The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-02-28

.s.he Report Of the Co,ninitaee on Frauds
.y,Iot Reyeiati9ns OF enc Style ftS ysisieE
the oRciai Piundsrers squandered tiis
peoples Money.
sf;3LuaHfA Tuesday Night, FEB. 49,
ME featuf5 of tosdsy's aessiaaoff fflif
General Assembly was the Roport Of the
Committee On Frauds, which was pre-.
sented in both Houses. The document
3 probably unique in the annals Of legis.
lation. 1t is as follows:
THE REPORT.
The committee respectfully invite at.
teution to the evidence and vouchers sub.
mitted with this report under the head OF
0Supplies." The abuses have been Sc
great, and of such a palpable nature that
the most credulous person would hardly
believe that such frauds could be perpe.
trated under the forms Of legislation
History fails to cite an instance which
can be compared with such carnival OF
fraud and extTavagance as has been held
in South Carolina, by and through the
purchase OF supplies for the members OF
the General Assembly. In this connec.
ton, we submit number of the accounts
against the State; also few individual
accounts of a #tr3t
THE AVERAGE STATESMAN"
Of South Carolina, under the late regime.
We 1ot only make the assertion. but We
present the proofs, that the whole coun-
try may see how one OF "the Old Thir:
teen" has been robbed and laid prostra.e
through ignorance on one side, and cor
rupt adventures on The other. Our re.
port is necesaarily elaborate; the charges
are 90 oigraye that we deem it unwise to
make them unless we substantiate them
by evidence which no one can doubt.
IF the simple statement was made that
senators and fnenbers ofthe House were
furnished with everything They desired,
from swaddlirg clothes and
CRADLE TO THE COFFIN
of the undertaken, from brogans to chig-
mons, finest extracts to best wines and
liquors, aud all paid for Ey the State, it
would create smile of doubt and deris-
ion but when we make the statement
and prove it by several witnesses and,the
voucberl tound in the Offices of the clerks
of the Stnate and House, all will with
sorrow admit the tHltthhff;iiaes5 of this re-
port. For your guidance we deem it es-
sential to place under appropriate heads
the class ofsupplies and the evidence re-
ferriDg thereto.
We first call your attention to the evil
dence of MIR. Woodruff, !sho was clerk of
the Senate at that time, anu necessarily
cognizant Of everything concerning the
furnishing ofsupplieg.5 He says "Un-
der the head of supplies was embraced
anything that-ar senator chose to order.
These orders were generally given
through the clerk and the accounts were
rendered against-the clerk Of the Senate.
At first the orders were moderate, and
included only stationary and postage
stamps, but they. gradually increased
until they assumed gigantic proportions.
In the commencement Of this business of
furnishing members they gave orders on
the clerks to deduct the amount from
their pay; but very soon the orders large
ly exceeded their pay, and the accounts
were then included in the report of the
committee on contingent accounts, and
pay certificates thus Issued for almost
every description of merchandize.r In
addition to this, pay certificates were
drawn and turned over to the chairman
of the committee on contingent accounts
for collection and distribution. AS these
matters became ccn,mon, the senators
claimed that -
ALL THEIR ExPENsEs SHOULD BE PAID
by the: State, or inlthe language of SEN
ator O. p. Leslie, the State had no right
to be a State unless che could pay and
takecare of herBtatesmen.'" MIR. Wood
raft, says, and the. vouchers and .certifi-
Gates prove, that qualification" certif-
Gates were frequently issued for the ben
eft of the senators. Senators Jervey and
Gaillafd, of Charleston, and Senator
Cain, of ET gefield, also corroborate this
testimony and acknowledge that they re-
ceived Q portion of the fraudulent certiE-
Gates THUS issued, 40! Jones, clerk of
the House, testifes that supplies were
furnished under the head of Legislative
expenses, saidries and s.ationefy," and
included refreshments for committee
rooms, groceries, clocks, horses, carriages,
dryigoods, carpets, furniture Of every de-
scription, and miscellaneous articles of
merchandise for the personal use of the
members.
Your committee find upon examination
of the vouchers in tho treasurer's offices,
that in
ONE BEssION
there were expended, under the respec-
tive heaCis Of Supplies" "Sundries" and
Incidental Expenses" not less than
three hundred and fifty thousand dollars,
one hundred and twenty-five Thousand of
which were spend for refreshments, in
Guiding the finest wines, liquors and
cigars.
We can only. prove how universally
this system of fraud was practiced and
carried out by the bills and individual
accounts turned in as vouchers, o portion
of which we submit with the report, and
the evidence of Clerks Woodruff and
Jones and Sergeant-st-arms Williams.
Woodruff testifies that "the' practice.
became so general us to embrace nearly
every Republican and
SEVERAL DEMOCRATIC SENATORS.
Such accounts came to be regarded as
privileged matters, and the Senate rule
requiring all reports 10 lie over one day
was generally suspended and thereport
considered at once and the accounts Or
dered TO Ge paid without o. dissenting
voice. Senators left their accounts with
the cll.sa:::man Of the committee on con-
tingent eec0unts. When settled in this
way they were generally returned to SEN
\ We hnd there was regular system by
which these accounts were passed upon
by the Senate and House through the
manipulations of the committee on con-
tingent accounts. The following exam
pie viii suffice:
The committee wonld report that they
had considered the account of "A, B and
Cslwhich were honest claims) and found
q 4. :. a n L.