Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-07-17
THIEVES N WASHINGTON.
RorTENNESS AaoyG OFFICIALS.
The Suspicious Relations OF Government
Ofieials to Absconders AID Broken Bank
eYs-How Poor Clerks Live uigh.

| JtmtS says: Lewis. tho abseonding broker.
dealt IN Invisible oil and promised fabulous
profits; The Middlcions tut up the sign OF
bankers and a "direct wire" TO Wall
street. and Golcorda took tho money OF
| conliding depositor3 and put IL into bot
| lOlpless specHlaions. received the sccuri-
| hes OF trusting men and women. and Il IS
sll1 put ITEM where no one eau find them.
| 1he cliir! oI The oiddletons graduated
| from TIE cash-room oi the Treasury De-
partment. Whether What lie practiced as
a barker was learned there or was an after
| growth Is an open question perhaps. As
| vet there Is no certain evidence that the
| Treasury cash-roOm Is a school OF fraud,
though many good men declare that they
| are certain OF nothing. Rascaities IN the
business world in Washington almost IN
| eyitably reach into the public service and
| IN some way involve officials.
While the blood from wounds inflicted
| by the Middietons was yet flowing Squers,
| another operator with the sign of banker.
| collapsed. Squlers sought. and 20 q con-
siderable extent obtained, deposits. Some
what after the fashion OF the magnificent
| Lovis's fabulous profits in invisible oil. b.
| promised six per cent. interest thereon.
| Squiefs was friend to officers OF the army
| and navy and cashed their accounts az un-
| known rates. He also kindly lent money
] to department clerks at Giving rates"
! The public is not aware yet how extensive
| ly he got hold Of TIE tripiicate ply accounts
| Of army officers rs Batcman did. Future
military courts may show that. To give
| six per cent. to deposl,Ors. pay rent aad
| other expenses, and keep ones head as
high as bankers generally do. SqIiers must
| have cashcd pay accounts. which was his
| nTlnpin1l ~ hIpA1
Squiers borrowed money from COmnis-
sioncr Edmonds, who had safe in the
| bankers bank, which circumstance. saving
nothing Of what Squiers represented.
| raised the presumption Of partnership or
| JOINT liability il some way-a question
which apparently the law must decide.
| People got the idea that a commissioner
| who had the management OF the extensive
! affairs Of the District Of Columbia, en-
| bracing many millions and receiving his
| appointment direct from the President OF
| the United States, was a good partner, and
| that there must DC responsibility where he
| was.
According to Commissioner Edmonds
now he was no partner, whatever others
may have said or thought. He only Ind
money there TO loan to SVIlcrs at 10 per
| cent interest, wEcrewith the per cent.
| interest on deposits was paid and pay ac-
counts Of army officers cIsheG. The law
| Las got hold OF the matter.
WHERE THE MONEY WENT.
Deudcd victims, now that they low
that SQuieIs borrowed money OF Edmonds
at ten per cent. 10 paw them their six per
cent. interest. are divided IN their minds
with their own stupidity and how Squiors
| could have s.Ood it so long, Curiosity to
know what thearmy and navy officers paid
SquicrS on the advances lie Glalr 20 them
| for the moment dlYcrtS the attention oi his
victims from their own mi-iortuncs.
Department clerks were among Squicrs'S
! customers. Some OK them were victims Of
| the magnificent Lcyis'S invisible oil sp,cu-
| ll,ionS. Salaries cashed ia advance Afforded
| the means in some instances for getting
share in the fabulous profits promised by
| Lewis. The failing banks the magnificent
| LCvIs. with his invisible oil, were an in the
same atmosphere As the depredaiing Off
! cIals, and il was only Burnside. 20 ilr - &,
| yet known. who sole out and ont the
| money to speculate with. Burnside had
| better opportunities than many. but no
| better than some others. The Returns are
not I'll in.
BuInsido's second arrest for robbi1y
! the contingent fund Oi the General pos
oll,cc is full Of interesting suggestions, o.
curing. - il DID, az the instant of the a.
rest oi 4 number ~ other officials for r0'-
bing thc contingent fund of the Navy Do
partmcnt aud The 81, ,O90 deficiency in Tn,
accounts oi the lItc disbur>ng clcT!, oi ta.
State Department.
TIE CONTINGENT FUNDS.
Il has fora long time been the conviction
oi dispassona,c observers situated 80 rs q
have intelligent opinions that the depart
mcni contingent funds were being c0atina-
aliy prCy6d upon and TINT tie publ, se,-
vice Was houcycombed with corruption.
Secretary Chandler is al last convinced .
that The contingent fund Of the Navy D. /
partmCnt has been spoliated 10y employees n
responsible positions. He does not know
the extent OF the robbery, hut as it ms /
been going on three years it must be ca-
siderable.
Some time ago an impertiuent detective F.
gave the warning, and was told 20 mind
his own business and the Government .
would DO the same. Later the detective
offered TO prove that fraud h1d been com .
mit,ed and ty whom. Agnln ne was re- /
bufIed. lie sand, Give me twcnty-ioLr .
hours Of access 10 certain places without I
interference and viii either convince you /
the tine Secretary Chandler wa, convinced .
and arrests were made. The particular '
stealing was not recent Transaction. and .
sOsic Of the thieves are still ia Office. What .
is suggestive il that the department when ,
first warned made an examination al the /
precise spot where il was said the stealing .
was done. and then went 10 sleep over thc |
report that il was false alarm. and that |
everything was right.
Chronic disbelief that anything can De /
wrong, and a settled conviction that every 1
thing must be right, j. q department trait .
which nothing but the cold arithmetic )l
amounts actually stolen can shake.
BURSsrDE's sTEAESGs.
The arrest Of Burnside was for stealing
from the Post Office Department contingent
fund. Of which hehad the lingering. lie
stole iorty-odd thousand dollars cash drawn
from the Treasury to pay employees. As
custodian he stole more than ~ much more
from the contingent fund in different sums
md at various times. His accounts as dis
bursing clerk were never squared and sell
dom looked into, and no thought was taken
about what he might be up TO with his
fingers in the contingent fund. Further
returns are awaited.
To-day we have the. proof OF frauds on
the contingent fund III two departments
and irregularities in another. Il is not only
n perfectly proper question, "now Is it
with the contingent fund OF other depart.
mentsS" but present Developments render
II unavoidable.
When Postmastor-G General Gresham's a.
tcntion was first drawn TO Burnside's spec
uIations with Lewis, be asked him, " How
can you speculate on your salarX?" Bnrn-
side nod re idy lie III bis mouth, d" have
private means and so has my WIFE," The
question, How can clerks live beyond their
salaries and acquire property continually!
is so old that ii has become almost mean
ingless. II is not 4 single case. There are
hundreds OF them. Possibly recent expe.
rience may give the question something
like It's proper force,
1! is the small timbers which first give
way. The parting Of the fibres Is sure
sign Of the cables rottenness. \ ship.
rated staunch and sound, lately developed
a leak. In searching for il a worm.elten
plank was found. In repairing that the
ship itself was found to be unseaworthy,
so Seathiy had the insidious worms eaten
into the planks.
TIE COvERING-UP POLICY.
The departments are worked on the set
tied policy OF letting no unpleasant fact be
known. II is fixed rule TO turn deaf
eaTstO warnings Only recently Treasury |