Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-01-23
The President and the Pending Ia
yeSfj2afiOnS.

Hon. John NJ. Glover, chairman of the CON-
mittee on expenditures in the Treasury de
paftment, under date of January 2lst, wrote a
letter to President Hayes, in which he says:
MR.. GLOyER'S LETTER.
1T IS painful, yet true, that for years the
executive departments of the federal govern
ment have been increasingly corrupt and op-
messlve, and that the rights and liberties of
the chlEenS nave been tramped Oh without
redress IN those departments administration,
While organized combinations in every depart
ment nave li0ted in prOfuSOn based on plum
der, and have spOrIed with and preyed Oh the
freedom, the fortunes, and the happiness OF
over forty miiiOnS OF people, who, while this
profuse expenditure of their hard earnings,
ana thlS habltual violation OF their rights have
occurred, have grown poorer and poorer, till
this mlsrule has wrought wide misfortune and
Distress No one man. no one set of men, is
responsible Tor this mass OF evils or their fruits.
The vast extension of powers of the govern
ment during the late period of civil war and
disorder has thrown on the executive heads
that II is lmpfacticable for the head of any de
partment to know much of what his subordi-
mates do; and the heads of bureaus and
even OF divisions in very many cases
are necessarily ignorant of the real nature
and effect of the acts of their SubordinateS.
Opportunities for irresponsible wrong doing
are hence so large and SO many that those who
seek to misuse them have for years continued
TO get possession of such opportunities, and
! have long banded together, with the advan-
. tageS of official experience and intimate
selves secrecy and immunity. Among the
methods reS0rted to for this purpose are the
mutllatI0n, alteration concealment, withhold
| ing, OF destruction of books, papers, and doc
umentS OF record, and the intimidation of
witnesses. The latter method of insurng Sc
crecy for corrupt and oppressive practices has
become hab bltual, and goes to an unSpeakably
cruel and infamous extreme, while its inge-
Duity is remarkable. 1t is q fact that men
walk the streets of Washington to-day whose
families and selves are in danger of hunger
and hOmeeSSneSS through the persecution
which they have suffered for telling the truth.
| while many others have in their minds the
cent, but which, seeing the fate of those
who have been brave, they dare not tell.
Belleying that you are anxious to end this
terrible state of things, for which you are not
responsible. and that You appreciate the neceS-
sity for Congressional investigation and aScer-
tainmenf OF facts, before remedies, legislative
or administrative, can be applied, or even
shown, would call your attention to the reso-
lutiOnS introduced by me and passed by the
House of Representatives on the l1h instant,
directing that the neediul Investigations,
which were provided for under the Presidency
OF Madison, but for many years neglected. till
of late began shall go on. Believing also that
You are desirouS to stop, and. as far as practi-
cable. redress the OUtrageS whereby honest
! men and women are prevented from telling
the truth about misdeeds by persons connected
With the government, transmit herewith
resolution adopted by the committee on eX-
| penditnres in the Treasury department. and
respectfully ask that You viii, at The earliest
practicable moment, take the steps needfui to
aid. not only the committee but all commit
tees OF the House, in their efforts to ascertain
facts concerning alleged abuses. and that you
will give assurances that witnesses viii be pro
tected,'
THE PRESIDENTS REPLY
is as follows: i am III receipt Of Il res
OlutiOn adopted by a committee Of the
House OF Representatives on expenditures
in the Treasury department requesting my
cooperation with the committee in its in
veStigationS OF alleged abuses in said de
partment l shall be glad to cooperate heart
ily with the committee in the proposed nves-
tigation, and to that end will iSSne such pro-
per direction to all officers of that or any other
department as may be required to secure
prompt and effective assistance in conduct of
the investigation. Touching the suggestions
contained III your letter that witnesses who
may testify before the committee may be ap-
prehensiye OF losing their places if they testify
truty ana fully. You are at liberty to assure all
Snbol dlDate officers that the fact of their teSti
lying before the committee shall not be used
to their prejudice"