New-York tribune., 1876-01-25
ILL NEW NCANU1L.

When the SanbOm iniquity was under c1-
animation some amusement was caused by the
discovery that the business of the Treasury
Department ran along in ruts without
much interference except by persons who had
a pecuuiary interest in disturbing IT. Instances
were mentioned of persons who came TO Wash
ington on business with the Secretary and spent
years in watching the operations of the ma
chine without making a step of progress
toward the settlement of their affairs. Their
papers were slipped into a receptacle and
started off beautifully. Every morning nt o
o'clock hundreds of patriotic gentlemen put
their feet upon the Treasury desks and read the
newspapers at liberal salary while the Great
Invention for Referring Documents ran along
In mt one door, out at another, stopping every
day or two for a fresh Endorsement, letters,
requests, complaints, rcmonStranccs, claims,
contracts, pushed one another on i'll the Treas
ury ruts, rarely opened except by some junior
clerk, but gradually getting covered all over
with dates, signatures, and red lines, until
there was nobody in the Department to whom
they had not been referred Mt least once.
Then they usually came out again at the same
hole where they went i'll, and the owners, If
they were still alive. returned home with
frayed trousers and threadbarc coats, wonder
ing at the beautiful system of the Treasury
Department as it was managed by Secretary
Richardson.
But sometimes human intelligence did inter
fcre with tie machine, in specially lucrative
cases, and curious instance of that sort Of
incglarity has just been investigated by
Solicitor Wilson. 1t arose in connection with
the cotton claim of Parkman ~ Brooks, on
which nearly 100000 was paid in February,
1874, without authority Of law and without
equity. The papers in this case had got as far
as the Office of Solicitor Baniicld. and that
functionary was preparing an adverse report
upon them, when they were suddenly taken
away by Assistant Secretary Sawyer and re-
feIIed TO the Commissioner Of Customs, Mr.
Hanes, who WIS very active and encr-
gctic advocate OF the claimant. Mr..
Ianes promptly approved tho claim.
Controller Tayler decided that it could
be paid without any special appropn-
alton by Congress. Next. according to the
Treasury system, Secrct;ry Richardson sent it
to the First Auditor for examination and
settlement" but as this course would require
that officer to investigate it first, the ndorse-
mcnt was altered by Assistant Secretary
Sawyer SO as to read, "Approved, and re-
"ferrcd to the First Auditor for settlement"
thus leaving Mr.. Richardson's signature ap-
pendcd to an order quite different from the
one he had really given. The claim was
thereupon paid.
We announced several days ago that Messrs.
Sawyer and Haines were likely to be indicted
for their share in this alleged fraud, and it
would appear from Solicitor Wilson's report
that Controller Tayler's conduct also requires
an explanation. As for Mr.. Richardson, il
was discovered long ago that one of his prin-
cipal enpoyments in the Treasury Depart
ment was signing his name to papers that he
knew nothing about, and it is probable that
he acted automatically in the distribution of
this punder, rs he did in that of Sanborn.
But we wonder whether he passes claims along
az readily in the Court of Claims as he did in
tlfr Treasury.