The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1878-09-18
BEN BUTLnR,S BIG HAUL.
His Devotion to The Laborlns Man So,dier
and Sailor Not Allowed t66l.ser.
fere With His Own In
fcreStS.
A FORTUNE FROM THE GOVERNMENT
THE NEW ORLEANS PRIZE
MONEY.

Certain facts have come to light with
in day or two which go to show that
General Buffers professions Of dcvo-
ton to the interests of the labOring
man and to the soldiers and sailors are
not allowed to interfere with his own
interests, but that, on the contrary, he
does not scruple to make use of his re-
lations with the classes named to in
crease his immense worldly gains
Five or six years ago Congress passed
law, engineered through by General
Butler himself, enabling the Supreme
Court of the District of Columbia to
take up and adjudicate the capture of
New Orleans as prize to the navy
The Court took the required steps and
made an award of about 5000. 900, to
be distributed among the officers and
sailors of Farragnt's fleet. As the cot
ton, and other articles coming under
the head of prizes, captured with the
City of New Orleans, had been appro-
priated by the Government, there was,
of course, no condemnation or sale or
Prize Court. The money came out of
the Treasury in q lump. Tie Court
appointed as proctors, not by mere &C.
cident, it is certain, General Benjamin
F. Butler and Nathaniel Wilson,
Their duties were of the most nominal
character, and so easy of execution
that the youngest attorney in the land
could have performed them. Indeed,
General Butler himself did next to
nothing. Mr.. Wilson did something
more and some young attorneys were
hired to take testimony, &C., and paid
the smallest of fees, one of them re-
ceivlug only $500. Accounting officers
of the Treasury, accustomed by years
of experience to know the value of the
services of General Butler and Mr..
Wilson, say that $4,000 would be 4 big
fee for the services they performed in
connection with the Farragut prize.
Yet these gentlemen obtained the mon
strous allowance of SI42, 06O.58-one
hundred and forty-two thousand sixty
dollars and tifty-eigh cents-a sum un-
precedented in history. The gentle
men concerned will no doubt claim
very justly that the sum named as
compensation to them was decreed by
the Court, but every body knows how
those things are done. The Court de-
creed June z, 1873, an allowance to
proctors of S65, 434.1S. On July 2,
1875, the Court decreed s45, 1856. SO, and
May l, 1873, $3l ,O9O.33. The Fourth
Auditorof the Treasury adjudicates all
matters relating to the navy, such as
prize money, &C., aud the First Audi
tor adjudicates all matters relating to
the Courts, but in neither of these Of
fees are there any receipts or state
ments showing how the immense all
lowapce was disposedof. There is not
even receipt of the gentlemen for the
money. How much of the lions share
Mr.. Butler took and how little Mr..
Wilson was satisfied with is yet in the
dark. There is also no means ofknow-
ing, except from the officers them
selves, how much, in addition to the
extraordinary fee above mentioned, the
officers of Farragut's feet paid General
Butler for his services. A prominent
gentleman connected with the navy,
said to-day that the adjudication of
the affairs of Jay Cooke g. Co. would
now have to stand aside as an example
of outrageous charges. The $l42, 900
it must be remembered, came out of the
allowance made by Congress to the
officers and seamen of Farragut's feet,
and the more General Butler received
the less the sailors and their families
obtained. 1t is not improbable many of
them are now suffering for the neces-
saries of life, while General Butler ap-
pears before the country asking re-
ward for his services to the soldier and
sailor Washington Dispatch to the
Philadelphia Times.