The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1885-06-07
uNEARrH1NG THE FRAUDS.

AS the new administration is familiar
izing itself with the government and the
new officials are digging down into the
work spread before them, they are find
ing that, everything was not leftin the
shipshape order that was protested and
boasted by their predecessors. Every
few days foul spot is dug into and un-
covered. The latest exposure Is OF the
Agricultural Bureau, which under the
management of the late Commissioner
Loring, seems to have been branch OF
the public service given up en-
tirely to incompetency, ignorance
and dishonesty. A correspondent
of the philadelphia Times has
learned of some of the investigations
and in his paper he tells of few OF the
discoveries that have been made. A
few weeks ago, when it was limited that
the Bureau covered fraud and crooked
ness. the cry of "lies" was given back,
but now that the department has been
found to be rotten through and through,
there is either discreet silence on the
part of the guilty, or a charging OF
the blame against others. The appror
priations have been about 100000
year. and the controlling idea OF Lorlng
seems to have been to spend this money
either dishonesty or foolishly. The
seed appropriation for last year was
squandered with little or nothing to
show for it; the same can be said
of the sorghum appropriation, thous-
ands after thousands being spen
on criminally ignorant experiments re-
curing costly machinery which even
the experts did not know how to use.
Charlatanry was called science and
paid for at high rate. In this one
branch million has been spent. and
there is absolutely nothing that is val
liable as a result. The correspondent
learns that a score of dead-heads have
been carried on the pay-rolls, SEINE of
them for years-men who made no pre-
tense of doing anything to earn the
money which they drew regularly.
When it became known that Mr.. Cleve
land was elected President. Commits
sioner Loring and his subordinates in
crookedness put into operation scheme
which they hoped would enable
them to hold on to their places.
Friends of influential Democrats
were put on the pay-rolls and
regularly paid without any service
being rendered, and when it was found
that this dishonest dodge would not
work, those in the scheme complained
that Senators, Representatives and
other prominent persons whose relatives
and friends had been helped into the
Treasury, did net keep faith with the
corruptionists and help the Loring gang
to hold on. Now the conspirators are
falling out and accusing each other, and
LOring is charging his underlings with
ignorance. neglect and incompetency,
while they are firing back that he knew
what was going on all the time, his own
fingers being as deep in the pie as
theirs.
AZ the outset the new Commissioner
finds himself crippled for want of
means. the appropriations having
been wrecked, and he is also under the
necessity of completely reorganizir.g
the Bureau. Coleman is an honest
man, and being a capable one as well,
besides knowing something of his duties,
it is probable that he will be able to ele-
vate the Department of Agriculture to
the position that it should occupy, and
return to the nation full value fer the
money that the Bureau costs.