The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1882-03-30
Washington Letter.
From our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, D. c.,
March %, 1882.

WASHINGTON, u. u,
March %, 1882.
Since the report of the Senate in
ves:igatipg committee there are few
even among the party associates OF
Senator Sherman who longer accept
his denials and protestations of in.
uoccnce in connection with the Treas
| ury contingent fund while he was the
| head of that Department. Or the
| contrary, all the assertions which
we're calculated at least to dim the
brightness of bis official reputation.
turn out to be undisputed facts. The
stationery for the Sherman bureau was
supplied by contractors for the Treas
ury and was, by means Of false aDd
fraudulent bills and vouchers, paid out
of the public money. The rooms oc.
cupied by the bureau were fitted out
with eas-6xtures in the same way.
Draughtsmeu, tradesmen, and labo-
rers in the employment Of the Gov.
erument were engaged for part OF
their time in the private service OF
MIR. Sherman in and about his dwell.
ling house, stables. and other construc-
tions in which he Was personally in
terested, and these men we're paid,
not by himself, but by the Govern
ment. It is a rather lame excuse for
Mr.. Sherman to allege in his defense
that he Was not aware of these irregu.
larisies Such explanations are en-
tirely unsatisfactory. And the inc.
vitable impression left by perusal Of
the report OF the com mittee is, first,
that there is no proper system OF
checks by which fraud in the expen-
diture of the contingent funds of the
Departments can be prevented or dis.
covered and second, that, as rule,
the high officials of this Government
are not Influenced by that delicate
sense of personal honor aud honesty
which would keep their reputation
untarnished, so that even the breath
of calumny could not dim it. John
Sherman entered the service of the
Government several years ago poor
man. During greater part of the
time his salary has been but SIS, 900
per year, and he has lived in a style
costing lllly that much, yet today he
is worth probably two millions. Com
ment is unnecessary.
Everything is still in state of No.
certainty concerning the outcome of
the star route prosecutions, but good
many observant people begin to think
they smell mice. There is every now
and then fresh assertion on the part
Of the prosecutors that the cases are
to be pushed vigorously, but this has
ceased to deceive anybody. There is
not much faith in COL George Bliss,
the Presidents friend, now in charge
of the cases, and Notwithstanding the
fact that q few indictments we're
found, sometime ago, it is pretty
safe calculation that no harm will ever
come to Brady and Dorsey at the
hands of the present Administration.
Of course there must be q show of
doing something, and the cases may
actually be brought to trial, but that
will be the end of it. Nobody will
be hurt unless it is some Of the small
fry who were merely the tools and
who didn'tget u uuch of the swag. Glib
son, Cook, and all the original instru
ments under McVeagh who were
thoroughly in earnest, have been
frozen out Col. Cook was regarded
as the strongest practical attorney in
the case because of his ability aud
thorough familiarity with the criminal
law practice here, the average Wash
ington jury, and the procedure. But
be has been forced to retire, and the
ring are jabilant. How cheerfully
they now carry themselves may be
judged from the fact that Brady dimes
an Assistant Secretary of the Treas
ury and several Congressuen, and
ex-senator Dorsey blithely hies him
away to his rauges in New Mexico to
grow up with his cattle.
1t seems that the attcmpt to sup
press the items of expense incurred
for the Garfield funeral on the part Of
the House of Representatives has not
succeeded. Two reports, one 10
lump, another in items, are likely to
be the consequence. Claims have
been audited amounting to over sS,-
900, while bills to more than an equal
amount are unadjusted. One item of
expense is sl,700 for liquors, wines,
and lunches at Wormley's, $500 be-
ing for 'whiskey cocktails alone.
Twelve hundred gloves is another
item, and authenticated reports are in
circulation that the excursion was
more like an unlicensed pleasure par
ty than formal journey of respect to
the late President. Items for car
riage hire are numerous at extraordi-
nary rates, and it is indisputable that
members of Congress, participating as
mourners on the train, where whiskey
and champagne flowed freely, after
ward handed in iteuized bills of ex-
penses otherwise incurred. It was
most extraordinary fuoeral cortege. It
took the Sergeant.at-Arms two months
to gather the items, and such items
probably never we're before heard. Con.
gresham Page who thought the best
way to suppress scandal was to lump
the items and destroy the original bills
has found out his mistake by this