Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-07-09
The Report

bonds by forging powers of attorney for their
collection, the forgers in many cases having
confederates in the treasury. Besides this.
treasury employees, who had means of know
ing to whom this interest was due, had con-
federates outside who went to the owners and
told them-the existence of the claim being
forgotten or in some way overlooked or un-
known-that they knew where there was
money due them, and could procure it, but
must have half for their services. This ex
tortion was made practicable by the treasury
taking no steps to notify the owners of the
failure to collect, and keeping the whole mat
ter profound secret. Geo. Sharp Jenkins.
the man who seems to have been most large
ly engaged in these extortions, was warned
of his approaching arrest by some one in the
secret and fled the country; but not till
package containing $500 thus obtained and
addressed to him by the wife of the clerk in
the first auditors office who had furnished
the information, had fallen into the hands of
Maj. William r. Moore, who detected the
operations. When Maj. Moore asked the de-
tail of an operative from the secret service to
help this detection, 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 misconduct in the army, and who seems
to have played the spy, and done all he could
to shield the parties concerned.
FRAUDULENT COLLECTION OF INTEREST.
This Inquiry, however, which seemed to be
desired by all treasury authorities, while it
related to extortion, had a very different fate
when it reached the forgeries. At the same
time that the package of $500 fell into Su-
pervising Agent Moore's hands, package
was also found addressed to the wife of the
interest teller of the tleasurer's Office, con-
tanning valuable silk dress attern. This
was kept by the teller, G. l.. Jones, till he
learned that one of Moore's assistants had
inquired about it, when he returned it to the
sender, III. M. Williams, formerly deputy
collector of customs at New York, who had
lately been indicted for completely in the
Lawrence" frauds on the revenue, and who
was soon after detected in fraudulently col
Letting unclaimed interest from the govern
ment by forging powers of an attorney. III
three cases it was ascertained that A. u. Wy
man, treasurer of the United States, bad
learned of these frauds, and instead of ex-
posing Williams and 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 attorney was
drawn in favor of Interest Teller Jones, Who
in paying the many sums collected by Will
liams, drew the check, in violation of regu-
lations, in favor of the claimant, and gave
Williams other privileges. Treasurer Wyman
knew of Williams frauds before Moore
found the package addressed to Mrs. Jones :;
but while he urged the investigation of the
extortion by outsiders, he let Moore know
naught of these forgeries, though Moore in
formed him of the finding of the Jones
package.
s1NECUREs, APPOINTMENTS AND D1sM1ssA1s
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 roll several
months, receiving several hundred dollars,
without rendering any service to the govern
nlent. He was sent by Assistant Secretary
Conant to Bluford Wilson, at Cincinnati, to
help capture the convention for Bristow.
A system of theft, which had gone on for
years, was detected at Norfolk in 1877 by
Major Moore, special agent. Instead of turn
ing into the treasury duties collected from
LAOAOAAoAto vi SOOuSy Uu0 COll0CGOT Oh GUS
toms and other officials stole the money and
omitted to enter it on the books. While
Moore was engaged in exposing these frauds
he was suddenly dismissed from the service,
and the matter was put into the hands of
Aver and Chamberlain, the special agents
whose neglect to examine tho books had
made these frauds easy.
L. E. Cannon of the supervisingE archi-
toctsc of1ico Woo dofoofod II, AT
ings with contractors, whose accounts he ex-
amined and passed on. He admitted his
guilt, but was neither punished nor dismiss
ed. After some time he resigned and was
given some two months leave of absence
with pay. He has since been allowed to prac-
tice before the architects Office where
he committed these wrongs, as claim
agent and representative of contractors.
THE HOT SPRINGS APPROPRIATION.
When the page of the sundry civil appro-
priation bill containing the Hot Springs ap-
preparation disappeared from the bill last
year, Chief James j. Brooks, of the secret
service, employed Thomas A. Britt to obtain
proof that the missing sheet was stolen by
Senator Conover, of Florida, out Of spite
to ex-Gov. Stearns, one of the Hot Springs
commissioners, whose pay depended on the
appropriation. Assistant Chief Simon B.
Benson soon took direction of the inquiry,
and purpose was revealed to make up q
case against Conover that would either force
him to vote to seat D. L. Corbin in place of
Senator Butler, of South Carolina, or re-
move him from the Senate by prosecution
and conviction in time to prevent his voting.
The report states that the secret service
appears to have been used largely for black
mailing purposes and persecution of pri-
vate individuals, and that men are employed
in it without any test of qualification, pro-
vided they have what seems to be informa-
ton ag iinst persons; and that persons of
character and reputation who have felt the
force of its methods have as rule declined
to put their grievances before the committee,
preferring rather to suffer in silence than to
encounter the plots they felt sure would fol-
low their complaints. Solicitor Rayner
testified: 'sWithin eight months know of
eight or ten private gentlemen, who have
violated no law, whose names have been en-
tered there, and. they have been reported on
in the most terrible way
WHOLESALE ROBBERY.
In 1862 Congress provided for treasury
special agents collecting captured and aban-
doned property at the South, and for turning
into the treasury the proceeds of such prop
erty, to be returned to the owners on proof
before the court of claims of ownership and
freedom from completely with the rebellion.
Under this act LIE, 900 bales of cotton were
collected and sold, the proceeds being, as
nearly as could be ascertained, $3.50, SOC, 900.