The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-10-01
.. s. MARSHALS.
Arrangement by the Springer
Committee.
ILLEGAL AND SCANDALOUS ACTS
OF All Of Which the ''Ex- Marshal of
kentucky was Innocent and was
Rewarded by Promotion"
Arraignment Of U. S. Marshals.


WASHINGTON, September 30.-The
majority report of the Springer COM
nlittee on United States Marshals' ac-
counts is made public. 1t is signed by |
the Democratic members of the com
mittee and says: A stream never rises
above its source and so long as those |
who possess the power of appointing
these officers have no appreciation or !
the true dignity of the public service, |
and who regard offices only as re-
wards to be bestowed upon their
most INSCRIPTIONS political allies,
there is not much reason to hope for
any great improvement in the character
OF our appointed officers. The testl-
mony before the committee clearly
shows that utter ineficiency and criml-
nal practices have prevailed IN many
Darts of this branch of the public service
for MANY. years past, and that the gov
eminent has been a heavy loser thereby
There is a Sameness as also a variety IN
the testimony the investigation reveals
the wonderful unanlmlty Win Whl15
these officers of almost every grace aho
in several portions OF the country, nave
plundered the publIc treasury Dy Ialsti
fraudulent and fictitious charges ana yet
the VARIETY of ways and means by
which thew have worked their schemes,
is equally as curious, and shows that
they have taxed their ingenuity 10 the
utmost to find modes of accomplishing
the one unhallOwed purpose, getung
money to which they were not enUtIed.
They charged for arrests not made, LOT
travel not performed, for expenses not
incumbered and for guards not en-
ploved They knowingly rendered false
accounts against the government, ms
appropriated public funds, became de-
faulters to the government and to
courts, increased accounts IN the names
of fictitious persons, arrested, persons
upOn false charges, worked up by them
selves, extorted money from private
citizens and in ways without number
have swindled the government and OPP
pressed the people.
Numerous illegal acts are cited OF the
part of MarshalS in the Southern States,
I'm proof of the above charges and The
report calls special attention to the
practice of exhibiting the ingenuity OF
the officers in eyading the law ana the
shameful prostitution of the powers
ofT"their office for unworthy ends. FrIvo-
lous and veXatiouS prosecution nau
been so common, that an effort was
made to stop it, and an order was issued
should issue a warrant OF arrest IN
Internal Revenue cases without an am
davit from an Internal Revenue Ofhcer,
+bat ne had examined the case and that
a prosecution should be had. In order
to eyade this, deputy marshalS secured
appointments as revenue othcers1 SO as
10 be able to make the official affidavit
required. They then worked up cases
rs deputy marShalS, signed the at1daY-
Us as deputy collectors, and then served
the warrants as deputy marshals, IN this
way completely multiplying the order
made for the protection OF citizens. IL
would be difficult to devise schemes by
which the dearest rights OF citizens could
be more thoroughly trampled under
foot
Continuing, the report says: The
testimony shows that StilWell II. Rus
sell, as Marshal of the western district
of Texas, so managed the affairs of his
office that in about three years $4,000
of government funds passed through
his hands in such a mysterious
manner that it could not be &C
counted for; besides amounts il
legally taken from his deputies, and
which we cannot ascertain. This
marshal carried off the books belonging
10 his Office; Systematically Swindled
private citizens; and, according to the
testimony, wholesale forgery was COM
United in his Office for the purpose of
defrauding the government. Russell
was indicted, tried and convicted, and
Is now serving out his term OF sentence
IN the Southern Illinois penitentiary at
Chester.
Of John Hall, who was Marshal in the
western district of Pennsylvania, for
"a
he actually returned as having earned
during these nine years $50, 303; when,
III fact, he had really earned $1S6,961.
This spirit of speculation seemed at one
time about to reach up TO the examiners
OF the Department of Justice. 1--WE
may well agree" says the report, with
the chief examiner, in saying that the
abuses of the free system are not con-
lined TO any district or section of the
country, but are, with few notable eX-
ceptOns, so prevalent and so odiOuS,
that 1t Is not to be wondered at that
deputy narshals and deputy collectors
OF internal Revenue have been shot
down as II they were enemies to the
people. Such systematic schemes for
detrauding the public and harrassing the
peaceable citizens of the country, were,
OF course, without any possible
justification or excuse 1t does
seem that if those high in
position and having the appointing
power had made any reasonable effort
10 secure honest and capable men, they
would have met with better success. In
tact, it is hard TO understand how any
wise man, unless himself an expert in
these wicked practices and skilled in
discriminating between bad men, could
nave succeeded in selecting so many
GSreputable public officials. But the
very peculiar civil service rules adopted
IN the appointment and promotion OF
inns class of officials will doubtless ac-
count for some of the bad results"
The report here names several Off
Clals who were rewarded by promotion
VI otherwise, in spite of illegal acts, and
Gays: with this system for the selec
uoh and advancement of officials, it Is
not to be wondered at that the country
has been cursed with such, rumOr;
, nose least heinous crime was that O
P Fo plundering Probably the mos
innSrKable case in this way of reward
Dso characters was that of Judg