American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1879-07-26
By arrangement Of the Secretary Of the
Treasury the small town of


port Of entry for Canadian goods. The pena
bonds required, amounting to millions o.
dollars at time, all had to be executed b.
two persons who were worth but a few
Thousand dollars, which made the bond.
worthless, and showed that the stoppage n
Island Pond gave no security against Snug.
Cling. The first effect of the order was t.
enlarge the compensation of the Collector o
Cust oms at Island Pond to 1000 or $50 200
year, three or four times that Of the Col.
lector Of New York; but the second result
was to destroy the In transitu trade, to drive
it out of the States back down to the st
Lawrence River, to ruin the owners Of 9
hundred bonded warehouses at Portland
to break up the steamship lines from that
port, and to inflict heavy loss on the owners
Of the Grand Trunk Railway. To this out
rageous piece of tyranny is due much of the
hard times that have lately prevailed in
northern New England. 1t is said that this
exploit was engineered by Judge Poland In
exchange for his support of Secretary Brls-
tow at the Cincinnati nominating cOnven-
ton, where Poland violated his constituents
instructions by such support. Secretary
Edmunds, however, wrote letter to the
Glover Committee claiming for himself the
credit Of arranging the Island Pond achieve
ment, and stated in the committee-room that
he did it to benefit the Collector, who was in
some way related to linn;
AT THE SAN FRANCISCO MtNf
there was a deficiency of $325 900 in the Melt
er and Refiner's office in 1856; a great dis
crepancy between the Treasurer's and Coin
er's accounts in 1866, and large losses in 1870.
The report shows maIfy errors, II not worse,
in the New York Assay Office and the Phila-
delphia Mint. In the Assay Office in 1863 at
least one lot of boxes said to contain bullion
were deposited and borrowed on and taken
spection or test. Linderfran employed more
than score of persons in visiting minis and
assay offices, attending annual settlements,
End assisting him in doing SO, for which he
his SON, 10 years old, and not in the public
service, $2,757 for less than six months
service. The law does not allow travelling
expenses to any one but the Director; up to
Oct. I, 1877, he received 81 ,30O-charged to
The report gives in detail the process by
which Linderman assisted In bullfng Bonan-
"a stock, enabling the officers to sell enough to
realize about $125, 600 600, and the fall caus-
ed the buyers to lose about 500 600 900,
mans aid. This spread misfortune and dis
tress throughout the Pacific coast, Under
man also helped the Nevada Bank Of San
Francisco, letting it know Of the stoppage
of the coinage Of trade dollars in time to
make a handsome profit.
In 1862 Congress provided for Treasury
Special Agents collecting
CAPTURED AND ABANbOfsEp PROPERTY AT
THE SOUTH,
and for turning into the Treasury the pro-
ceeds OF such property, to be returned to
the owners on proof before the Court OF
Claims Of ownership and freedom from COM
plicity with the rebellion. Under this act
It's, 200 bales of cotton were collected and
sold, the proceeds being, as nearly as could
be ascertained, $36, 500, 900. OF this $9,3fG.-
1877 were eaten up in "expenses," leaving
over $27 ,OOO, 0eO OF this S, 545, 900 have been
returned to owners under she judgment Of
the Court Of Claims, s. ;6ss GOO By the seere;
acts of Congress and SIS, 600 under the act
of May 10, 1S72-in all $11 $3.50 This
should leave on hand over $15,500,O 600, but
shows but about 50 600 900 on hand. What
has become of the other six and a half mil
lions the committee could not learn.
From Aug. %, 1865, to May 8, 1873, the
Treasury paid to attorneys . no agents and in
which belonged to owners of cotton. The
report particttlarixes many fraudulent cot
ton transactions, and says: The Supreme
Court has decided that the proceeds OF CAP
tured cotton are trust fund in the hands
of the Treasury for the benefit Of the OWL
ers; but this trust is shamefully abused.
Millions of this trust fund were deposited
by Secretary Mccullough in Jay Cookies
First National Bank of Washington, which
enjoyed the use and profit thereof, while the
owners suffered. VIM. E. Chandler, while
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, caused
a full list of the valid cotton claims to be
made out and furnished to him, and soon
"law" at Washington. The official who
made Chandler the list swore that it was
worth at least 100000 to its holder.
The report says that the
SECRET SERVICE
appears to have been used largely for black
mailing purposes and persecution of pri-
vate individuals, and that men are employ
ed in it without any test Of qualification,
provided they have what seems to be in
formation against persons; and that persons
AZ L. A,lA
the force Of its methods, have, as a rule, de-
clined to put their grievances before the
committee, preferring rather to suffer in
silence than to encounter the plots they felt
sure would follow their complaints.
MISCELLANEOUS sTEALINGs.
DIR. John NJ. Woodwork, Supervising
Surgeon General of marine hospitals, testi-
Hospital service was not self sustaining,
though he had reported to make it appear
that it was, doubled the tax on sailors, and
had revenue OF over $3.50 600 year to sup
from Assistant Secretary Conant approval
Of vouchers for s., 100 extra pay and travel
ing expenses for seven months, in violation
of law, while preparing report on cholera,
which extras, without law or authority,
were taken from the hospital fund collected
from sailors; that the Register of the Treas
ury's statements never showed the true
condition of the Marine Hospital fund, the
Registers figures being always better than
the facts, and that he was not allowed to
state the truth in his report, because it
would differ from the Registers. and that
there were often many unpaid bills.
William Fessenden was discharged from
the Army in 1864 as a defaulting additional
the public money to Solomon Is. Colby. q
contractor, and William Coombs, a clerk in
the Interior Department, for use in specu-
lating in lumber, Fessenden to receive for
fhay Of ha n
actual sales. The money was lost by Fes-
senden's treachery, Colby claims, and Colby
was bankrupted. Within a year afterward
he was made a clerk in the Cotton Bureau,
where he has since received, on an average,
So 900 year salary and large sums for " ex-
ira services"
Jasper W. johnson of Oregon, Secretary
of the Liberal Republican National Commit
tee, was appointed in 1876 an Inspector OF
Customs and kept on the pay-rolls several
months, receiving several hundred dollars
without rendering any service to the Gov
eminent.
A system of theft, which had gone on fol
years, was detected in Norfolk in 1877 by
Maj. Moore, special agent. Instead of turn.
ing into the Treasury duties collected from
merchants on goods, the Collector of Gus,
toms and other officials stole the money and
omitted to enter it on the books.
A habit of smuggling wines, etc., by the
officers of the naval vessels returning to this
country has long existed.
l.. f. Cannon, of the Supervising Archi.
tect's office, was detected in criminal deal
ings with contractors, whose accounts HI
examined and passed on. He admitted hi
guilt, but was neither punished nor dis
missed.
The report concludes by stating that man,
Of these and other matters need much more
investigation.
TALLEYRAND, says an exchange, sait
that happiness depends on hard herr
and a good stomach. We have though