Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-01-07
BREwsrERs INVESTIGATION.
The OhRcials of the Department Pre-
tend Not to be Alarmed.


Corresponaenee Of he Morning Neacs.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 4.-Oficials of the
Department of Justice with whom have
talked about the forthcoming investiga-
ton of that department, express no fear
whatever of having things looked into by
Mr.. Springer's committee. They say, as
all against whom charges are made say,
''let the investigation proceed. There
will not be found a single instance where
money has been misappropriated. The
committee may find that there has been
what is called extravaganza in certain
cases, but as to criminality, they may
hunt till doomsday but viii find nome"
Attorney General Brewster, as might
be expected, says the same thing.
He says that he has all along expected to
be Investigated, and does not care how
soon the inquiry is instituted. This talk
applies only to the expenditures of the de-
partment. About the investigation which
will be made into the questionable methods
that the agents of the department have
pursued in getting up evidence, and in
their treatment of certain ex-Marshals
whom they wanted to get rid of, the De-
partment of Justice officials do not
care 10 bdlks 4utS6s uOW6NEls Will
be found to be the main
points in the forthcoming investigation.
There will be some scandal about the way
the Attorney General has employed the
contingent appropriation for his depart
ment in making his official rooms
things of beauty and joys forever.
THERE ARE NO ITEMIZED HEADS
under the contingent appropriation. The
disposition of the lump is left practically
and entirely in the hands of the Attorney
General In regard to the big fees paid
the attorneys i'll the star route cases
and the more than liberal if not eXtraor-
binary allowances for their ''eXpenses,"
a Department of Justice official to-day
told me why the Attorney General was so
willing to be investigated on those points.
He said that when President Arthur sue
ceeded Garfield, and Brewster succeeded
Wayne MacVeagh there was a cOnsulta-
ton about the star route cases generally
and the salaries and expenses Of the
special attorneys in particular. 1t was
found out that Wayne Mac eagh, with the
sanction of the late President. had made the
very liberal contracts with the special
counsel Arthur and Brewster, the lat
ter Of whom was a special counsel when
he came into the Cabinet, decided that 1t
was not for them to abrOgate or interfere
with contracts made by their predecessors,
who had started the star route trials.
This is another diaphanous explanation,
to say the least of it. The investigation
will probably be directed as much to the
methods of Mr.. Brewster and his agents
as to the cost of the star route and other
cases. There certainly are enough scam
dalOus stories which have been and are
being told to indicate fire in proportion to
the smoke. Men who regard themselves
as having been prosecuted by the depart
ment are already sending to MIR. Springer,
the Chairman of the Committee on EX-
penditures in the Department of Justice,
letters and charges. Mr.. Springer says
that if the things that have been written
him can be proved, they will show an al.
most incredible expose of the abuse Of
power, the reward of criminals and the
expenditure of the public money in the
pursuit of these ends. The investigation
will doubtless show a very peculiar and
discreditable state Of affairs under the
present administration of the Department
of Justice. l do not, think, however, that
the result will be as startling as the ma
jority of people think it will.
MIR. HORR, OF MICHIGAN,
has, it is understood, given up his idea of
having the Danville episode investigated.
A Republican member told me to-day that
he thought Horn intended his resolution
more for partisan buncOmbe than any
thing else, and that the prOmptness with
which the Democrats expressed willing
ness to have the subject fully ventilated
had so taken the fat little member from
Michigan aback that he would not
again attempt to have his resOlu-
ton passed. There is no doubt of
the fact that many Republicans do not
favor the project to investigate Danville.
Among them are some of the principal
leaders on that side. They take the view
that as the DanVille business was purely
State affair, it is for Virginia, and not
the Natioaal House OF Representatives, to
deal with.
THERE IS A CLAIM
of a rather interesting character which
will engage the attention of the Senate
Committee on Claims this session. 1t is
the claim Of M. G. Mordecai. This gen.
tleman had the contract for carrying the
United States mails from Charleston, S.
c., to Havana, Cuba, via Savannah and
Key West. This contract was given him
by the Postmaster General under a Con-
gressional appropriation in 1S4S. His
steamer the Isabel carrind the
mails between IHe pIaces mentioned from
June of that year to June 1859. He was
to receive $4,000 annually for this service,
except for the last five years, when the
contract called for 100000. Congress
failed in 1859 to make an appropriation for
the service. Mr.. Mordecai, however, upon
the petitions of the Board of Trade OfBos-
ton, New York, Baltimore, Charleston,
Savannah and Key West, consented to
continue the service, trusting to future
remuneration by Congress. He did so
from October 1, 1859, to July 20, 1860. He
asks to be paid for the service between
those dates at the rate of $50, 900 annually.
THE FRIENDS OF REPRESENTATIVE Ma
THAN GOFF.
of West Virginia, with headquarters in
Washington, are rying to inaugurate a
little boom for that gentleman. Mr.. COTS
father was a large slave owner. Mr.. Golf
served as a Union General in the late war.
He was United States District Attorney
for West Virginia when he was returned to
Congress at the last election. He had held
that place for a series Of terms. He was
for short time member of the Hayes
Cabinet, coming in at the tail end of that
administration when Thompson retired to
accept the Presidency of the American
branch of the DeLesseps Panama Canal
Company. While he was playing the high
old salt the District Attorneyship was
kept open for him. The boom that his
friends are working up for him is the
nomination for Vice President on the Re
Yt1bIioan fialr0t VhnV cav that CuPh haVn