The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1885-03-21
The Expensive Junketings of
Government Officers.
A COLD BLAST FROM VAN WICK
A Lively Shaking Up in the Senate
Chamber-LOud Argument in
Favor of Reform.
The Senate.

WASHINGTON, March 20.-The resolu-
ton for the appointment OF an Alaskan
Commission was laid before the Senate
and Henderson moved its reference to
the Committee on Territories.
The first thing these two men and the
boy did, was to hire palace car at $50
a day, for which the total payment was
$l,447. before they gotto New Orleans.
Then they furnished themselves with
supplies. The Utah commission boldly
charged forlager beer and wine. This
commission charged only for supplies,
which doubtless include liqui DIS and
solids. e gas ~ 80
He would ask hisfriends on the Re-
publican side of the, chamber if it was
not time to stop ?sara riHl .z1rE l3sa
This 1.-THE Senate) was all the party
had left. The Democrats had posses
sion at the other end of the
About the LIST of January the commits
Orleans. From the LIST of October to
the 18th OF January, their expenses
were $4,000. Men who robbed safes
were comparatively honorable. This
money were taken from the pockets of
taxpayers, who were hardly able to pay
50 nightfor lodging on Pullman cars,
when they Travelled. In addition to
this expense, they paid Tor their sup
plies and their cook and were allowed
81, 800 year, beside. The chairman of
the commission. who never left New
York, resigned on the 25th of January
and drew out of the Treasury 81 ,679. 1t
cost the government about $4,000 tor
this commission before the two men
and the boy got ready to leave New
Orleans. This reckless waste of
money was great wrong
the taxes. What made it
worse were the outrageous bills of that
commission, which had been approved
and paid. He denounced this as worse
than highway robbery. He said the
man who enters a house at night and
robs, is honorable in comparison with
those who robbed the Treasury by such
expenditures as he described. 1t is
worse, he said. than stealing public
lands. and here he referred to the ''back-
bone patents as robbery of ,000, 900
OF acres at one lick.
Henderson referred to the resolution
of Van Wyck, providing for committee
to prepare a detailed statement of the
expenses of the improvements of the
Missouri river, under which, Mander-
son said, his colleague mightbe able to
make Junketing excursion from the
headwaters to the mouth of the river.
Harrison charged Van Wyck with
having offered the resolution merely for
he purpose of obtaining pay for
his clerk during recess ana with view
to saving the government the $1,000 or
81 800 salary of the clerk. He offered a
resolution that Van Wyck's resolution
be rescinded, and asked that it be re-
ferred to the committee on improve
ment OF the Mississippi River.
Vest said it was not his purpose to be-
domestic discussion on the Republican
side of the chamber. Van Wyck was
like the boy who participated in the
murder of his own father. He saw the
old man was about to be beaten to
thought that he would give him lick
to, help him out of his misery. For
twenty-five years he Vest had been the
intimate personal friend of one
of the members of the South
American commission, and his
record, public and private, was as stain
less and without reproach as that of
any public man could possibly be. The
man, who charged in his (Vest's)
presence that Thomas G. Reynolds had
ever, by extravaganza or otherwise,
taken one cent of the peoples money,
made statement which he (Vest) con-
tradicted. absolutely and unguali6edly
Van Wyck disclaimed any personal
reflections. He had made his remarks
with respect to the commissioner not
respecting its members. He interpreted
Vests challenge as a threat. and said
substantially that he would be ready to
repeat his statements.
Hawley enguired whether Senator
Van Wyck knew enough about the de-
tails Of these transactions to just ify him
in attacking the honor of gentleman
who had always stood as high as he
(van Wyck) could ever hope 70 stand.
| Van Wyck replied by reiterating some
tof his previous statements.
| The Alaska resolution was referred to
the committee on Territories.
/ German offered resoiut ton directing
the Secretary of the interior to furnish
the senate copies OF the contract en-
tered into between the Union Pacific
Railroad company and other railroad
companies affected by the act approved
July LIST, 1862, and the Western Union
Telegraph company, together with al
the statements now on file in the In
terror Department, touching the same
Adopted. $500
Mr.. Sherman offered the following:
Resolred. That so much of the several
resolutions OF the Senate passed since
the first day of March as provide for the
clerk for any sundry committee of the
Senate during the recess of Congress be
rescinded.
Laid over until tomorrow.
Adjourned.