Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-06-18
IT e Naval Investigation.


A6fo"i AND RESOLUTIONS OF THE COMMIT
MIFTEE.
ihe House committee on naval affairs have
oon ;uded their investigation of the late ad
~ .nistration of the Navy department, and, by
.he vote OF the democratic members. have
, adopted resolutions for the action of the
| House of Representatives, that the acts and
| conduct of the late Secretary of the Nayv
| George M. Robson, of the late chiefs of the
| bureaus OF steam engineering, construction
| and repair and provisions and clothing in the
sale and dSpGsiton OF public property in their
1Re government in Indebtedness over and be.
yOnd the appropriations made by Congress for
me support OF the navy, deserve and should
| receive the Seyerest condemnation, and that
in addition thereto said Chiefs as well as ali
| others aiding and abelting therein, should he
PUBLISHED us! to the extent OF the law; thatit shall
| be the duty of the Clerk of the House OF Rep
| resentatlVes to deliver certified copies of the
| testimony taken before the committees on ma
val affairs and naval expenditures of the
House TO the President of the United States
| and the Attorney General. with the recon.
| mendatl0n that the parties SHOWN by the testi-
| mony to have violated the law, and especially
IN regard TO the unlawful sale and di position
| OF public property and money, NAV be tried
and punished as prescribed by law
Inc eommlstee, in presenting these re ,ou-
tons, state that the evidence which they have
Obtained is for most part taken from official
reports and records OF the department, which
| are submitted to the House.
The committee lind that for the existing in
debtedneSs OF the Navy department, and that
Tor the unlawful sale and disposition of large
amounts of valuable property belonging to the
naval service, and the unlawful disposition Of
large sums OF the public money appropriated
to the naval service, George II. Robeson, late
secretary OF the Navy; w. w. w. Wood, late
chief OF the bureau OF engineering Isaiah Hans
conn., late chief of the bureau of construction
and repair, and James III. Walmough late
chlet OF the bureau OF provisions and clothing
are chiefly responsible. There are other agents
in I,n I,
tic service deserves to be inquired into by the
executive department., and they are Chief En-
glneerS Stewart, Fithian and Henderson,
whose haSty examination of material at the
boston navy yard does not evince very high
Interest in regard for the public service and
ray Director Russell, as hereinbefOre referred
General Bradford.
condensed statement of the more import
ant facts in evidence before the commit e. as
set forth III the ina jority report are as follows:
First. The committee ind that since the
close of the war of the rebellion over
$i0,CU,OVO in money have been expended for
and on account Of the naval service. They
find that of this sum fully $lS2 100000 have
been expended during the administration OF
Secretary Robson.
Second. The committee find that every
protective and prOhibltive enactment of law
mace Tor the security Of public money and
pubic property has been dlsregarded and VIC
Ia,ed. They find that, as a result of these VIC
lations of law, excessive prices have been
PAID Tor property which has been bought with
OUT advertisement or competition.
- ihlrd. The committee find that contracts
made by the heads of three bureaus in the
Navy department, viz: steam engineering.
construction and provisions and clothing,
under what are termed bureau orders or
bureau acceptanceS, without anyregard TO the
requlrementS of law in the manner of making
tnem ms does not include an equal or larger
amount amour OF purchases made under what is
known as the open purchase system.
II curtin. The committee find that unneceS-
sary and undemanded supplies were purchased
at eXOrbltant, prices to the amount of millions
OF collars great amount of timber of
character and description not demanded by
any pressing or probable future exigencyO
me service was purchased and stored in the
naSY-yardS, where it is now rotting
..rifth. The committee find from the official
tables and reports supplied by the department
that vessels which cost the government of the
United States over $13,G0,WO, and whose ap-
praised pr aIs value at the time of their sale was
$2SO,OVO, were sold for about half million
dollars. They also find that vessels that cost
tne a. government in the aggregate over
The proceeds of which amounted, after paying
the cost OF destruction, to $4,000 From this
1t appears that property that cost the govern
ment S26,CO0UOO was sold for less than one mil
lion, when the government under an honest
administration might have realized several
millions theTefrOm.
cost OF five ,doubleturreted monitors, the
amount already expended upon them and the
amount OF money required to complete them,
together with the original cost of the old mate,
rial supplied to the contractors, will aggregate
whole
Seventh. The committee find that except
In the single item Of live oak timber there has
been, owing to the system of barter and ex-
change conducted by the department, an
actual diminutiOn of the quantity of stores on
partment in spite of the immense and eXceS
siye quantities OF goods purchased. The com
mlttee lind that vast quantities of machinery
and new metals and other materials a large
proportion of which could, in the opinion of
experts, have been utilized by the government
were condemned and sold to favOrite cOntrac-
tors at the prices of old materials
Eighth. The committee find, from the sta
nStlcs OF the bureau OF provisions and clothing
supplied by Secretary Thompson, that pr0yi-
sOnS which were known to be merchantable
were sold with view of supplying that bureau
with money. 1t is shown that by this bureau
large quantities of valuable stores were pr-
contractor-Wm. Matthews, of New York. The
entire amount of sales to him amounted to
nearly S1OO,OOO, for which he paid the govern
ment in Clothing at high prices, about SO per
cent. OF the cost OF the goods sold to him. Sec
rotary Thompson has supplied to the commit
tee very able and careful report, by his AS
Ss,tant Pay Director LOoper under date of
department.
The records of the bureau also show that
Chief OF Bureau WatmOugh made illegal sales
ana barter or exchange OF PUBLIC properly to
OF 1874, 1875 and part of 1876, and that none of
the proceeds thereof were-as required by law
with regard to everything except condemned
but were, except triie, covered into the bu-
reau in the shape of other and new supplies
This was done not at public auction, without
public advertisement, and without the posi-
bllty OF competition; it was done privately
and with single individuals All this was VIC
lative of the then existing law
The republican members of the committee
had nothing to do with the preparation of the