The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1879-07-24
The RepSrt.

committee-from which we abstrac
the following salient features: go
The Report. ie=,
The following is the substance OF the
report in detail: ~ * soS;
Thousands of dollars, the total no
being ascertainable without much
longer investigation, we're found tG
have been obtained from the treasury
rs interest on registered bonds by
forging powers of attorney for theil
collection, the forgers in many cases
having confederates in the treasury.
Besides thia, treasury employees, who
had means of knowing to whom this
interest was due, had confederates out
side who went to the owners and told
them-the existence of the claim being
forgotten or in some way overlooked
or unknown-that they knew where
there was money due them, and could
procure it, but must have half for
their services. This extortion was
made practicable by the treasury tax
ing no steps to notify the owners OF
the fallure.to collect, aud keeping the
| whole matter a profound secret. Geo.
Sharp Jenkins, the man who seems to
have been most largely engaged In
these extortions, was warned of his
approaching arrest by some one in the
secret and fed the country !; bnt not
till package containing $500 thus OBJ
tained and addressed TO him by the
vile of the clerk in the first auditors
office who had furnished the informa-
tion, had fallen into the hands of Ma
jor William X. Moore, who. detected
the operations. When Maj. Moore
asked the detail of an operative from
the secret service to help this detec-
ton, one Maxwell was detailed, who
had been appointed in reward for
party services in 1876, who afterward
received an appointment in the army
for the same cause, who has since been
sent to the penitentiary for miscon-
duct in the army, and who seems to
haye played the spy, and done all he
could to shield the parties concerned.
FRAUDULENT COLLECTION OF INTEREST.
This inquiry, however, which SEEM
ed to be desired by all treasury author
ties, while it related to extortion, had
very different fate wnen it reached
the forgeries. At the same time that
the package of $500 fell into Super.
vising Agent Moore's hands, package
was also found addressed to the wife
of the interest teller of the treasurer's'
Office, containing a valuable silk dress
pattern. This was kept by the teller,
e. L. Jones, till be learned that one of
MOOre's assistants had inquired about
it, when he returned it to the sender,
ii. M. Williams, formerly deputy col
iector of customs at New York, who
had lately been indicted for completely
in the Lawrence frauds on the reve.
nue., and who was soon after detected
in traudulently collecting unclaimed
interest from the government by forg-
ing powers of attorney. In three
cases it was ascertained that A. u.
Wyman, treasurer of the United
States, had learned of these frauds,
and instead of exposing Williams aud
having him punished, had compelled
him to refund the money, and then
surrendered to him the forged papers
that would have convicted him. One
of these three forged powers Of attor-
ney was drawn in favor of Interest
Teller Jones, who, in paying the many
sums collected by Williams, drew the
check, in violation of regulations, in
favor of the claimant, and gave Will
liams other privileges. Treasurer Wy
man knew of Williams frands before
Moore found the package addressed
to Mrs. Jones but while he urged the
Investigation of the .extortion by out.
siders,, he let Moore know naught OF
these forgeries, though Moore inform
ed him ofthe finding of the Jones
package. j. " ii!s fNises
APPOINTMENTS AND Dis
MISsALs. 5a{ I'D
Jasper w. johnson, of Oregon, sec
cetary of the Liberal Republican Ma
tional Committee, was appointed in
l87 6 as inspector of customs and kept
on the pay roll several months, receiv-
ing several hundred dollars, without
any service to the govern
ment. He was sent by Assistant Sec
retary Conant to Bluford Wilson, at
to help capture the conven.
lion for Rristow. tf,ag
A system of theft, which had gone
On for years, was etected at Norfolk
IN 1877 by Major Moore, special agent.
Instead of turning into the treasury
duties collected from merchants on
goods, the collector of customs and
other officials stole the money and /
neglected to enter 1t on the books.
While Moore was engaged in exposing
these frauds he was suddenly dis
missed from the sci vice, and the mat
ter was put into the hands of Aver
and Chamberlain, the special agents
whose neglect to examine the books /
had made these frauds easy.
L. E. Cannon of the supervising
architects Office was detected in GRIM
NAL dealings with contractors, whose
accounts he examined and passed Oh.
He admitted his guilt, but was neither
punished or dismissed. After come
lime he resigned aud was given some
.wo months leave of absence with
practice before the architect Office
where he committed these wrongs, az