The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1883-05-13

WASHINGTON, May H. Before tho adjourn
,,on, Of Congress the Secretary Of War wrote q
s,,af and sharp letter to Gen. HRxen. Chief of
,sa s,enn, Service. Secretary Lincoln informed
,h,, officer that II he did not nsk for court OF
,rouiry on tho charges made By Mr.. Boltz-
hnoyer IN tho House OF Representatives tho
,.,.,,,,nt would order court without regard
70 his wishes
voyp than two months havc passed since that
,.r,ool ANA putlic notice was eivon. and got no
,,,ou has been taken to mako 1t effective.
ria friends OF den. Haz0n have openly boosted
',a, the court would not b ordered. This fail.
az. to redoom an ofnciAl pledge. which was
M, hastily made. leaves Mr.. Lincoln in an
awkward position. and gives Gen. Hassn tri-
omph over his superior that Is domornlizing to
'lr service. and damaging to the hcad Of the
War Department.
II was Gen. Hnzen's duty In tho first instance,
,rer tho publication Of Mr. Beltxhoovsr's
,naech. TO ask ct once for an inquiry. according
n tho prescribed military method. Instead Of
nursuing tho usual course. he proposed that
Inc Secretary OF War should procure commit
toe Of the Senate to investigate charges that
nsd been made In the House OF Representa-
twas. When the absurdlty Of this proposition
vss exposed by the Secretary OF War. Con. Ha-
zen substantially renewed 1t. without appa-
ronty compromising its improperly.
At that point Mr.. Lincoln Informed him OF
Tho alternative already stated. Con. Hazen
obstinstely refused to ask . court. and the
President has not redeemed Mr.. Linooln's
promise. Thore the case stands to-day. with
Hren, on the one hand. complscently pocket
ipp charges affecting his professional reputa-
lion and with Lincoln on the other. seemingly
q tne xaS A.
confront those charges.
Meantime. Howgate is free and mocks at tho
law. All his subordinates. with single excep-
tion are enjoying the luxurics Of ofIlceholding.
After the controversy with Mr.. Beltzhoover.
Con. Hazen dismissed James NJ. Winner. one Of
bis clerks. who had held tho closest relations
vouchers for hundreds Of thousands Of dollars.
all OF which passed muster ut tho Treasury
without question.
Tho riotous and extravagant life OF HowGate
was known all over Washington. Public OFF,
GERS in different departments wore recipients
Of his reckless hospitality and companions in
bis orgies. He had no private property when
appointed to the Signal ONCE. He was de-
pendent on his pny for the support Of his
family. He became the purchaser OF valuable
real estate. no maintained costly yacht. aud
ao il,idlgod In pleasures requiring large ex-
nall,ure Of money. All these facts may be
SAID To nave been duly advertised in the news
pipers Of Washington. and yet the accounting
nllrrr. pf tho Treasury passed without chal.
Ien:o liowgate's fraudulent vouchers. which
we're manufactured to meet his own necessities
u To serve the wants OF friends.
il QUO sense 1t is n mystery how this robbery
.ju.d have been carried on successfully fol
several years. 1t was not possible without col
fusion On o largo scale. But there is still 9
greater cause for surprise. Howgate stole near.
~ quarter Of q million inside Of two years
The exact figures arc not even yet known with
certainty. And Hnzen had tho effrontery &c
ask Congress for an increase Of appropriations
The bottom facts about this Signal Service
business have not been reached. They viii
never 10 known without an investigation. di
rected by II committee which can have no mo-
tive for concenment.. Mr.. Winner 10 now out
Of Office. and no can be made to upravel THU
tangled skein of robbery and collusi0A.