The daily gazette., 1882-06-26


them the Amphitrite, lying in the yards of
the Harlan & Hollingsworth Company in
this city. The S,@a says editorially:
Here is the amazing story, dsentangled
from red tape, of the five double-turreted
monitors which now defend the yards of
four patriot firms Of shipbuilders, friends of
Secor Robeson and the American flag. When
the civil war was over the government had
on hand, among other more or less valuable
iron-clads, these ships which had cost as
| follows ~
Puritan ,974 622
Monadnock ......................... 98l .439
Amphitrlte ..!.........''..''........ l,loo,323
IeffOf. l,Olo,Ul
Miantonomoh. ......................... l,3lO,T73
Total. SO, ,42s, ,22s
| There was in 1874 Secretary of the Navy,
Robeson, by name, in whose eyes the
| S6,500000 represented no value what
over, since he had no share in the expendi-
| ture. The five monitors had all been built
before Robeson's time. None of the con-
| struction money had passed through his
| fingers. He therefore went to work to build
| the five monitors over again. For the pro
lection Of the treasury against any thief who
| may happen to be Secretary of the Navy,
the law forbids that officer to contract for
the construction of vessels -of-war without
| specific and explicit authority from Con-
1
lowed to order repairs for vessels already
in existence that extent of discretion
seemed legitimate and necessary Robeson
set about ''repairing" the ironclads. AS
preliminary measure he had them condemned
and knocked to pieces-every part of them
demolished but their names.
That was Robeson's method of repairing,
and the method was original with himself.
| He discarded the material parts which had
ls fVf,r tfat.
and intangible part, the names, which had
cost nothing. On and around the naked
names he proceeded to erect new vessels,
charging the cost TO the repair account on
his books. 3' "
Four Of the FIVE monitors were therefore
broken up and sold for old junk. Each
monitor was sold to a shipbuilder, con-
tractor, friend and confederate of Robe
sons, one OF the ring with and through
Robeson. In each instance the party buy
ing the old monitor was the party who had
arranged with Robeson to build the new
monitor of the same name. In each in
stance the sale of the monitor for old junk
was made not only in violation of law, but
in open, fragrant, corrupt violation Of several
laws. Now, here are the sums which the
costly ships fetched as old Junk, set against
the sums which they had cost the govern
ment
The Puritan, which cost the government
81 ,9f4 ,622, was sold 10 John Roach for
S43 1923.
The Amphitrite, which cost 81, ,156, 1923,
was sold to the Harlan q Hollingsworth
Company, for S28, 1882.
The Terror, which cost 81 ,O16,071, was
sold to w. Gramp IL Sons for S32,345
The Miantonomoh, which cost 81. .3l0 ,773,
was sold to John Roach for S27 1884.
The four ships, total cost to the govern
ment $5,475,7 ,7s9, brought as old junk
Sl32, ,439.
But from the proceeds of the sale of old
iron and old hulks must also be deducted
the cost of demolition. In the case of the
Miantonomoh the work of destruction cost
S24 ,667, so that the government received
81, SIT net for this 81 100000 ship turned
over by Robson to John Roach, On the
four monitors, the cost of destruction
amounted to $50 ,626, Here were four ships,
government property, costing S5457 ,7S9,
sold out by Robeson to Robeson's friends for
S7S ,S13. Not one cent even Of that sum was
paid in cash to the government by Robeson' s
contractors. 1t was paid for in work and
material on new ships illegally contracted
for at exorbitant prices.
Il Now, notice how in this monstrously cor
rupt proceeding the law was detied at every
, turn In the legal disposition of government
material the following checks to dishonesty
are interposed The property to be sold is
, appraised by competent authorities it is
then condemned by board of naval officers
p the sale is then advertised IN leading news
papers in at least four principal cities OF the
United States; the material finally is sold al
public sale, in open competition, to the
, highest bidder. The Secretary is also re-
i uuired to report his acts to Congress, to
! cover the proceeds of such sales in the
treasury, and not to expend these proceeds
without subsequent appropriation by Con.
/ gress. Robeson jumped all these laws
The Puritan, Amphitrite, Terror and Milan.
/ tonomoh were not appraised no board oi
, Condemnation declared any of them unfit
for further service they were never con.
' demned the sales were not advertised
/ there was no public sale, no competition
the material was disposed of to the several
: contractors at private sale, at the pur-
n chasers' own terms.
Nobody knew that S5, ,457, ,7S9 worth OF
n | government ironclads were to besold for old
| Junk except Secor Robeson, who ordered the
sale, Isaiah Hanscom, who sold, and John
Roach, Harlan " Hollingsworth, and W
Gramp & Sons, who bought. No report
Q was made to Congress of the sale; the pro.
ceeds were not covered into the treasury.
The proceeds were applied to new contracts
without any appropriation by Congress
: Never was the law deied In SO many various
a ways in one brigand transaction. But this
a was only preparatory. All the illegality and
, dishonesty in the destruction of the old
monitors was nothing but the preface tc
= greater dishonesty and more audacious dis,
q obedience of law in the construction OF the
- new monitors. The old ships are out of the
! way. Nothing is left of them but theii
a names, Let us see how Robeson's system
\ of "repairs' worked in the shipyards of his
: friends.
We will follow the history of the Puritan,
the largest and costliest of the five ironelads
= The principle is the same in regard to al
r. the ships, although in the case of the Mon
a adnork there was some color of legality il
: the ORIGINAL contract. The Puritan is thu
: masterpiece of Robson and Roach. II
II should be understood that the old Puritan
Il condemned by Seeor Robes0n and cut up BY
John Roach, might have been made an et
n feetiye vessel at comparatively small eX
, pense, A respectable and responsible
+ BROOKLYN builder offered in December, 1873
to put the ship in complete order for service
hull, machinery and all, for 1855, 900 and thu
old material. That proposal did not sui
the plans of the ring. About a year late
y john Roach, unsolicited, wrote to lsaial
II Hanscom. chief of the bureau of construc
d ton and repair, offering to put up the fram'
o. of new vessel to be known as the Puritan
q for 81 SIS. 600 and three ton of government
& scrap iron for every ton of new iron used il
70 the work. Nine days after the receipt o
this extraordinary proposal Hanscom ac
cepted il. -Four months later Hanscom, un