Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-03-25
WASHINGTON GOSSIP.
WAR DEPARTMENT CROOKED
NESS TO BE SHOWN UP.
BIount and the Georgia Governor
ship-Mr. stephens and the Inde-
pendents = PhfIantbrOPIst Blair
and the GuanO Deal,

s WASHINGTON, March 23.-Secretary Lincoln
has removed from Office Mr.. H. 7. Crosby, the
sChief Clerk of the War Department Crosby
I has held that position for years and has always
managed heretofore to run the department.
sOf late years he has really been in fact the
Secretary of War. He so manipulated things
that all appointments made in the department
ghad to first receive his official sanction. In
efact, he ran the machine" Secretary Lincoln
sintended to remove him long ago, but the
shooting of Garfield and subsequent pressing
Ebusiness prevented it. 1t is understood to be
ssthe intention of Mr.. Lincoln to cause an ir-
svestigation to be made into CrosbY's methods. L
: he does there will be unearthed petty stealings
salongside Of which the Treasury pilferings will
sbe as naughu There has been under Crosby IS
( arrangement more crookedne IS in the War De-
apartment contracts than Pitney and the Treas
$ury ring ever dreamt of accomplishing. If
4Llncoln investigates, he will find how this
Ssteallng has been going on for years. The
sgreatsst opportunity for pickiugs was fur
8nlsned when. two years ago, the War Depart
&me mt wing OF the new department building was
ato De furnished. 1t has been fitted up in the
s most costly manner. Crosby manipulated all
: the contracts for furniture, and, as the phrase
&goes, had very good thing of it. The steal
51ngs OF the Treasury Department were, as
Stated above, very small compared with
sthe War Department public thefts
3under Crosby. There is only one other
department in Washington that can in any
<way approach the War Department under
<Crosby in the matter Of stealing. and that is
the Interior Department under Major" Lock
( wood, Chief Clerk. He will beat even Crosby
zThough they may be long delayed, there will
: be Investigations both of Crosby's manage
ment OF the War Department expenses and
aof Lockwood's management of the expenses
ff00 ont ROfh q pnlyi no
swith thievery.
GENERAL BLoUNT
Representative Blount, who has made as
sgood a record as anv man who ever came to-
AConPress for brilliant and hard work,
rs spoken OF very freely among Georgians
shere as the next Democratic candidate
ator Governor. General Blount has never said a
word on the subject to anyone as understand.
When broached the matter to him to-day he
ashut up like clam, and to continue very in
eresting conversation had to change the SUBJ
SJect. learn, however, from his friends that
she is daily in receipt of letters from people I'M
aGeorgia urging him to allow his name to bel
sused in connection with the Gubernatorial
anomination. As far as can get a. it he has
! never given such permission. Judging i'm
partially Of his record here and his standing inI
Sthe National Legislature would say that theI
Friends of no man could have better leaderl
shan grim, honest and brilliant Blount. / am:
mot putting Blount before the people. He andl
~ have never met more than al
ting paragraph and chronicing events.
INDEPENDENT TALK ABOUT MR.. STEPHENS.
There is considerable talk here among Re
spublicans-in Georgia politics that term isl
synonymous with MISREPRESENTATION Mr.
stephens and the Governorship. These people.
7say that, notwithstanding Mr.. Stephens an
snouncement, which he has repeated again ands
sagain, thew believe he would be candidate fors
sGoyernor if nominated. They talk that theys
awill nominate him, and that he will run on
oil 10 Ill IT,.
view Of the other declaration of Mr.. Stephens,
Democrat. it would seem that @4it6e the
Independents or Republicans, put it either
way you want to, are working upon pretty bar
sren soil. But the Georgia Independent, or Re-
spubican-which is the same-is nothing if notE
hopeful and at the same time boastful.
ANOTHER GOOD MAN GONE WRONG.
Shipherd, of the Peruvian Company who has
Acaused all the scandal about the attitude of thek
sUnited States in the South American business
shas before the committee investigating theses
smatters given away another good man" Hiss
kattorney was Senator Blair, of New Hamp-
fshlre. Blair was regularly in the employ of
EShiphefd with his Peruvian guano scheme
Blair advocated the claims of thel
sPeruvlan company before Blaine, thenl
Secretary of State. Blaine did
snot by any means turn a deaf ear. Collec
9tor Robertson, of New York, was also in thel
sscheme, according to the testimony of Ship 4
sherd. Robertson was and is Blsine's warme stE
champion It was for his services at ChicagoE
sthat Blaine had him made Collector at New
York This is little off the track but it servesE
sto bring in those who have so far been put inE
sthe mill by Shipherd. What wanted to say
twas something particular about Blair Thes
sropiDg OF him into the scheme Is another in
sstance of the old fact that it will not do to trust
"a man who is too good. Blair is somethingE
sof the man that Ferry was before he got hisI
sblack eye. He is Sunday school and church,
Senator. To judge from his course-hisE
spast public course-one would think thatE
Blair was a minister of the church.
He has figured principally at church reunions
Jas the orator on Sunday school occasions and
greatest of all as a temperance man. PeopleE
generally thought he was too utterly good fors
sanything, and now he turns up in the Shipherd
sguano business. 1t is simply to chronicle theE
sgoing wrong Of another supposed good man
PoToMAC