The Pickens sentinel. (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, March 07, 1878, Image 1
-I 4 -4- - . - 1 -
DEVOTED TO POLITICS, ?ORALiTY, EDUCATION AND ?0 THE GEN RAL INTJ EST QF TflE COUNTRY.
WIL. VIL PICI{ENS, S. C., THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 1878. - NO.2
T E 'THIEVES' dARIVAL.
AN ABW4DING C4TALOGUE OF T1H
XODDER1E8 UNDER CARPET-RULE
IN BOUTH CAROLgNA.
TH9 WHOLE STATE GOVEliNMENT FED,
IOURD, CO1OTUEP INTOXICATED
A,D REDVCED TO CIV.ILIZATION
AT STATE EXPENSE.
Tb joint' committee appointed
utnders concurrent resolution of the
General Assembly, at -the. special
seAsion of 1877, "to ascertain Whetber
any improper or illegal use has been
made 4f: the public funds or credit
of :the State," beg leavo to report
u.pon uch special 8ubjects of inves
tigation as they deem comnplete, fand
to make eupplcimentary repor ts' from
tivne to timb upoin i.he :reiidue -of the
matters before them,.71ntil fle en
tire evidjnce ando conclusions are
reported.
The committe respectfully invite
attention to the evidence und vonch
ei's submitted witi this report,.nder
the head of ouyplies. The abuses
lave been so .grekt. and of such a
polpable natuie, that the most cre
dulous person would hardly believe
that such fraude could be perpetrated
under the forms of legislat,ion. Uis
tory fails to cite an instance which
canl be couinpared withsuch ia carni
val of frauds and extravnganjce as
C has been held in Soith Carolina, by
and thuogh the purchn'e of sup
plies for the mermbers of t be Generai
Assembly. - In this C(Inlection we
submit a wilOnmbe of the accounts
bgainst the State, alo u feiw individ
ui11 accounts of the average "states
ikenl" Of South Car4lina un1der tle
lote regime. Wo not only make t1he
"ssertion, but presen't the proofs, t ht
the wiole country may see how one
of "tie old thiree: "' has bei robbed
and laid prostrate, through ignor
Uncle Onl one side and corrupt advetn
turerson tihe ot her. Olr riport is
necessarily selaberate; the chaurgeb
are 8o grave that we deem it unwise
to mrake them un lees substnt iated by
*evidonee whbich no one can, don bt, If
the simp%I statement were madie that
Senators and members of the flouse
were furnished with. everything they
desired, from swaddling clothes and
cradle, to the coffin of the undertak
er-fromu brogans to chignona, finest
extracts to best wines and liquor3,
and paid for -by the State, it would
create a snule of doubt and derison;
but when we make the statement,
and prdve it by several wit nessee and
the vouchers found in the offices of
the Clerks'of the Senate and 11ouse,
all will with sorrow admit the truth
fulness of this report. For your guid
Oace we deem it essential to place
under appropriate heads the class of
supplies and.the evidence referring
thereto.
We first call your attentiost4o the
evidence of Mr. Woodr~uff, wlin was
Clerk of the Senate at the time, and
ne,esprily cognizanut of ev erythIing
cofle?fing the fui'nishintg ~f 'su
plies. Hie sayes- "Under th b ead of
b sBpplies was enwbraced anything that
a Be~tor eihose 'to order." -These
orders were generally'given t hrough
the Clerk, and the acunts: were
rendered against thme CJcr'k of the
Senate. At. first the orders were
modderato, and included only statioin..
6' ery .and postage .etamps, but they
gradually increazsed until they as
sunted gigantic pr opor tions. In .the
commencement,aof this business (If
furnishing members, they gave or
dera on the clerks to dedtmet. the
S auto'unt from .1 heir par, but very
soon the orders largely exceeded
Ibhlk pay., and thie scoImnt we,- then
* inlnldq#4iAithe, reortI' of; the om,U
mittee on Conztingent. Acconnte, aund
ps~y certifleatet tags iss'ed for ahgisk
*iery description of merchand ise. i
aij6A~ thi,,s weroe
A3counts for collection and distribu1,
tion. As theEe matters became com
moh, the Senators claimed that all
Atheir ex-penses should be paid by the
State, or in the language of Senator
C. P. Leslie, "The State had nt
tight to be a State tmless she could
pay and take care of ))er statcamen."
Mr. Woodruff sa% i, and the vouch
crSand certificates ,prove, t.hat grati
ficfitlon certificates were freqiently
issued for the benefit of the Senators.
Senators Jervey and Gaillard, of
Charleston, afid Senator Cain, - of
Edgefi6ld, alto corroborate this tes
timony. and acknowledge that they
received a portion of tlie frndhilent
certifictes thus issued. A. (. Jones,
Clelk of the House, testifIas that sup
plies were fn1rnished under the head of
"Leg itslative expensee, I ics atd
stationery," and included refrcsh
mente for committee rooms, grcc
ries, clocks, horses, carritges, dry
good1s, furniture of every descrip! ionI
anld mitcellaeois articles of mer
chandiso. fur the pers'onal use of thw
members. You committee find upon
exaumliflation of the vouchers in the
Treasurer's oflice that in one1 sesion'
there 'was expended under the re..
pectivc heads of 'supplies," " ..i
driies " and "incidental expen:cs,"
not lcs' thon $350),000, $125,00. of
which vere speit tor refreshments,
including the finctit wines, liquors
amid cigars..
* re can 103 prove how ulliver
Sally, this s1st6,em (. f traud was prac
ticed and carried out by the b)Ils ald
individual accounts turned in as
vom.Ibers,a pkrtiun (f Which wc
es11bm1il with the( rep-rt anwd the e(-;
dence of W oodruiT aId Jnes,eleks
dSer;reaiL at-Artins W illiam.
Woodi-tff testifies that the practice
be-aMe so g:ItIal as to eibrace
nearly everv lIepublican and several
Dcmocratic Senators. Siich acoiunts
camie to be regarded as priviluged
matters, and the Senate rule req uir
ing all reports to lie over one day
was general Iy s uspe)nded anid thle
report conisidere51 at ounce, aund the
a~ccounIts ordeu ed to be paid withliut
a disseniting voice.. Senators lett
thteir accounts with the chairman of
thec Commnittee on Contin gent Ac-.
counts. Whlen setiled in this way,
they were generally ret urned to Sen,
ators rceipted. We find there was
a regular system by which these ac
counts wvere p.ased upon by the Sen.
ate and Ilouse, shrongh the umainip
lationi of the Connuliittees on1 Contlini
gent Accounts. Th'e following ex
ampflel wbill suflice:
The committee yvoulId report that
they had considered the account of
A, B anad C (which were honecet
clad ims) aind found them cot rect, and
wvould reconinenid that they be paidl,
but after the last name on the ac
counts we, H)in moat instances, founad
the omlinouls words ''and others,"
or "'sundries and others,'' wh icahbe
in#jinterp)reted mear.t f raudl
Woodruffr tlcoIntiniuing, says, "'the
comimittee to audit the contingenit
ex penses of the Senato, clai med tl he
right io order what they p'leased and(
incl ude it in their repoi't u nder the
name of "sundies and others."
Jones in his evidence speaks of thema
af' "que ecZCouniita," and says they
were generamlly paid under the head
of "'aiad oth ers." Your committeei
find it, necessary to classify thIo va
riousi suppl ies futrishefd , ini order
that you may peCrceiyeO the magnai
tude of the Pobber'y, and the ruthless
expendhitures of taxes to pr'ovide for
the plesegrg pnd coie t our'"tte
nJrder the class of refreshments,
we ask atter tion to these sfacts: A
r'tAni1in thme StA( 1ouse .was Iittedl
u - hein,to pi'ye "wind, 1ign or~
e & cigitre," to hate of
c tos,mem1bN%Vorj,e Uonge
and thd1r ,iends, at itll hottre of the
damy'fd un1~ha.- Weodrnfsadanc
dered for rireshmentf, includiirg the
best liquers and cigars, and served
pil in a room adjoining that Qf the
Clerk of the Senat6 and kept opeti at
all hours, and was visited daily by
State oflicials, Judgel, Senators,
members of the House, lawyers, cd
itor'13, newsjpaper reporters and citi
zens generally, irrespective of party,
and that they discussed latters,
State and national, in Ile most agree
able n' anner over their "sparkling
glasses." Not satisfied with the es
tablishmont of a bar room in the
ca1pitol, they employed i porter, who
had chaig of the "rufreshment"
room1. The porter states that for six
years the Stato lHose bar room was
genertaly opened at 8 o'clock in the
morning, and kept o)en until from 2
to 4 tho next morning; that duriing
that timo somic one was constantly
there eatig, smoking, or drinking,
and that "Itnday furmed no oxcej)
tion to the rule, an.d he says "ho
IeVel S:N a bar rcom egnal to the
State llouse refreh mnt room, 1or
di inkintg, Gmokini and talking," that
a la.rgc n1)jrity of tle mllllbers who
assemnbled in the'room, were R pub
licaus, but that Democratic Senators
aId RUepreCetafiVes WOre there also
Ie mentioned the immes of Senators
1winmann and 1.1 leoMbe, anld. R epre1.
sentative V..-M. Smith as daily visi
tots, "th!at m1).1y of the members
WOUld h1:1 ..t 01he rcom buf''ru break
fs,hunig adrink,- Or VNye-Openecr."
lHe c. m not Ce-stimflal the eXact
asotMlig-.or driunk, but nteerzted
at.-- i ..mC ( reveral 1-n! n per
win , :eun p :-erthr,fwnl in. The I
best ei "I'la d wme.s we,te forn.1i bd,
1n1d t.,at oficti what 11he CO idored
good article would be rejected. le
could not keep a suflicient anount of
cigars on hnd ct supply the de,
mlland, a6 m1 of thmiled on0 or
two of their ockets when ea-ving
and wou,' d fIrcqluewtly carry t.f a
h.>lo Cf iebaIiIIm in t R11 hame w Zy
Hie is porter~ now,\ an st( ays t hat no
siness stopped3( w~ hent Go v. I atUfiJni
took chatrge of the State Hioned.
It will be observed that the State
furnished a room, a porter, and re
freshipe ntIs for our "~m cstteie," w hile
they were plhot ting how to rob t he
people they piretetnded to represent;
readly to vote for aniy fmeatsure that
would en rich t htemselves at ihe po bs
lie exjCense. .In addii oni to the re,
fresh men ts furntishe1d at thle State
llonso, latrge quantlities (f wvineis,
liin rs amnd eigZars anid othIer th iigs
were tsent to the hot uIs, boanrd in2
htouses andt residoneies of State di
cialds, Set at.ori, member s and 1 iti
fientd3. Th1is is showna by .thle vone (h
etrs ini reCOuts renideled, an(I the
ov'idcece oft W oodhn1f who says, thtat
"'the matter' ' of refreshmencti ,~ Ii ke
oIthers, alumed11(( the larges' priopor..~
tions3, and orders wxere g..iven f ti
r~:2s amnd cigaf it ich were set
to the Ibo 0h3 boartditng hou'ihts and1
res!~ieneej of the mttmu er1. ad their
Olerk Jones says t hat the most ex
travagan t aiccoun ltsH were renderedi for'
reCfreOshmenCits f or Ol 1 cmiueeO rooms,
and It ht, eountd it useless to re
- monstlate.
Sergeanit- at-Armis Wilh i ns test i
fUita then IHous~e (lid not keep-a r
freinhet roomIi, thait he wats (orderedf'
to blt\ wines atnd. ligniors fotr the
mnembers, atnd I hat lie d id buy thbem
from. vir. GAibsoni and Mr. Solomnen.
flis e -idence is corroborated by .Mr.
Gibso ~, anUdie orders~ gi ven h im, a
few wit wh we submttit with this
repor Among the mnember's 'thust
furi s ed we find( the nlameis of' T.
II utrk , memberi)oi tronm Chaleston,l
P.~ Si ;kiiis, iromi iC4gelield, J. 1).
IBosto , ii-omi No wl)berry,.Jamnes A.
lowl y, of Gergtownt, Speak~er S.
J. Let of A iken. We su bmlit aspe
cimenIr (0rder given) to Mlr. Gibson,
f)i' Ja ie~ A IJowley, wich was dutJ
S$
livkqed in one da.y: &"One box chit
pagne, one box of port wine, on box
whiskey, one box braudy, one box
sherry wine, tLrec. boxes gigars. "
Mr 'Bowey was one of the leading
colored members of the House .and
Chairman of the CoMTnittee of Ways
and Means, and it .Js eaRy to nuder
stand why lie repo'rted favorably up
on the enormons tax levies and np
propriation bills of the House. Wd
append an order to Mr' Gibson from
Rev. W. M. Thom11as, iMember from
Colleton, and Chairman of the Com
Iittee ou Claims: "Mr. Gibson, tbere
is a mistake, the order calls for .two
)ox- of wine, please snd. the other,
W. M. Thomas." Mr-.Gibson in his
evidence says ie was paid in legis
lative pay cortificates tor all supplies
and t1hat .ho always furnished the
best a-rticles. Wo also refe'r to the
evidence of Win M. Fine) who kept
a restaurant in this city, and, who
Sa"6ys lie fiIirnished supplies conidsting
of "eatables, winez, li(nors' Aid ci
gars to different legislatiio emmlnit.
Lees, for whiebl he received pay
certificatee," and that the largest
am,)unk issued to hift at one liinC,
for the,4e supplies, *vas U1,800.
Hardy Soloim, a lear iII gro
eeries has numerons large account1>
amonllg the voleblers. 1Ie testifies
that h1e f'rishlud Wodruff and
Jmn; witib sipplies, but not as ClCIks
iii their respecive bouses, ad that
he wvasi paid by the State. iTroaurer
onl present&ation of the pay certifi
etes which wvere i6sued to-him fo!
his vec1nUts. 16u Connuection, with
tIe evid;ec of Mr. Slomnon ue call
atuenti.n Ito his itenlized ace pl)ts,
whi -;(b w E W(-1 1wrntob himn and ,III
ICXC.(d to his evidence 1uider the hIoad
(if supplies, wherehl .ANPpear' t'ho
Iin s if t I i fcLlo i1 1 p \i )ers6ns to''
II ~~i ikfC 0i h C Ili(5~
whom hie turnit-bed "refreesha.en0lt,:
14. S. Jicobs, venators Joh W ilsol
WV. E. 11L eIImbo,3 D). Biemlann,l J. uJ.
Wbite and C. D. llayie, Gov. 1. K.
S,cott, C.,m1ptroller G3eneorah. J.. .
Ne aglec, Lj!ieenant( Governori Ran
sieir, St.ate Tr.'easu rer N iles (G. Park,~
Myers, S. L. Duncan, .R. II. Uucm
bert, Dr. 8. A. IV'semani, - Miller
-- McLaughlin; John 1B.. Dennis, 13.
Bvne, W. J. McKinlay, John Dix, R.
-M. Smith, WV. HI. Joties, Nelson Da
vies and Genecral William Gurney,
County Treasurecr of Charleston.
Your commfhlittee) also find eon thie ex
amniniation of this item .zed .account'
and( thie evid,CnlCe adduced before us
t.hat Messrs. .JIones and WVoodr .LJ
madine paymwent on ervypral occasipus
by check anid c:amb; .neverthele!ss, on
ex:uniing thle paymenits mado. o
thec State Sreasmror to .Mr. Solroon
on1 pay cer'tilflcates issued to hima, it 1s
shiown that ha hans drawn $d,00oveir
above his entiro account, and worse
still, thmese certiticates were hll iesned
beCIfo 1st of Marchl, 1873, aftei
wVh ich im e e wa~ pad otherwise.
Wec also lind( thaift ini the .year 11872
t here wvere isuted' to( him IJcertain) cel
t mica'es to t he amountoi $24.380 50.
while hnis itemiiized accoun lt.shu~s that
thrcwas onily due him for thne years
1871 anid 1872 311, 203.48, proving
that hie was p'aid $13,177.02 over the
amnounnt clai meid to have beeni fur
mm ished by b it.. Co)nninenit unilnec.s
sary. -*
\We kno'.w of nn. better. mnethoud oi
illus:trat in;1/th1e r'eckless expendit uro
of mioney for this i class sof -sup plies
tharn by refering t&o thi"aecour
renider-ed, someo of -which-'wHi l)e fou nd
appenlded to the evidence, and we
call attenitionm to aeccomunt designated
"Exhiits W 2" amnd "W 3" Wood"
ruf' eidence, wherei 1i is iowmi
that (on Marebi 4., 1872, Soloni on
for'nishi.d tbne Se'nate 61,031.worth of
winae and liquoiand i t 7th do of'
am monit hI $14852,75 wveb(, aggre
gat(inig $3,483.75$. This8 alQount was
pur1chased!( for. thle Senatte wit hin
Lthroo days.Lag atotswe
furi, d the House A the smE1
time,.aud to the Swiate durin1g same
week, by other parties, all of- which
is sho%yn by the vouchers. We also
call attention to accounts in the evi
dence.of A. 0. Jones, designated as
n-nbqr 951 to 261, inclusive, where
it.is shown that Mr. Solomon lialone
furnished the House with $5,877.15
wortlh of wines and liquors within
t.wo months. Mr.-Solomon says he
had ho difficully in* making collec-.
tions while they did business with
him.. Thus it clearly appears that
bills contracted for the gratification
of oir "staeemen" wera pr)mnptly
paid-, while' the vilest of-,,criminab
wee liat doned to keep them from
st.,rVing, and turied Vont t1pon an
tragpd. people. Tle unfortunAto
iumatcs of the Luaatic Asju' m' wore
at the S-me time sIffering'from wal"
of proper food and clothing. The
frep schools wore closed and teaclk.
ars unpaid. Those fraudulent ex.
penditures were not confilned to any
partic.ultr year, as will appear L>y the
vouchers turned over to your con
mittee.
'e now call attention to thG ac
conits cif George Syimers, nientoff
ed in t-hc evidence of Mr. WoodrnfT,
designattd AA, A-B, AC, ALH, ag
gregating $34157.80 from March 1,
1871, to the 7th day of same month,
montinlfg to 1orc, thau $ 450 per
.ty for wines any liquors for othe
Stnate alone. The evidence and
Volclhers are not confiYed to Solws
non, Fine, Gibson and SytLmer,
bit prove that -ME1rs. Coopr &
Taylor, Vn Kennedy, and Joseph
Taylor, citizens of Columbia, also
hirnished supplies of the samno ebar-,
acter. Vo insert a literal copy of
no nof the billa - found among th,
volchers of the clerk of the Senate:
Cy"USImBA, Feb. 22th 1872.
Gov. A. J. Ranaier, Dr. To Joc Tay
lor Ioicoulrs & s6gars and other ars
tieiulars - $280.00
Recuievecd paymenm
J jo Tay lor.
11lis tr'ade was not confined to Co
luia, ps shotwnt by the vouchers of
Messrs. Klinctk, Wickenberg & Co.,
of Charlestoo and othe-B, or to the
wate, as p)roved .by the account of
Kubu & Co., of Philadelphia, deal
er's in wines and liquors. We call
especial attention to thir accounts
designated as C 15, in the evidence
o t W ood ruif, a mount ing to -$1,G80,
for.uished to Senate at one tiie, and
to No. 83, in evi dence of A . O). Jones,
amounting to- $2,088 for use of
ilonse, and delivered in onel day,
also to aLccun t of Mr. i. Syminers in
Woodru.iff's evidece)C, designated at
No. 16, by' Woodruff, in which
sweet meats and de'ieacies o'f overy
kind that could temupt the epicure
were supplied. Tis~ is only one of
many) such in. our p)ossession. In
additiv'n to the parties above desig..
nuated, we find that flumerous other
perWsonsl furniish qd ?"refr.eshmenC)ts" uni
der the head of "su pp lies,"' and ren,
dered bills against the State for
amo(unts ranginig from $100 to; $3,
000, as will be seen by vouchers at
rochled to the eviden'ce.
T1he pr1iCes pahid for these ,sapplies
were hioSt extravagaat. Ini Wood
reflIP. evidence there is an account
des;~iat ed as iNo. 11, in w hich Mr.
iSy I1~U m ersicarges.$20 per gallon for'
b)ranidy, sherry wine $1.0, whiskey
$8S, eigars $10 per 100. .In the~
itemized account of Mr. Solo,moni the
pices are' eqully 8 as unconfscionale
-lager beeC- p4.50 pe~r dozen, b)randy
by the dozeni (quarts) $40, cigars $20
per' 100, c'hampa~gne' $40 by the
tan-e, p)art wineO $40 1)er d zent. An
estimnate (danunot be found of the
amut of wns, liguors and cigare
used in a'siigle seSSion, btut 'enough
is shiow n by the~ bil.s rendei ed and
the cortificates issueod to dlemonstietc
that to haiwn used all thl aspr
oha:ced, every niemnber of' the UIOiis
and Senato muat have consi~umxed dhe
gallon per day, with a few extra bot.
ties of ale and wine throwh in, and
smoked not less than ond dozen CI
gal's within the same time.
During thi& era of "elevation"A.
while the average statesman was de
privod of the enjoyment of his acm
cuWtomed luxury-the succulent wa%
termelon-it is iit strange to find himg
seeking the luecious fruits. of tropical
climes, hienco the bills of Mesro.
Brookbanks & Co. IIe (Brookbanks)
says in his evidence "Lliat he was
connected with a confectionary and
fruit store, that he - furtiished such
articles as were usually kopt in sncla
establishinens, and that ho rendered
billk made out under the hdad,-f sm
dries, and received'in- payment legis.
lative pay certiff'cafe." We anb.
mit a portion of these acounts, and
P- to those designated, N0s. 51,
56, i , 68, 69' and 74, agregating
81,080. Woodruff says "thoso ac,
counts were for fruit and cigmrs fur?
nished the Senate." W also refer
to the evidence of i. 0. Jones and
John Williams, concerning other ao
counts of a similar natIuro.
We cannot bettor illustrate thq ef
frontery of Carolina'a leading states
men at that time than by referring to
account designated 4is 214,J in eVi.
dence of A 0. Jones, where it ap
pears ti-at 4en. Wi. Gurney; Trefheo
urer of Charleston Coity, claiitt 't
have furnished refreshiments td dS'
amount of 81,500; but, straft t'aR
the itci'nized account of Iard' Soifr
mon Ir6ves that Own. Gurney was
the Iecpiient of supplies from Sloo
mO1's sturo,andl thit the State aid
for t samo. Sergeant-at-Arms
ifHia-ms says of t1his bill: ''I. kugw,.
of no supplies being furuiehed ,by
Gen. Gurney, nor do I klTow Agte
thing of No. 21j, referred to in A. 0.
Jonc3' evidence."
We will now proceed to show sb
enormou expenditures for,otheriptI
poses. Tho first we shall considwir
hat of'
. e LJRNrfURIL
We find that there has been "idid
out within four years' for furnitur-e
alone o.ver *200,000, and* of ite
amiount Mr Beorry anid Mr. Fagsty,
furnituare dealers, testify that at tI@'
present time there is at theStt
[louse only $17,71~5 wvorth appraisedl
at the prices charged for it, a lis';oj
which was sworn to by them andJ iR
attached to their evidenee. Thijs in
clues #325. worth of f urniture pur#
chased by Attorney General Meltoir;
and paid for by him ont of his cons
tinigent fund, and at this time Is sin
the Attorney General's office. Mr,
Berry says he furnished ahrenm
ber of of committee rooms OirtsideOef
ihe State IHouse, as 'well ha bed
rooms. lie remembers 'furnishid
thet rooms occupied by W. J1. W'hip%
Green and others, and some of the
rooms he furnished as often as tbree
times. HIe also furnish ed 'roms al
Mrsi. RandalPs' for Speaker Moses....
Tradlod. fu rniitureo to moerp bers for' pay
certificates,.and furgished atmost. all
the offices in the State 'louse every
session.. In. continuation ho etAtee
that lhe furnished at least- forty bed
r'oome, but'does not know w bo obons.
pied them all; or what became of this
furniture; he was patid for it in legis.
lative puty certificates.
Wo ask reference to the evidence of'
Sergeant at Arms Williams on the
subject of furniture. HIe says he ptr
chased a lot of furniture from Mr.
Berry, consisting of be, tables,
washstands and bod room sets. Sono
of the rooms thuns furnishod wereo oC
cupied by W. J. Whippet-, W,1X,
Jones 'arnd James A. flowley. He
docs not know 3hat became of the
furniture, but endoavored to colct ILa
and was told by J. II. .Dontis, Janioa
A. Bowley, 'Bonjamin .Bysndt
Minort that heohad nothuing to do wid
it. C3onsequen thy;, ho 'trort6de h'udll
no more abotit. lId rys the~ rodnie
CONTi'N UED) oN 5K~coNJ P'AUM