Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1883-05-31


ing 1t with free rein. These gentle
: men wanted copies, too, and forthwith
they set the shop at work turning then
out by the dozen. In the testimon,
taken by the Senate committee which
investigated John Sherman's opera
tons in the Department, the desk fig
ures frequently. According to the rec
objection of the workmen in the Treas
ury Department shop, testifying with
extreme reluctance, and more disposed
to keep back the truth than to let il
out, fifty copies of the precious relic
were made, and were distributed chief:
ly among the Sherman crowd. Taking
up the book, which Sherman tried SO
hard to suppress, one will find some
thing about the matter almost any
where. For instance, on page 1926, Mr..
Frank r. Hessler being on the stand
and Senator Cockrell the examiner, the
testimony runs as follows:
| Q.-Do you know anything about those
Jefferson desks? Al made those, and l
made these for the Department by order of
the Department.
Q.-How many Of them did you make:
Al do not remember the exact number,
but l think must have made about ten; in
that neighborhood.
by whose order or direction? A
Some by Mr.. Pitney's orders and some by
the Assistant Secretary's orders.
Q.-What Assistant Secretary? A.-Judge
French.
On page 664, John F. Degges testifies
as follows:
Q.-Do you know anything about the JET |
ferson desks that were made in the cabinet |
shop-imitations? Ayes, sir.
Q.-How many Of them were made? Al
saw at one time, think, four or five; at |
another time four or five; but the exact num-
Der can't say. There might have been more |
and there might have been less.
Q.-Give the names of the mechanics who
made them. A.-James A. Degges made one
lot; Thomas IL. Paul made 4 lot of them.
On page $50, Frank r. Hessler testi-
fes:
Odd you send one of these desks to Mr..
Lamphere with your compliments" written
on a card attached to it? Ayes, sir, l
think did.
Q.-You sent one to Mr.. Lampher, and did
Mr.. Pitney send for one and get it? Al
presume he did.
Q.-Who sent one to Mayor Power? Did
Mayor Power send for it! A.-No, sir. I
think Mr.. Pitney sent for it, and sent it to
Mayor Power.
Q.-Were not three sent to Mr.. Upton?
Al cannot say.
Q.-Were there not six or eight sent to AS
sistant Secretary French? A.-There were
six made for Judge French, and he sent for
four at one time, for two at another time, or
two at a time.
The precious relic was scattered
around promiscuously, Judge French,
the Assistant Secretary of the Treas
nry. taking the lead in the business.
It is In evidence that one man would
make a single desk in about three
lays. The workmen were paid So a :
lay. The material was mahogany. .
The trimmings cost something. Then
;ame the dressing, vanishing, &c. So
Zach desk cost about SIS. The wit
hess said one man Knight" make desk
n three days. Each desk might have
'ost six days. work. The presumption
vas that way. If each desk cost no
more than SIS, the work for French,
Upton, Power, Lampher, Pitney & Co.
'ost the Government $3.50. It may
lave been twice that amount. What
'ver the sum was, it is certain that
french Il Go. had no more right or au-
hority to the desks than they had to
N equal number of the twenty-dollar
old pieces in the Treasury vault.
Upton, Power, Lampher, and Pitney 7
re out of office. Judge French is still j
he Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.
he is the Acting Secretary
f the Treasury. l.