Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-17
ARMY CONTRACT FRAUDS.
Sensational Disclosures in the House
of Representatives.

The House Of Representatives devoted
yesterday to private war claims, passing
about twenty. An interesting controversy
arose in connection with bill to appropri-
ate ISAAC to pay the claim of b.. f. Moody
& Co. of Keokuk. Iowa, for balance due
under a contract for the equipment of the
Sd Iowa Cavalry during the civil war. and
in the course of it some sensational chap
tiers in the history of the alleged army con-
tract frauds in St. Louis were exploited.
Mr. Smith QowD was In charge OF the
bill. The original amount of the claim ex-
ceeded $4,000, but it was scaled down by
the committee to $S,446. Mr.. Smith con-
tended that the claim was just, the con-
tract having been executed under the au-
thority of Gen. John c. Fremont through
his agent, Gen. Cyrus Bussey.
Mr.. Hedge Qowa), Mr.. Smiths colleague
denounced the claim with ViSor which
attracted the attention of the entire House.
He impeached it first, on the ground that
1t had been allowed to slumlber for thirty
years without being presented to Congress
and then proceeded to point out that II mac
it's origin in the action of the famous COM
mission consisting of David Davis, hugh
Campbell and JOS Holt, which uneartheC
the alleged frauds in Gen. Fremonts de-
partment Of the st. Louis in 1862 He de-
clared that that commission had scaled mil
lions upon millions off of army contracts
one Of which was that Of Moody q Co, and
that Gen. Fremont had been superseded pc
cause Of the intolerable conditions that
were found to exist.
THE report Of that commission" said he,
was never printed, because Lincoln pc
lieved that its revelations would make the
people despair"
II have that record here" said Mr. Smith
raising aloft package of papers musty and
yellow with age.
But it was never printed insisted MT.
Hedge. 1T would not have been advisable
to print it." Then he called upon Mr. HIT
chairman Of the committee on foreign az
fairs, who had been an interested listener
to the debate, to bear out his testimony, ex-
planning that Mr.. Hit had been the stem
ographer of the st. Louis commission. -
The latter corroborated Mr.. Hedge saying
that the report which Mr. Smith had dis
played had been written by his own hand
He told of the alleged gigantic frauds IN
earthed in that investigation ana OF tne I'M
willingness Of the authorities to permit the
complete story to become public owing to
the disheartening effect 1t might produce
upon the people Personally, he said, ne dfo
not remember the details OF the particular
claim of Moody & Co.
Mr.. Smith in reply, while admitting that
the contract may have been technically
without authority, insisted that the claim
was not fraudulent In law or IN fact.
The House. however. voted the bill down.
80 to 70.
Among the bills passed wan one to pay
s., 6S3 to Mrs. Flora A. Darling for damages
growing out of her arrest by the military
authorities Of New Orleans IN 1864, while
she was on flag of truce bout under safe
conduct
Mr.. Payne the floor leader Of the ma
jority. led a strong fght'against an omnibus
resolution to refer to the court of claims
ninety separate claims aggregating 100000
for finding of fact under the provisions OF
the Tucker act. He contended that the
resolution would remove the statute of limi-
tations. which already barred many Of these
old claims. The claims were all for stores
and supplies taken by the federal forces
during the civil war. Mr. Payne conducted
filibuster, but he was overridden by
friends Of the measure, who comprised all
the democrats and about half of the repub-
Leans. On roll call upon the adoption OF
the resolution however, a quorum failed
the vote standing % to 81, and the House
at 4:45 D. IN adjourned