Year: 1871

The Iowa Ring and the Hospital Stew.


ards-A Lame Defence.


We print this morning card from Mr.. L.
u. lngersoll, reported in the HERALD some
Gays ago as connected with an attempted
fraud upon hospital stewards employed by the
war Department. Mr.. Ingersoll thinks the re-
nectlons upon himself and his associates, ex-
congressman Pomeroy, of Iowa, and J. w.
Smith, the attorney employed by the stewards,
as ''cruely and uncommonly libellous." In
itself the case is not an important one but
the persons engaged In this attempt to wrong
soldiers ask hearing at our hands, and we
readily grant it, because they have not yet re-
ceived full justice. To show how weak ia
their defence we reprint statement from u
Washington paper, which embodies everything
they can say in their own behalf, and yet puts.
them In a worse light than they were placed
by our own mild but more truthful statement
of facts.


These things would not be worth rehearsing
If great moral principle was not behind this
case. Mr.. J. W. Smith represented tho
claims of certain hospital stewards for extra
allowances per diem as clerks in the War De-
partment. He had not good fortune in push
ing them through; and SO, according to his
own statement he thought it necessary sto,
employ more counsel to assist him." As the
Secretary Of War is an Iowa man Mr.. Smith
took care to engage Iowa men who knew
General Belknap to help him in lobbying the
claims. Apart from the fact that these Iowa
another Iowa man, used the superior informa-
ton which they possessed as practiced lobby
lists over the needy hospital stewards to
buy up the claims at half their value, and
would have made large sum of money
out Of these poor men but for the interference
of the Secretary of War, the case has pro-
found significance on this very point of ''more
counsel" In this is Mr.. Smiths offence, and
it is one that will be reprobated by every hon.
est man. Secretary Belknap is reputed to be
an officer of sound sense and sterling honesty.
If Mr.. Smith had good case, as he undoubt-
edly had, it was morally certain that he would
receive favorable decision on behalf Of his
clients. But to make strong case stronger
he associated with him men whom he sup
posed to have strong personal influence
with the Secretary Of War. In other words,
he put influences to work to bias the judgment
of the man who was to decide the case. These
men whom he thus employed were not law
yers, but lobbyists, and if they had been


''counsel" they abused their relation to their
clients by specializing in their clients inter-
ests. Reprehensible as this latter action was
It was not half SO bad as the unwarrantable
attempt to secure favorable decision from
the Secretary Of War by surrounding him with
the whisperings Of supposed friends.
We print the card and the statement Of
these men to denounce their actions in the
strongest terms If the official judgment Of
men in high position is to be impeded or con-
trolled by lobbying whisperers justice will
soon be lost sight Of in every public transac-
ton. It Is this kind Of thing that made the


Ring frauds in this city SO slnpendous. I: /:


this kind Of thing which brings disgrace on
every administration aud endangers the repu-
tations of even honest officials. And it is this
kind Of thing which must be stopped Lobby
ing is a crime, and the American people will
scorn the lobbyist when they know him. This
makes Smith, Ingersoli and Pomeroy SO un-
easy, and it is this which induces US to give
them that fuller justice which they had not yet
received. And others like them may expect
like treatment.