Washington sentinel., 1899-07-22
Administration scandal.

M. Carter, an officer of the Engineer
Corps, u. s. A, was convicted OF steal.
ing over $4,000, 900 from the Govern.
ment, and was sentenced to a fine OF
S. 900, three years Imprisonment and
dismissal from the army. Punishment
has never been meted out TO him, but
from the time of the trial he has been
strangely protected. Over thirty officers
Of the Government, military and legal. a.
have revie we'd the case, and agreed that
the sentence was proper one. Today,
however Captain Carter wears his
uniform and draws his paw, as he has
been doing ever since sentence was
| pronounced upon him. From the court
martial up to the highest authority in
the land the papers have gone. The
Secretary OF War-afteT some delay
gave his approval to the. verdict, and
final action today rests with the Presi,
dent, Long since the papers were sent
to the Attorney GensIal for review. A
| brief was asked Of Carter's counsel.
When this had been furnished. a reply
was requested from the Judge Advocate
| Generals Office. Now that this has
| been given, there are to be hearings"
| In other words, the case OF Captain
| Carter, with its mysterious influences
| behind il, seems as far from being settled
as ever. Perhaps the belief that # it
remains undisposed OF for a month or
two longer the statute Of limitations will
| be pleaded may have some mething to do
| with this unaccountable and suspicious
| delay.
Capt, Carter was tor fourteen years
in charge OF the improvement Of the
| Savannah River and adjacent waters
| IN Georgia and Florida. During that
time he expended nearly S7,Oooooo, OF
which s., SOC, 900 was on the Savannah
River alone In Savannah he lived like
| a prince. He spent more money than
any other man in the city, He wore
| four or five suits of clothes each day,
fashionable and costly, owned carriages
and horses and a Yacht. People won
dered how a captain in the army could
! afford to be so extravagant, but he met
! the whispered inquiries by saying that
he was supplied with money by his
rather IN law. BY and by he tired Of
Savannah, and had influence enough to
| be appointed a member ofthe Nicaragua
| Canal Commission. One Of his letters,
| read during his trial, showed that he
respected about $4,000, 900 worth Of
dredging to be done there, and he
wanted to "get his share Then from
the canal commission he was appointed
military attache to the American En-
bassy at LoDdon--for his pull" seems
to have been unlimited. Butthe foreign
mission was the cause of his undoing
Capt. Gillette was ordered TO succeed
him at Savannah. Carter met Gillette
in New York, and was overland.
Among other things, he offered Gillette
his furnished house iE Savannah, rent
| free, tor an indefinite length of time.
| Gillette, cold blooded and experienced
wondered at this remarkable liberalty,
and declined, Gillette went to work
| in Savannah One day he went down
| the river to examine a retaining wall,
which, according to the map. had been
completed and paid for by the Govern.
ment. The wall Was not there Shortly
| afterward he inspected some work which
| called for the use OF log and brush
/ mattresses, for which thousands Of
dollars had been paid. There were no
mattresses there. Their acceptance and
| approval, which had been vouched for
by Capt. Carter, was fraudulent and false
in every particular. Evidences Of dis
honesty multiplied. Gillette was com
PEELED TO ask the authorities here to
order a survey of the work supposed to
have been done in order that he might
not share the responsibility Of wide
reaching fraud.
Carter was not only stealing on q
large scale, but he was guilty OF petit
larceny. According to Colonel Barr
the Judge Advocate General of the
Court. total Of s., 10000 was literally
stolen from the Government on brush
mattresses alone during three contracts
The dredging firm OF which Carter was
a member secured all the contract:
through Carter's manipulation and the
introduction Of dummy bidders. The
rock that was used came from Carter
own quarrIes and was wort bless, al
though it cost as much as granite. Th,
most extravag ant pr'ces were paid TO
work done. The Government wa
robbed on a most gigantic scale. An'
on a little scale also. For fourteei
years Carter made false affidavit eacI
month as to the number OF horses h
used and the forage they required, pock
! citing in all, over $1,000 on these fraud
u!ent vouchers. II was only $40 a mont
and hardly worth stealing, one woul
think, but Captain Carter took 1t. II
also had furniture made Tor his priyat
use and charged to the government; h
, had women on the rolls as recorder
, and inspectors; he gave Yachting partie
on a yacht which cost the governmer
-, 67s,Ooo and all the supplies for whic
we're supple q from the Federal treasur'
Many efforts were made to secure SON
5 sort OF statement from the absent iath,
I IN Law, who was SAID TO have iuTnishe
Carter with funds, but it was new,
obtainable. On the other hand, Il
= evidence showed that the drefgir
company was given Government mat
rial for a nominal figure whenever
Il made a request. Months and mont
N have passed since these disclosure
, since this verdict and sentence. In q
- meantime, Captain Carter, protected
IS powerful infiuences-one IS a Senat
10 from New Jersey, one isthe Peunsylvan
IL Railroad, one is Abner Mckinley, sa
10 Alfred Henry Lewis in the psraict-
as much IN the army as ever, dra VII