The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1876-03-29
A BOSTON SCANDAL.
The Van Trump Fog HOrnOne Of the
Numerous Radical Devices to Fleece
Poor WOrkingmen Of Their wages.


Numerous Radical Devices TO Fleece
Poor workingmen Of Their wages.
New York SUM-
BY way Of illustrating the meanness
Of the corruption in the civil service. as
well as It's rapacity and its universal
spread through every smallest detail OF
that service. going down, as MIR. Web
ster once said, ito low water mark, we
will narrate an occurrence that took
place in Boston last autumn in the Dis
trict Attorneys office Of that virtuous
city.
Congress passed law several years
ago, mainly for the protection Of fisher
men and coasting vessels, which we're
| liable to be run over in thick weather
\ by the increasing number. Of ships and
| steamers navigating our waters and the
! high seas. This law prescribed the con
slant use Of the steam whistle in foggy
weather by all vessels propelled by
steam. But in order to fully cover the
subject, the law also prescribed that all
sailing vessels should provide them
selves with fog horns to be blown in g.
similar manner. SO far as fishing boats
and vessels went, and to q great extent
! the coasters also, this had been an i'm
memorial practice adopted for their own
safety. They were above all others the
class to be protected, and no law was.
ever needed to compel them to pro-
vide the means Of self-preservation
Wherever er you found fisherman or %
| coaster, you always found fog horn.
Now mark the progress Of events I'M
der this simple law fora simple purpose.
Some cunning Yankee, or otherwise,
went and constructed q fog horn, which
for some reason was denominated Van
Trump horn, the price Of which was
liked at six dollars, when the price OF
the ordinary fisherman'S horn was less
than fifty cents. The Van Trump horn
made no more noise, and was in no sense
better than the old fashioned fisher
mans horn. which for two centuries
and more had reverberated along the
fog bound coasts Of Massachusetts and
Maine. But its impudent protector
found no difficulty in getting a circular
| issued from the Treasury Department
prescribing its use, under penalty es-
tablished by the law, Of two hundred
dollars. OF course this could have been
at no other period Of time than When
that department was differed by
| that inimitable brace of worthless, Bout
well and Richardson. Whether the job
or Ben Butler, we do not know we only
know the fact that this preposterous and
oppressive circular was issued under
their reign. Under it, every miserable
| fisherman and one-hOr5e coa5ting YES
sci that could be reached, was pursued
by the busy, sneaking agents Of the pro-
prietor of the Van Trump fog horn, who,
shaking the Treasury circular over their
heads, demanded and received from
each victim the sum Of six dollars and
all for nothing, except to line the
pockets Of these legalized harbor
thieves
When Mr. Bristow came in, his at
tention seems to have been drawn to
this larcenous circular, and he revoked
it by issuing another which destroyed
the formers offensive features. But the
chaps who had worked this little pri-
vate quarry so long, were like dog. de-
prived of his bone they hated to lose
it. And what they got before by legal
means, they determined now to get by
foul. One Beard, Of Boston, owned the
Van Trump horn. He showed the new
circular to Collector Simmons OF that
port, and asked the Collector for in
structions to continue his exactions on
the coasters and fishermen. The Col
lector perused the circular and declared
he would do no such thing, for the
circular Of Mr. Bristow did not justify 1t,
and he would not allow his office to be
used for any such despicable purpose.
He condemned the rapacity in unequiv
ocaI terms. And here let US say that
this is Ben Buffers Collector Simmons,
over whose appointment Boston respect
| ability made such fuss. he was the
only man who preserved an honest and
respectable attitude on this occasion.
| Not being able to succeed with the col
| lector, Beard tried his hand in the Dis
trict Attorneys office, whose head IS an
ex-judge, Sanger by name. In san
gers Mr. Beard found willing in
strument, inasmuch as the proceedings
/ brought fees to his office. Accordingly,
to advance his fog-horn speculation by
intimidation Beard complained OF two
little coasters, each OF less than one
| hundred tons burden, belonging to the
| EXTREMIST confines Of the remotest
| Down East, and Sanger ordered them
\ seized in Boston. One OF the vessels
escaped by night, but the other, the
| Native American, OF Calais, was taken
possession Of by the Selling officers, and
| iibelled. The captain had rightfully
refused to buy Van Trump horn, for
| the double reason that the Treasury
| circular did not require 1t and he al
ready had good fog horn on board.
/ His defense was perfect, but to defend
himself against a suit brought by the
| United States, with his vessel In the
hands OF the selling officer, was too
costly job for him, though he might
|
| fore, to submit to this outrageous black
mailing proceeding Of the District At
torney and buy off as cheaply as he
could.
And now comes the sequel. These
greedy plunderers Of poor hard working
men. Beard and Sanger, had evidently
supposed, in Selling q humble little
| coaster from the outskirts OF New Eng
land, that they had found a victim
whose cries could never reach head
quarters. But it 50 happened that one
of the owners of the seized craft was
useful supporter Of the Representative
in Congress from that Eastern district.
Mr.. Eugene Hale was told the story
and requested to 60 to the Secretary OF
the Treasury and expose the villalnous
proceedings in the case, and have stop
put to them. OF course when Mr.. Brls-
| tow heard the facts the case was sum-
marily dismissed But not until the
Captain had been feeced at the District
| Attorneys office Of $40, which Of course
the beggars divided among themselves.
Is it not enough to bring blush OF
shame into the face Of every decent man
to think that the highest Federal Off
| GERS of n great city like Boston are men