National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1885-05-28

In the criminal court Of this District,
tion of a witness for tho government in
the Drew case, Mr.. JEFF Chandler, Of
counsel for defonse. said before the court,
jury bar, and spectators
believe that this witne. knows, as every.
body else knows who knows anything about
tho department, and could tell II he would
speak, that ii was common and constant
practice to buy goods under one appropriation
aud In the voucher charge them TO another.
Mr.. Chandler, AZ is we'll known, stands
in tho front rank of the legal profession.
His social standing is equally good, and
he is known in business circles rs man
of unquOstionod integrity. Such state
mont by such man in such place chal-
lcnges serious attention.
Gentlemen who have for many years
been familiar with methods of doing bust
ness in tho Navy Department agree with
Mr.. Chandler that IL is no new thing in
that department ito buy goods under ono
appropriation aud in tho voucher charge
them TO another Nor is the Navy De.
partment alone in this irregularity. 1t
is generally believed, and could no doubt
he proven, that the custom has obtained
to greater or less extent in other do
partments, and that it has been in vogue
not only in Washington but In all parts
of the country whore purchases for the
government have been made. 1t is bo.
licved to be very old custom, dating
back to the carly days of the republic,
and may have been borrowed-as most Of
our abuses have beeu--from other govern.
ments
when there is deficiency in one spe-
cihc appropriation, and q redundancy in
another, tho oxcess Of the latter is some
times made to oke out the shortcomings
Of the former, oven If fictitious vouchers
vouchers for different goods from those
doliverod-havo TO be used.
! When articles are desired which are
not authorized to be purchased at all it is
not an unknown thing to cover such
purchases by vouchers for necessary
ar ticles, so that the bills will bear seru-
tiny.
n ldlob NphihtA hutA uhb hCNbHshllNJ
imply that the government has been
wronged out of cent 1t may cover
necessary purchases without
which the public service would have
suffered dotrimont 1t may be simply an
improper way of doing what the public
good demanded should be done. or
course it may be means Of swindling,
and for this reason the practice referred
to ought to bo broken up.
! But whatever of blame OF criminality
attiches to the custom belongs to the OIL
cials and employees Of the government,
not to the tradesmen whom they mislead
And it is strange spectacle to SEQ mer-
chants Of good repute in all other re.
spects hunted down like escaped convicts
because they, in order to get pay for goods
sold and delivered, have acceded to the
requests of public officials SO far as to
sign tho vouchers prepared for them.
1t is tho custom of tradosmon who sell
goods to the departments to sign whatever
papers may be presented In the red-tape
routine, asking no questions, but trusti n Z
to tho good faith of the government. 1t
is not at all improbable that many false
vouchers havo been iguorantly signed, the
signers not knowing that other goods had
been substituted for those actually dc.
livered.
The way to put stop to all these irreg-
ularities is to prosecute by courts. martial
or in the criminal courts tho officers aud
employees of government who arc deemed
guilty. To open the batteries of criminal
law OH their victims in cases where they
have given tho government value received
is not the way to begin the work of re,
form,
THE REPUBLICAN believes in punish
ing crimes as they deserve, but II does
not believe in Furnishing the victims of q
bad system, while tho victimizers 60 un
whipped Of justice.