The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1879-02-13
GRANTIsM- -RoBEsON SHOWN UP
IN NAVY sWINDLING.


The majority report of the Committee
on Naval Affairs of the lower House OF
Congress, has just been made and scath-
ing exposition 1t ls, showing up Robson
in his corrupt administration ofthe Navy
Department under Grant. The report
says that
During the eight years of Robeson's adj
ministration there disappeared from the
navy register the names of seventy ves-
sells, Of which five we're lost at sea and
forty.six were sold and the proceeds
paid into the Treasury, Three we're sold
and their proceeds paid over to the con-
tractors, and twenty were destroyed by
order of Secretary Robeson and the ma.
terial cut up, paid over or credited to the
contractors. If this destroyed property,
which cost the government one hundred
millions, is credited at only fifty millions,
we have expenditures during eight years
of over two hundred and thirty-two mill
lions of dollars. The property sold and
disposed of would certainly have yielded
revenue of seventy million dollars to
any private or public individual, In fact
the government received for it less than
two millions. Now, snbtraCting from the
annual appropriation for the navy the
sums applied to its maintenance, it is
found that over sixty-one million dollars
were applied to construction, equipment
and armament, This makes nearly sixty
five millions applied to construction,
sum which applied to building war ves-
seis would have given us seventy new
vessels like the Trenton, one of the best
in the navy, number sufficient to have
made the navy at once respectable and
useful, Inquiring next whether laws
enacted for the government of the naval
service and the protection of the gov
ernment interest has been observed, the
committee say they are constrained by
facts and their sense of duty to the House
and country to answer that these laws
have not been observed or obeyed, but,
on the contrary, have been disregarded
and violated, and they further answer
that large sums of public money and
large quantities of public property have
been, in the administration of the naval
service, illegally disposed of.
number OF instances are declared TO
be violations of law.
The report says that
up,to the close of Robeson's administra-
tion low prices, while having their effect
on general business, did not affect the
trade of the Navy Department. Boilers
were contracted for with Messrs. Hunt,
Roach and Gardner, in 1876 and 1877, at
prices which had prevailed in years be.
fore, Hunt, indeed, being paid higher
prices than he had previously built for,
and his explanation that some high prices
were paid to other parties is no doubt
correct.
Here is specimen "exhibit:"
1t is shown that N. Mckay bought at
private sale the ship Delaware for $5,175,
and that after realizing over $4,000 out
of material removed from the ship he
sold the bnlk for $4,000. *** The re-
port concludes by declaring that it is the
duty of the House to mark it's conden-
nation of illegal practices of these former
officers of the Navy Department, and to
invite the attention of the Executive
Department, upon which rests the res
possibility Of further action in the pre-
misses.
Robeson is model of Grantism which
the Republicans will move heaven and
earth next year to re.inaiCt upon the
country.