Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-09-27
OFFICIAL VANDALISM.

Robbed of the Effects Of Deceased SOL
diers.
Washington Special @ept. "a to Chicago
Times.
Robbing the dead upon the field of battle
has always been considered the lewest depth
of human crime. It seems Incredible that
any man could be found so lost to honor
and humanity. and more incredible still that
such men should be selected for and kept in
public Office. The most revolving among
many revelations of fraud and official
thisving has just come to the surface in the
treasury department.
It has been current for some time among
few clerks that damaging discovery had
been made, but most strenuous efforts have
been made to preserve secrecy until after the
campaign. The facts have been obtained
by the Times correspondent. In the Office
of the second auditor of the treasury is q
large safe. It stands in the chief clerks
room. In this safe, from time to time,
during the war, were placed valuabies of
dead union soldiers taken from bodies of the
slain on the battle fields of Gettysburg, An
teitam, or Bull Run, by comrades, members of
the Young Mems Christian association, and
of the sanitary commission. These valuables
consisted chiefly of gold and silver watches,
iewelry, and pocketbooks containing money,
bonds, etc., the estimated aggregate value of
which was between $4,000 and $4,000.
There were other packages whose money
value was little, but which, to the
relatives of the dead, would have been in
estimable. Some of the pocketbooks
and papers bore the marks of rebel lead, and
not few were stained with the blood Of the
now forgotten owners. Some of these pack
ages had names. by which they could be
identified as the property OF some particu-
lar dead. In most instances, however, the
here at all by the finders is due to the fact
that they, in the horrors of war and on the
battlefield, had more honesty than those who
were taking care of the spells at Washing
ton. Some came to the second auditors Of
fee direct; others through other branches of
the government, as the officer having proper
official charge of accounts and effects of the
dead. A private record, independent of what
is known as the "effects book was kept of
these accumulations, and they lay there al
most forgotten until short time ago. Du-
ing the entire period Mr.. E. B. French, now
deceased, was auditor, and various gentlemen
under him figured as chief clerks. The last
of these was c. F. Herring, Massachusetts
man and protege of Henry Wilson. Her
ring died last winter. A month before he
died he was carried backward and forward,
up and down stairs on the shoulders of his
clerks and messengers. Up to the hour of
his death he was evidently solicitous as to
the fixing up of his papers. A month after
his death an investigation showed that the
safe had been plundered of its entire con-
tents of accumulated bonds. money
jewelry and watches. Not dollar
remained. Some two hundred pooketbooks
were shoveied out on the floor, empty husks,
bIoodstained and tattered, every one repre-
sentative of a plundered dead Union SOL
der.
There was CONSERVATION in the little Cir
ole who were in the secret, and these swore
it should rest there. It was not until French
died in his turn and q new man succeed that
the private record came to light. When it
was compared with the contents of the safe,
of course the absence of the valuables be-
came known to other parties. An attempt
was then made to hush the matter up until
after the campaign, for fear of its effect up
on indignant friends of the dead. French
knew of it, and was most eager for its sup
preston, as the Irregularities of his bureau
were already as much as he could carry. 1t
is by no means certain that the late Mr.. Her
ring was the grave-robber, though now that
he is dead it will probably rest there. 9th
ers had access to the safe, among them q
clerk named Goodall, and another named
Wilson. The latter came in with Herring,
and, although mere boy, was promoted in
a short time to the highest grade clerkship
in the Office, presumably as the custodian of
this official secret. Secretary Sherman has
been quietly investigating the matter to as
certain the exact responsibility for the re-
voting robbery, but in 30 doing has contin-
ued the injunction of official secrecy.