The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1882-03-25
CALCIMINING SHERMAN

0 ate, submitted to that body last week, on tn
y result Of their investigation Of the thieverie
perpetrated under John Sherman upon tn
; contingent fund of the L. :. Treasury, OveI
\ lays anything in the line of clean cut hume
0 that has appeared IN print IN America in dc
! cade. The committee, it will be remembered
5 was appointed at the instance of Sherman
, himself, and was so constituted rs to insure
whtewashing report in his favor Five re
} publiCans and two democrats were placed upoi
it, but care was taken that all should be per
: sonal friends of Sherman To make assurance
doubly sure, the committee sat with CLOSED
doors, so that no damaging evidence should
get into the newspapers In advance and fore
stall the meditated calcImin,ng. In this way
the investigation went on for month or two
the chief witnesses being employees Of tht
treasury department most of whom had beer
indebted to Sherman himself tor their posi-
tons The testimony taken was voluminous
rs Is evidenced by the voluminOusness of the
report, which prctends TO give but very briel
abstract of it. But that abstract and the com
ments accompanying 1t, Is curiosity. 1t is
not only curious in its dOublefaced make up,
but in its broadly cOmical features 1t is said
to be indebted for this duplex ludlcrous char
acter to the following circumstances: Careful
as the committee had been in the selection Of
Its witnesses, 1t was impossible to keep back
the main facts brought out by the Meline com
pIn Tod Oh
had so fully ventilated at the time, and most
Of which the present witnesses strongly con.
frmed. Now the only democrat who acted
with the committee was Senator Cockrell OF
washing scheme was felt TO depend on unani-
nous report IN Sherman's favor: but though
personally friendly to Sherman, Senator Cock.
rell would only consent to sign the report on
condition that the facts brought out by the
Meline investigation and now confirmed,
should be markedly" mentioned in the report,
and to this the committee were obliged to as
sent These facts are briefly as follows;
L. That the writing paper and envelopes
which Shermans campaign committee in
Washington used IN 1880 to work up boom
in his favor for the nomination Of the Chicago
convention, were paid for out of the public
treasury, to the amount Of 1902, charged as
paid for "filc holders"
9. That sugar, lemons, and other materials
used IN the preparation of beverages for the
rejection of Honest John Sherman's visitors,
as we'll a. campaign committee during the
canvass of 1880, were charged on the treasury
books as gas and candles"
s. That "volet water" used to impart ele-
gance to Honest Johns toilet during the can.
vass OF 1880 was paid tor out OF the contin-
gent fund as tor friction matches.
A. That evergreens and flowers used to give
vernal aspect to Sherman's canvass IN 1880
we're paid for out OF the contingent fund and
charged as lice"
| ). That gas fixtures were put into Sherman's
houses In Washington to the amount OF $40
and charged to the treasury as "repairs."
g. That $4l.75 were paid for repairing Sher.
mans private carriage out OF the contingent
fund.
T. That $3.50 were paid for Rockaway for
Sherman's private use and charged to the
treasury as zone wagon"
| g. That &l4l were spent in buying sleigh
bells Tor Sherman and charged to the contin-
gent fund as paid for Large office wagon"
o. That $3.50 were charged as paid for an
express wagon nut really for buggy for Sher-
man.
10. That at least halt dozen of cabinet
makers and carpenters In the pay of the trcasu-
ry department worked. some for weeks and
some for months at time, on John Sherman
houses, getting no other pay than what they
drew from the treasury, and that John Nier'
nesc, an architect and draugh,sman, getting a
liberal salary from the government, was en-
gagged over year IN drawing plans for and
experimenting the erection of buildings in
Washington for John Sherman.
The humor-the positively excruciating'
fun--of the report comes In when the commit.
tee, after detailing these damaging facts, which
embodied indeed all that the eigh, weeks
work Of the committee elected, proceed sol
EMMY to put John Sherman upon the stand
and make HIM admit that all these, and by
implication many more, steals were made IN
his behalf, but that the stealing was done by
his factotum Pitney, himself a shameless
fraud on the treasury. for he did work for John
Sherman alone while receiving big salary as
an officer of the treasury unknown to the law
and that he. confidng, unsuspicious, honest
John, never knew thing about it! Indeed
when the facts were first thought Ia iighf ~
the Meline investigation, he was absolutely
shocked! and reproved Pitney, and directed
him to pay some of the stolen money back
into the treasury!
And thereupon the committee unanimous
iy" unite in pronouncing "Honcst john in
nocent Of all wrong IN the matter, and plaster