The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-03-28
A AFFAIR.

II is of little wonder that the Republican
of the United States Senate want to muzzle
Senator Van Wyck, one of their own politi-
cal faith. He knows too much of the sharp
practices of his party, and seems to have a
very unhealthy way of hurting it right out
in open Senate. The country has been SO
much employed in watching the old Demo-
crotic ship spreading her sails for q four
years cruise, that the valuable work OF Mr..
Van Wyck in the Senate has not received
the attention il deserves. Remember,
this bill of discovery They are all
Republicans. One trying to discover" q
batch of rascality and the others doing their
best to cover il up. We have several times
called attention to the late steal of public
lands, which was discovered by Senator
Van Wyck. His more recent coup in this
direction was in discussing the accounts OF
certain Republican Commissioners and the
disgraceful tour they made. or rather the
disgraceful bill OF expenses that they rem
der ed. The Diplomatic and Consular act of
July Z, 1884, provides as follows:
For three Commissioners to be appointed OF the
eAu DJ 6no VIII u asLC dHo Oho "
the Senate, at a compensation OF - SEQ each. said
Commissioners shall ascertain the best modes OF
merciai relations between the United States and
the several countries of Central and South Amer
lea. and for that purpose they shall visit such
countries in Central ana South America as the
President may direct.
9 g 8 In addition to the foregoing amounts
such further sum as may be required Tor the rea.
sonable expense of said Commission. such ex-
penses to be paid upon the certificate of the Chair
man thereof, and approved by the Secretary OF
State.
We get considerable light into the true
inwardness of this matter through the New
York Suns correspondent. He states that
the law fixes no specific limit to the ex-
penses of the commission, except that they
shall be reasonable" Senator Van WICK
inspected the accounts of the Commission at
the State Department, and he asserts that
the expenses were $1,000 between the 1st Of
October and the 1st OF January, one item be-
ing 81, All for q Pullman palace car for forty
one and one half days at $50 per day. At
that time the Commission had visited San
Francisco, Mexico and New Orleans only.
They had not started on the main journey.
He also charged that the President Of the
Commission, General George II. Sharpe, had
never left New York, except to come to
Washington. He did not even go to San
Francisco; ne did not even go to Mexico:
he did not even go to New Orleans; yet, on
the 25th of February he received and took
nearly 5000 out of the Treasury-S4,.
| 67a.16."
The Republican Senators who have made
an attack on Mr.. Van Wyck should be very
cure of the ground they are occupying.
This jaunting about in a palace car for
over forty days at $50 per day at the expense
of the people is no small affair, as the Sena-
tors endeavor to make it. And, moreover,
il does not appear that they were attending
to the businessentrusted to them. The Com.
mission bad not during these forty days
even visited Central or South America. They
went to San Francisco, New Orleans and
Mexico only, and General Sharpe, the Presi-
dent OF the Commission, was not with them
and yet he drew nearly $1,000. We hope
that Mr.. Van WICK will continue to smoke
cut this picnicking, pleasure-seeking gentry,
even if they are endorsed and backed up by
Republican Senators.