large a sum, and, before
the contract was drawn, it was reduced by
agreement to $4,000, the same being pay
able quarterly in advance. When the re-
mlttance came to me, say, probably in
November, 1870, | sent one-half to
Mrs. Belknap, either, l presume, by
certificate of deposit or bank notes
by express. Being in Washington at
funeral, some weeks after this, | had a con-
versation with Mrs. Bowers to the following
purport, far as 1 can now remember, but
must say that just here my memory is ex-
ceedingly inGistinct, and Judge in part per-
haps from what followed as to details of the
conversation. went upstairs in the nurs-
cry with Mrs. Bowers to see the baby I
said to Der: This child will have money
coming to it before great while She said
Yes The mother gave the child to
me, and told me that The money COM
ing from you she must take and keep
for it, l said All right and it
seems to me l said that perhaps the father
ought to be consulted. / say it seems so,
and yet | can give no reason for it. for as !
far as | knew the father knew nothing of
any money transactions between the mother
and myself. I have faint recollection of a
remark of Mrs. Bowers that if / sent the
money to the father that it belonged to her,
and that she would get it anyway. l GER
tainly had some understanding then or sub |
sequently with her or him, for when the
next payment came due and was paid / sent
One-haf thereof to the Secretary of War, !
and have continued substantially from
that day forward to the present
time to do the same. About, |
should say, one and one-half to two years |
after the commencement of these payments, |
! reduced the amount TO $4,000 per annum
The reason of this reduction was partly be-
cause of combined complaints on the part of
Evans and his partner, and partly, SO far as
now remember, in consequence of an arti-
Gle in the newspapers about that time re-
fiecting on the injustice done to soldiers at
this fort, caused by exorbitant charges made |
necessary on the part of the trader by reason |
of the payment of this bonus. To the best |
ofmy knowledge and belief, the above is I
true statement of all the facts in the case,
and as complete as l can remember the oc-
currences of so many years ago"
II reply to questions, the witness further
stated that subsequent to the death of the |
former Mrs. Belknap, in 1870, the pay
ments were sent according to the in
structiOns of the Secretary of War, |
sometimes in bank-notes by express, some
times by certificates of deposit, and some
times he had paid the Secretary in