Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1878-01-19
THE INVESTIGATION COMMIT
TEES.

trative abuses. The work is dis
tributed through the various stand
ing committees of the House and we
append the pregnant remarks of the
Cincinnati Enquirer upon the en-
position of these committees.
Blackburn of Kentucky is Chair
man of the Committee on EXpendi-
lures of the War Department, and
as he was on that Committee when
Belknap's malversation and fraud
was unearthed, the subject is a IA
miliar one. He will know how to
go to work, and he is the sort of
men to probe deeply. The other
Democratic member of the Com
mittee are Gambler, of Georgia, who
got experience when the Committee
on Expenditures of the Department
of Justice were investigating little
Johnny Davenport; and Rice, of
Ohio, who will bring intelligence
and industry to the work. The
Republican members are Darrall, of
Louisiana, and Eames, OF Rhode
Island, neither of whom has much
force. 1t is probable that Black
burns Committee may come in
collision with the Military Com
mittee, and that each may claim
the right to investigate special sub
jects. IfsO, there may be dupli-
cation of the testimony, but in the
outcome Blackburne will force
Banning and his Committee to the
wall. In the Investigations by this
! ~ In or 6NnnrrrnCgy Do
did mot show with great prominence.
Williams, of Michigan, and Glover,
of Mississippi, who were on the
Committee, were the Wheel-hOrSeS
there. Banning is the only Demo-
crat on the present Committee who
was on the last, and has for a hacker
only one man Civilians, of Dele
ware) who has had experience with
Investigations. He will have
shrewd Republicans to encounter
in the persons of Strait of Minneso-
Ia, White of Pennsylvania, and
| McCOOk Of New York.
The Committee on Naval affairs
Is already at skies and sevenS with
that on Expenditures of the Navy
Department. The former is preSi-
| ded over by WhitthOrne of Ten
nessee, and the latter by Willis of
New York, and each is on the 9th
! er's Committee. Both know a
good deal already about the Oper-
| atiOns of the Navy Department, as
( they were on the Naval Committee
! last Congress, and helped to inVeS-
tigate RobesOn. If Willis and
! Whitthorne will agree to divide
up the work, and go at it in sys-
| tematic way, each will find a fine
field for explorations, for all the
/ frauds and shortcomings there
/ have not been unearthed by large
majority. But the trouble is, each
gentleman wants the credit of I'M
carthing frauds.
Springer, of Illinois, is at the
head of the State Department eX-
penditures. He has had experience
in investigating. White is a mem
Der of the Foreign Affairs Commit
/ tee, but that had reference more to
/ Schenck and the Emma Mine than
/ to expenditures. He was Chair
man of the same Committee last
| Congress, but was too absorbed
with the Emma Mine to go into
the expenditures. Perhaps he was
expecting then new pasture to
! browse in at this session.
But Glover, of Missouri, has the
finest field, if he and his committee
! are only equal to the occasion. He
/ is charged with investigating the
| Treasury Department expenditures,
and if he can't make himself IA
nous in that field, he might as
well give up the attempt. He was
/ Chairman of the Real Estate Pool
{ Committee last Congress, and PROV
ed to be pretty good at investiga-
! ton; but he must learn to bride
his tongue, for he is disposed to be
grabbed and insulting to witnesses.
| There was an interesting question
/ of veracity last year between Glover
and Pratt of Iowa, a member of his
/ Committee, with reference to the
/ treatment of Charlie EIdridge, and
! the general impression at the time
was that Pratt had the affirmative
side of the question.
( Jere Williams, of Alabama, has
/ charge of the POst-Office EXpendi-
/ lures but he will have to go back
| several years if he wants to dig out
J any thing new for EX-COngress-
man Stone, of Mississippi, who
/ lead that Committee in the last
/ Congress, made a pretty clear sweep
/ so far as the last eight years were
concerned. As Maddell's Com
mite on post-Offices is also author
( lied to investigate, there is likely
/ to be Il collision here also, OF rather
: n 1,Yn1ina tinVn of tnsfin1nnV
Bragg, of Wisconsin, heads the
Committee on Expenditures of the
/ Department of Justice, and he VIII
have his hands full if he only takes
up the subject where Caultield, who
was then at the head of the Com
mittee, left off last year. 1t is not
worth while to tackle little Johnny
Davenport again, but some juicy
facts will be- brought out if they go
to work at the table of expenditures
/ during Ku-KluX times and on all
/ occasions in the South during
! Grants Presidency. Caultiold'S
Committee probed pretty deep, but
/ the bottom facts about the Narshal's
/ fees in the South were not reached
by long shot.
! Mr.. Sparks has charge Of tie In
terror Department expenditures,
and kP will endeavor to avoid a
conflict With the Indian Committee,
by taking up another bureaus than
/ that on Indian affairs. The interi-
OF field is comparatively upeXplorad
I because the Committee of last Con
! greSS spent most of its time in in
vestigating the management of the
/ Government Asylum for Insane.
The Committee of Public EXpen-
ditures has, however, the widest
range of all. 1t may encroach upon
F the domain of every other Com
mittee if it wants to, although the
matter of public printing is specially
committed to its care. This relieves
the Printing Committee of further
I investigation of this special matter.
Hatcher, of Missouri, is Chairman,
and only two other members of the
COMMUNICATION of IllinoisEpd
Baker of New York-were members
OF the last Congress, But what the
1 Committee lacks ia experience it
! win probably make up in ability
and industry, Each Committee
I Certainly has a7OlsQla TO poeraoa as