Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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BY E. B. MURRAY & GO._ _ANDERSON, S. C., THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 1879. VOL. X1Y-NO. 48. THE SUPPRESSED GLOVER BEPOBT. MllUoua on Millions of the TubUc Funds Stolen and Squandered-Frand Absolute ly Unchecked and the National Finance* ut the Mercy of Thieves and Honners. (Continued from Lott Week.) It ?B remarkable, and somewhat alarm - inf?, that this corrupt and law-defying Bureau bas by its showing, printed note? and bonds for which the Government is liablo to the extent, up to Juno 30, 1878, of $G,550.0v?0,0G0, and that while it hos been conducted with extreme secrecy, it has dona $5,775,000,000 within niue years past, and also 1113,000,000,000 of revenue ?tamps. In 1873, when tho panic was at its height, George F. Cutter, then Navy Pay Director at New York and now Pay master-General of the Navy, remitted to Pay Director Bradford at London $500, 000 to meet drafts drawn by Paymasters all over the world on Jay Cooke, Mc culloch & Co. Cutter bought bills of exchange from Francis O. French, ex change teller of tbe First National Bank of New York and New York agent of Jay Cooke, McCulloch & Co., tho very house against whoso threatened failure ; he many drafts at London were to be ?trotected by remitting to Bradford. Oct. 4 he drew from thoJNcw York Hub-Treas ury $300,000, and Oct. G $181,323, and paid them to French for bills of exchange. Phis he did some Jays before tho mail left for London, and, as cash wab then worth 5 per cent, a day in the market. French and his associates were enabled to use this half million to make $100,000 or upward. Cutter swore that he did t>- la by order of Secretary Robeson. Thousands of dollars, tho total not being ascertainable without a much lon er investigation, were found to have een obtained from the Treasury as in terest on registered bonds by forging powers of attorney for their collection, the forgers in many cases having confed erates in the Treasury. Beside this, Treas ury employes, who had means of know ing to whom this interest was due, had confederates outside who went to tho owners and told them-tho existence of Ute claim being forgotten or in Borne way overlooked or unknown-that they knew where there was money due them, and could procure it. but must have half for their services. This extortion was made practicable by tho Treasury taking no steps to notify owners of tho failure to collect, and keeping the whole matter a profound secret. Geo. Sharp Jenkins, the man who seems to have been most largely engaged in these extortions was warned of Iiis approaching arrest by some one in the secret, and fled tho coun try ; but not till a package containing $500 thus obtained and addressed by him to tho wife of tho clerk in the First Auditor's Office who had furnished tho information, had fallen into the hands of Maj. William B. Mooni, Supervising Special Agent of the Treasury, who detected the operations. Moore asked the detail of an operative from the Secret Service to help this de tection ; one Maxwell was detailed, who had been appointed in reward for party services in JS76, who afterward received an appointment in the Army for tho same cause, who has since been Bent to tho pen itentiary for misconduct in the Army, and who Beems to have played thr spy and done all he could to shield the par tit."? concerned. This inquiry, however, which seemed to be desliad "by all tho Treasury au thorities, whl'e it relatad to extortion, had a very different fate when it reached ( the forgeries. At the same time that the package of $500 fell into Supervising Agent Mrore:s h^nda, a package was also ', found addressed to the wife of the Inter est Teller of the Treasurer's office con- ( taming a 7aluable bilk dress pattern. Tl,:s was Vjpt by the teller, C. L. Jones, j till he learned that one of Moore's assis- , tunts had inquired about it, when bo re- j turned it to the sender, H. M. Williams, formerly Deputy Collector of Customs at New York, who had been indicted for complicity in the "Lawrenco" frauds on j tho revenue, and who was soon after de tected in fraudulently collecting un- , claimed interest from tue Government by ! forging powers of attorney. In three cases it was ascertained that A. U. Wy mau, Treasurer of tho United States, had 1 learned of these frauds, and instead of 1 exposing Williams and having him pun- 1 ishcr1, nad compelled him to refund tho money, and then surrendered I to him the forged papers that would havo 1 convicted him. Ono of these threo forg ed powers of attorney W03 drawn in favor ; of Interest Teller Jones, who in paying tho many sumB collected by Williams, drew tho check, in violation of regula tions, in favor of Williams, instead of iu favor of the claimant, and gave Williams other privileges. Treasurer "Wyman knew of Williams' fraud before Mooro found the package addressed to Mrs. Jones ; but while he urged the investiga tion of tho extortion by outsiders, he let Mooro know nothing of these forgeries, though Mooro informed him of tho find ing of tho Jones package. Williams was introduced to Jones nnd vouched for while under indictment-by tho Appoint ment Clerk of tho Treasury. J. W. Por ter, and by D. Baker, Chief of tho Loan Division of the Secretary's Office. Du ring the Glover investigation Baker re signed. Some of theso fraudulent pay ments wero made to Williams through Middleton & Co., bankers, of Washing ton. The hc;.d, 8. E. Middleton, waa ono of Treasurer Wyman's bondsmen, form erly Cashier of the Treasurer's office, and in at least ono caso wbcro Wyman re turned thc forged p?ipor? tn ?? imams. Middleton & Co., at last accounts still held the money, no effort being made by the Treasury officials to compel its re tnrn, and Wyman is still a defaulter to t . it extent. Tho startling facts were discovered by tho committee that Wy man's accounts had been passed and Fettled as correct, this defalcation not being known to tho persons who ?cttled hiaacccoun?sj except to his bondsman Middleton, who said naught of it; that tho Treasury records do not show tho character of the fraudulent payments ; that tho sole means of detection is for the owner to claim tho money, and that the fraudulent transaction and tho forged sig nature to tho receipt for the money wore scratched off Lho Treasurer's office rec ords, ''.nis unclaimed interest bas at iiiucs been several millions in amount. When not called for after a long timo, it .dinuld revert to the Government, but the Treasury has taken no steps of this kind. It turns out that Charles F. Conant, Assistant Secretary of tbe Treasury, was intimate with tho forger and swindler Williams, and thn? JT W. Porter, An ointment Clerk o'' tho Treasury, and 0. Baker, Chief of tho Loan Division of tho Secretary's office, who iutroduccd Wil liams, and vouched for him while under indictment, to Interest Teller Jones, knew nil shout thc unclaimed interest business, Baker having been designated by the Secretary to aid nud protect owners in collecting their money, and Porter hav Inij brid charge of tho fund in ibo First Auditor's office. In 1874 John P. Bigelow, then Ci 1 f of tho Loan Division, Secretary's Office, under Secretary Richardson, obtained n copy of the record of unclaimed interest, much of which was due to parties abroau. Soon after, ho waa mado London ?gent of the Govermeut in syndicate opera tions. When he went abroad tho list of claimants disappeared. Ile staid abroad till 1877, and wnen Williams wa? in dan ger, returned to defend bim. James II. Robinson, Assistant Solicitor of tho Treasury declined to aid Moore's investi-. gation, saying, "They don't want it con tinued up stairs," referring to the Secre tary's Office ; ar.d he co-operated with Appointment Clerk Porter in an eflbrt to break down Moore's investigation by abolishing tho force of Inspectora of Cua toms, to which Moore's assistant in tho ma'ter-who had first traced the Jones package-belonged. Robinson suddenly manuiactu. jd an opinion that there was no law for tho existcnco of this force, which bas existed over fifty years. When Mooro informed Assistant Secre tary Conant of Williams' frauds, Conant, to Moore's astonishment, advised him to drop thc inquiry, and ho threw ?ueh diffi culties in its way that Moore fdt forced to suspend it the whole time that Conant was Acting Secretary of the Treasury. When Sherman became Secretary Moore reported tho facts to him, and Sherman referred the matter to George F. Talbot, Solicitor of the Treas ury, instructing bim to complete the in quiry in accordance with Moore's sugges tions. Moore and Treasurer Gil fillan, who had co-operated, con ferred with Talbot and enabled him to obtain evidence to establish tho facts. They cautioned bim against Conant, Big clow, Baker, Robinson and others; but within forty-eight hours they were Bhut out from the investigation, and these very men, including Williams, were in con stant communication with Talbot. The suspected parties had possession of and passed round the testimony and re ports against Williams, and SOTO of them called Treasurer Gilfillan to to account for telling what he knew. Gilfillan went to New York to aid Dis trict Attorney Woodford to arrest and prosecute Williams there. Williams was warned of this, and passed Gilfillan between New York and Washington, ap pearing before Talbot and saying he waa informed Talbot wanted him. While Gilfillan was arranging Williams' arrest with Woodford, the latter received a tele gram from Talbot directing him to act in concert wdth Bigelow, Williams' friend, and himself under suspicion, and to try to have Williams give up the list of own ers of unclaimed interest to Bigelow I Before tho Glover Committee Talbot swore that he never sent such atelegrnm, but the committee obtained a copy of it, with his signature! This dispatch stopp ed Gilfillan. Talbot allowed Williams to bo examined without arrest by a United Stutes Commissioner of Williams' choos ing. Neither Moore, Gilfillan nor any other person who knew the facts, was no tified of this "examination," or allowed to testify; only witnesses irieudly to him were examined and he was discharged. When Middleton & Co. were asked to re fund tho suma wrongfully paid to them on Williams' fraudulent account, the let ter addressed to them at Washington was answered by Williams from London. Talbot made a whifewashinL, roport to Secretary Shormau, devoted mainly to e-culpating Conant, against whom no charges had been laid before him ; but Sherman deemed it policy for Conant to retire; he was Bent to London to keep Bige low company, and the foreign loan opera tions of the Government have eince been conducted by men who successfully did their best to shield a confessed forger nnd swindler, who with ?he aid of Treasury confederates stole the money that be longed to widows, lunatics, orphans and foreigner?. Thc forged BiniiuLure? were unlike the true ones, and Williams' con federate, Interest Teller Jones, made no comparison or test of their reality, viola ting thus the rules of office. All theae officials but one, Baker, are still in office, and Porter has been made Financial Ulerk of the Coast Survey, while Wy man and his bondsmen have been freed from responsibility. Tho sole punish ment meted out was that to Supervising Special Agent Moore, the ono man who persistently tried to expose the ?a rong! and who was reduced to a subordinate post. When the Grand Trunk Railway waB opened the exports from Canada passed Qver it through Vermont, New Hamp shire and Maine to Portlnnd, where they were shipped abroad. This trade soon grew so large that whole lines of ocean steamers were built for it, and 100 largo bonded warehouses wore set up at Port land to accommodate it. Under tho Treasury regulations tho commodities were loaded on cars in Canada, tho cal's then sealed by the United States Consul at the starting point, and run through without opening or delay to the port of Bhipmout in the States. Thua thoy pass ed free of ali annoyanco by Custom House officials, not being subject to duty, as they merely passed through thc country. Thc Joint High Commission, which framed the Alabama Treaty, agreed (Article 29 of Treaty) that this should go on. March 30, 1875, tho Secretary of the Treasury issued an order con fum ing and regulating the practice. With in a month after ho published regula tions practically abolishing it. He re Suired that all gooda coming from Cana a ahould be entered, opened, inspected and put under bonds for their shipment abroad, at the first portof entry they reach ed after crossing the border. On the Grand Trunk Railway this waa the small town of Island Pond, Vt7 where tho facilities for making the entries were ao inadequate that the order could not pousibly bo car ried out. Tho penal oonda required amounting to millions of dollars at i time, all had to be executed by two per sons who were worth but a few tbousanc dollars, which made the bonds worthies: and showed that the atoppage at Islam Pond gavo no Becurity against smug gling. The first effect of the order was t< enlarge tho compensation of the Oolloo tor ot Customs at Island Pond to $40,00( or $50,000 a year, thrco or four times tba of the Collector of Now York ; but tin second result waa to destroy the ii trausitu trade, to drive it out of tin States back down thc St. Lawrence Riv er, to ruin tho owners of a hundrei bonded warehouses at Portland, to breal up the atcamship linea from that port and to inflict heavy losa on the owners o tho Grand Trunk Railway. To thia out rageoua piece of tyranny ia duo much c the hard times that have lately prevali? in Northern New England. It is sal that thia exploit waa engineered b Judge Poland, in exchange tor hia sup port of Secretary Bristow at the Cincinno ti Nominating Convention, where Pc land violated bia constituents' instru? tiona by auch support. Senator lix: mund*,"however, wrote n -letter to th Glover Committee claiming for bimse the credit of arranging the Island Pon achievement, and stated in the commi tee room that be did it to benefit tb Collector, who was in some way relate to him. Jasper W. Johnson of Oregon, Seen ?.?ry of thc Liberal Republican Nation; Committee, waa appointed in 1676 a Inspector of Customs and kept on ti pay rolla several months, receiving se eral hundred dollars, without ronderir. any service to tba Government. He wi tent by Aaaistant Secretary Contnt I Bluford Wilson, at Cincinnati, to Lelp capture the Convention for Bristow. A system of theft, which had gone ou for years, was detected at Norfolk in 1877 by Maj. Moore, special agent. In stead of turning into tue Treasury duties collected from merchants on goods, the Collector of Customs and otber officials stole the money and omitted to enter it on tho books. While Moore was engag ed in exposing these frauds ho was sud denly dismissed from tho service, and the matter was put into the hands of Ayer and Chamberlain, tho special agents whose neglect to examine tho books had made theso frauds easy, A habit of smuggling wl.ies, etc., by the officers of naval vessels returning to thia country has long existed. In 1876 while the Sixth Auditor was confined to his bed by illness, a whole sale removal was made of the more ex perienced clerks, and raw hands were substituted. The Appointment Clerk of the Treasury explained it by saying that the Secretary natl promised appoint ments for political purposes, and must have vacancies to fill. L. E. Gannon of the Supervising Ar chitect's Office was detected in criminal dealings with contractors, whoso ac counts bo examined and passed on. Ile admitted his guilt, but was neither pun ished nor dismissed. After Bomo time he resigned and was given two months' leave of absence with pay. He bas since been allowed to practico before the ar chitect's office where he committed these wrongs, as claim agent and representa tives of contractors. When the page of tho Sundry Civil Appropriation bill containing the Hot Springs appropriation disappeared from tho bill last year, Chief James J. Brooks of the Secret Service employed Thomas A. Britt to obtain proof that the missing sheet was stolen by Senator Conover of Florida, out of spite to ex-Gov. Stearos, one of the Hot Springs Commis sioners, whoso pay depended on the ap ?ropriation. Assistant Chief Simon 13. enson soon took direction of the inqui ry, aud a purpose was revealed to maka up a case against Conover that would either force him lo volo to seat D. T. Corbin in place of Senator Butler of South Carolina, or remove him from the Senate by prosecution and conviction in time to prevent bis voting. Britt nick ed up in a drinking saloon two fellows, named William G. Coleman and T. H. S. Boyd, to whom ho proposed that they mako affidavits implicating Conover. They hesitated, whereon Benson gave Britt a note to be shown to them, prom ising reward. To this note he attached tho initials of his superior officer, Hon. Kenneth Rayner, Solicitor of tho Treas ury, without Mr. Rayner's knowledge or authority. Tho note is as follows : I understand you to say that a reliable gentleman has some knowledge of the transaction between certain parties on the last night of Congress, tending to show that certain parties in soma mys terious manner had some knowledge, or wero in some way cognizant of the loss of certain i temB in the Su nd ry Civil bill which bad been agreed to by tho Committee of Conference of both houses. It is a tact and truth that such legislation has disappeared, and its loss cannot bo ac counted for. It certainly was not neg ligence that caused the loss, but is be lieved to be the work of designing par ties. To detect and bring to the front the guilty parties is an object greatly to be desired and proved; to fasten the guilt of this great outrage upon the puh itc greatly to ba desired, ana tho person or persons who would aid the officers iu Congress and thc Government would be rewarded in proportion to the result produced, and he would be entitled to the commendation of all good citi zens. K. R. To Wm. G. Berrett, Washington D. C., July 18,1878. Please let tho gentleman (your infor mant) reduce his statement to writing, and bring it to rae and I will then arrange for a meeting with him. K. R. "William G. Berrett" was thc alias of Britt in obtaining witnesses. When they saw this not? the reluctant witnesses con sented to make the desired affidavits which they took to Benson, who caused them to be altered so as to make affiauts say that they made these affidavits "without any inducement or promise of reward. Benson in conversation told Coleman what ho wanted him to swear to, and that he and Britt "would be takon care of." Benson took no steps to inform himself of tho method of enrolling bills, so as to test the probability of the truth of Coleman, Holt and Boyd's statements. (Walter Holt bad been taken to Alexan dria by Britt and'thero induced to make a like affidavit.) Benson, before the Glover Committee, admitted that he did not know whether tho stolen proviso or iginated in tho Senate or HOUBC, or tc which house the manuscript bill was seul from the conference committee, H< took no steps to learn the character o Britt or of tba witnesses used by bim The affidavits themselves were found by tho comraitteo to afford convincing proo of the utter improbability of their state men ts. Britt told Sherman Conant United States Marshal of tho Northen District of Florida, that he had a sum mer's job, and that was all ho wauted Benson tried to induce a clerk in th Treasury to get Senator Conover drunl and obtain a confession from him. Sc licitor Rayner testified that both ho am Chief Brooks said Benson bad no eas against Conover. Chief Brooks, becoming disgusted wit! Britt, dismissed him ; but In Brock:' al senco' BonBon, acting Chief, re-employe him lo get testimony in another cast Benson publicly denounced Solicite Rayner for refusing to send worthies charges to;the Grand Jury, and carrie this so far that Judge Rayner felt oblic ed to suspend personal intercourse wit him and to ask Secretary Sherman "1 dismiss him. Solicitor Rayner being resolved to ei ercise his power as the head of tho Si cret Service and to mako honest 'ru ings in Treasury law matters, the Trea ury Ring wi>re anxious to get rid of hiv. The Secret Service wanted Assistant S< licitcr Robinson in Rayner's place, ar laid a plot to work tho latter's remova Bensou employed Britt to go to ex-Go Gibbs, who represented the surety i Edward B. Taylor, a deceased Indii ageut, and try to get him to induce Ra; ner to write a letter to the District A toruey of Nebraska, demanding tho a ceptanoo of a compromise of a claim $11,000 for $185.00. Britt offered if th letter was written to take it to tho Di trict Attorney at Omaha himself. Hi it been written, however, it was to 1 shown to Secretary Sherman to sccu Rayner's removal. The report states that the Secret Sc vice appears to have been used large for blackmailing purposes and perece tion of private individuals, and that ni are employed in it without any test qualification, provided they havo wh seems to be informatics against person and that persons of character and rep tatton who have felt tho force of methods have as a rule declined to r their grievances before the committi prcferibg rather to suffer in silence th to encounter the plots they felt rt wonld follow their complaints. Solid Hayner testified : "Within eight mouthe I know of eight or ten private gentlemen, who have violated no law, whose nairn- - have been entered there, and have been reported on in tho moat terrible way." \\ ild, tho Secret Service agent at New Orleans, waa dismissed from tho Depart ment of Justice for taking money from claimants in a case ho officially examin ed. Tho contract made by him with tho clainants, and the check paid to him, aro in tho Department of Justice records. Yet he h now engaged to "protect" the Government and tho oublie against counterfeiters and swindlers in several States. The report recommends the ab olition or thorough reconstruction of tho Secret Service. In 1862 Congress provided for Treasury special agenta collecting captured and abandoned property at the South, and for turning into tho Treasury the pro ceeds of auch property, to bo returned to tho owners on proof before the Court of Claims of ownership and freedom from complicity with tho Rebellion. Under thia act 175,000 bales of cotton were col lected and sold, tho proceeds being as nearly as could bo ascertained, $36,500 000. Of this, $9,310,787 were eaten up in "expenses," leaving over $27,000,000. Of this, $9,545,000 havo been returned to owners under judgments of the Court of Olnims, $1,623,000 by tho Secretary of the Treasury, $292,000 under special acts of Congress and $188,000 under the act of May 18, 1872-in all $11,648,000. This should leave on baud over $15,500, 000, but tho report of tho Secretary of the Treasury show but about $9,000,000 on band. What has become of thc other six and a half millions the committee could not leam. This great raid and seizure of 175,000 bales of cotton, however, was not tho whole spoliation. Contrary to law? thou Bauds aud thousands of bales were seized by Quartermasters and other Army officers and sold, the proceeds never reaching the Treasury. In one year-May, 1863, to May, 1864-the Chief Quartermaster at New Orleans, Col. S. B. Holabird, re ceived 12,779 bales, worth at least $2, 500,000, yet he only acknowledged $834, OOG net proceeds, and atates that thia sum was ?pent for Army purposes by or der of Gen. Banks. LAIBO contrary to law, Admiral Porter, vTuile patrolling the Mississippi and its tributaries, aeized large amounts of cot ton on land and shipped it to Cairo as maritime prize of war. The Supremo Court has decided that this cotton was unlawfully taken by Porter, yet tho Treasury refuses to return the money to tho owners. When the Committee on tho Treasury called in 1876 for the production of the original records of cotton seizures, a Cab inet meeting was held and au Executive order was issued uy Grant forbidding thc production of original books and papers beforo committees of Congress. The law placing coiton matters in thc Customs division of thc office of the Sec retary of the Treasury has been disre garded and a Bpecial bureau formed without authority of law with a chief and assistant and clerks, and with salaries from $1,200 to $3,000 a year. The dutj of Marlin Luther Noerr, chief, is to fur nish thc Court of Claims true copies o all records in that bureau pertaining ti particular lots of cotton. Judge Nott o that court stated from tho bench tha Noerr had furnished four different ro ports of captures of cotton at Atlanta the first report admitting tho cap ure o but twenty bales, but the last admitting 1671 He declared that the Cotton Bu reau's statements as mado up by Noer were wholly unreliable, and r'~.ted tba the law requiring keepiugof, "Looksofac :ount chowing from wnom tho cottoi ?vas received, tho cost of transportatioi ind proceeds of sales," bad beeu flag! tiousty and scandalously evaded and de Sed by officers intrusted with its exocu tion. Noerr reported to the Court tha Lhere were in the Treasury thc records o tibout 640 bales from Vicksburg, not ove ?130,000. Mr. Eveloth, Commissioue ippointed by the Court to examine th cotton records, found that over 5,00 bales had been seized at Vicksburg, an that the proceeds had gone into th Treasury, $925,000. Chief Justice Case af tho Court of ClainiB swore that Noei mowed no disposition to correct hi statement, and that ho had tried in vai to get Noerr to explain this great dh crepancy. Tho Chief Justice also teatif sd that it was "impossible for claimant Dr their friends to get any information c satisfaction at all in reference to the claims from thia division, except tbroug calls by tho Court of Claims, tho ai wera to which both tho Bar and tl Court regarded as wholly unreliable 1 my judgment they (Noerr's report were in many cases intended aud desigi cd to mislead and to prevent parties fro getting justice." William Fessenden, assistant to Noer was dismissed from tho Army in 1864 i a defaulting additional Paymaster, f embezzling $20,000. Ile lent the publ money to Salmon B. Colby, a contracte and William Coombs, a clerk in tho I terior Department, for use in speculntli in lumber. Fessenden to receive for tl use of the money 10 per cent, of tho a tual sales. The money was lost by F( [?.emlen's treachery, Colby claims, ni Colby was bankrupted. Within a ye afterward he was mado clerk in the C< ton bureau, where he has Binco rcceiv on an average $2,000 per year salary a largo sums for "extra services." From August 25,1865, to May 5,18 thc Ticr-??i'jr j>??i?j ?o attorneys, ngei and informers more than $1,000,0 from the money which belonged owncra of cotton. One Charles Eai and various partners were paid willi ten months of 1866 and 1867 $420,000 order of Secretary Mcculloch, $168,( being shared by ?ames with John Logan, then Representative and n Scuator from Illinois. In about cij teen months of those years McCullc caused to bo paid to S. II. Kauffm Firat Chief of the Cotton Bureau, $82,0< and KaufTman soon turned up aa p: ncr with Boss Shepherd aud ?V. Ada] correspondent of tho New York H'oi in ownership and mnnagemnt of i Washington Star, which has been c apicuous in defending tho District Columbia Ring and belying tho Gio investigations. Bobert S. l?ale of Is York was employed as Bpecial cour of the Treasury Department by McC loch and Boutwcll, and waa paid $24, for aervicca rendered in tho course two years. Jame? S. Frazier of Indi, waa employed by Secretaries Richard aud Bristow to aid in adjusting cot caaes under tho act of May, 1872, and ceived for aervicca in the course of yeara $15,618. Beside thia, nppron tiona amounting to $166,000 have b procured by the Treasury from Cong to be expended by that Department defending tho Secretary and bia agi against Baits for seizures, and in dele ing suits in tho Court of Claims, and Department of Juaiice has procured the carno time appropriations of $285 to be spent by that Department in fending suits agaiost thc. "captured abandoned property fi?nd"-$451,000 all, and tho Attorney General contii to ask an appropriation for the same ; peaea of $25,000 every year, though ? and all Iiis subordinates aro salaried offi j cials, and though under thc law very few i cotton cases aro now allowed to go before ? the Court. An infamous law, procured fron? Con ! gress by implicated parties, forbids tho owners of colton to sue the Secretary of the Treasury or his agents, for taking away their cotton, appropriations havo been repeatedly obtained to pay special coun j sci for using their legal skill to prevent I owners from getting back their own 1 I Andrew Hosmer, a Union officer set ; tied in Alabama in thespring of 1865 and raised a crop of cotton worth about $30, j OOO. When it was ready for marketone of tho Treasury thieves seized it. Tho Cot ton Bureau kept Hosmer out of his money fen years, took from him one-fourth as "commission" to tho robber, another fourth as "expenses," and returned half bis property minus-- ton years' ititcrest. There were twenty-one supervising special property agents, and their ac counts were ordered to bo settled hv Robert E. Preston of the First Auditor's oflico. In his statement Preston reports that J. M. Tomeny, agent, collected 7,468 bales, and sent Draper 5,468 ; but Tom eny swore before the Glover committeo that be collected 15.G90 bales aud sent to Draper 11,111, 5,043 more than Pres ton credited him with in the official settle ment. Special Agent O. H. Burbridge swore that Preston demanded nnd re ceived money from him before ho would begin settling his accounts ; that Pres ton made a second demand, which was refused, and that heneo Burbridge's ac counts remain unsettled. Tho Supremo Court has decided that the proceeds of captured cotton aro a trust fund iu thc hands of tho Treasury for tho benefit of the owners; butas has been seen, this trust isshamefully abused. Millionsot this trust fund were deposited by Secrcraty Mcculloch in Jay Cooke's First Na tional Bank of Washington, which en joyed tho use and profit thereof, while tho owners Butlered. William E. Chan dler, while Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, caused a full list of tho cotton claims to bc made out and furnished to him, and sonn ofter resigned and went into the practice of "law" at Washing ton. Tho official who made Chandler tho list swore that it was worth at least $100,000 to its holder. Dr. John M. Woodworth, Supervising Surgeon-General of Marine Hospitals, testified that under his management the Marine Hospital service was not self sustaining, though he had reported to make it appear that it was, doubled the tax on Bailors aud had a revenue of over $350,000 a year to support tho service with ; that he bad obtained from Assis tant Secretary Conant approval of vouch ers for $2,100 extra pay and traveling expenses for seven months, in violation of law. while preparing a report on chol era, which extras, without ?aw or author ity, were taken fron; tho hospital fund collected from sailors ; that the Register of the Treasury's statements never showed the true condition of the Marine Hospital fund, the Pegister's figures being always better than the facts, and that he was not allowed to state the truth in bis report, because it would differ from the Regis ter's, nnd that thero were often many unpaid bills. Dr. Woodworth further testified that there was no law regulating the number or appointment of marino hospital offi cers, and that, though tho service was not self-supporting, he wished to appoint 19 more officers ; that thero was no law for proper examination of such officers be fore appointment : that ho had been at perpetual war with the appointment of nce of the Treasury as to wno the hospit al officers should be ; that there was no law regulating the expenditure for build ings. It turned out that Woodworth, while professing to investigate the chol era epidemic, had drawn contrary to law $6 a day and 10 conta a milo traveling expenses, in addition to his salary, for seven months, over $2,000; that the statements of expenses of tho service in somo of his reports did not include re pairs, fuel, furniture, salaries of engineers and firemen, lights and water, which, in 1874 and 1875, amounted to $62,606, and that benco theso statements of expense aro incorrect and unreliable ; that the Treasury had long been in the habit of unlawfully allowing "commutation" in stead of actual expenses to traveling of ficials, thus unlawfully increasing their compensation. Woodworth's bills above mentioned were rendered and passed by the Auditor and Comptroller, contrary to law, as "compensation" for collecting information. When the Glover Commit tee caused them to be examined they were found to be altered from "compen sation" to "commutation," and the words "for expenses" put in, both in Wood worth's handwriting. Dr. Frank W. Reilly, one of Woodworth's assistants, drew his rcg'ilar pay from tho hospital fund, and other pay for investigating two subjects at the same time. Tho Marino Hospital at Pittsburg was Bold on Woodworth's recommendation for $37,000, a verbal opinion being ob tained from tho First Comptroller that $20,000 already received from sale ol a part of the grounds could be used for a new building. Gen. Negley engineered n bill through Congress authorizing thc sale and purchase of a new Bite. Thc salo being made, a sito was bought from Negley on recommendation of a com mission of Treasury clerks, designated by Assistant Secretary Conant, for $30, 000, which, according to the host infor mation obtainable, was worth $5,000 oi $0 000. Then the First Comptroller dis covered that to apply the $20,000 for i new building would bo unlawful; ant Gen. Negley having got his $30,000 o sailors' money, the land remains unused Woodworth acknowledged that $50,001 had been spent in tho Bervico in tb rc years above the receipts. The bills fo $2,100 in seven months for preparing i report on cholera of fourteen page?, bc sides his regular pay for services rcn dercd as Surgeon General in the Barn time, nbovo referred to, were made on and certified correct by Woodworth him self, and paid cn his order from th Marino Hospital Fund by the Collecte of Customs at Georgetown. A lette authorizing this unlawful compensatio was written beforehand and signed b Secretary Richardson. Thc bulk of tho cholera report, a vol umo of about COO pages, was furnisher not by Woodworth, but by the Arm surgeon aK ociated with him, Dr. Mi Cloilan. Woodworth made uphisrepoi for 1877 in form to show that he ha mado tho hospital service self-suppcrrtini and did not acknowledge that it wa* n? M> till the committee had ascertained th; it was not. At Baltimore tho chargi for caro and maintenance of sick searac wcro under fifty cents a day, but at Ne York they wero eighty cents, and ; Philadelphia ninety, which leaves ma gin for a nice profit to somo one. WK DO NOT WONDER,-Wa do n wonder that housewives who havo bc? accustomed to uso Dr. Price's Special Fl voring Extracta should turn in disgc from tho trash often Fold under the nar, of Flavoring Extracta, which stuff ame and tastes Uko turpentine Dr. Prie. Flavoring Extracts have tho taste ai odor of tho fresh fruits. A TALE WITH TOOMBS. Why, lu HU Opinion,the Confederacy Full, ed-A Sharp Arraignment of Jefferson Davis for General Inefficiency. rhiUuUlp?iia Times Atlanta Leiter. Tho recent ?peech made by Gen. "Bob" | Toomba in tho case of tho State against T.eafurer "Jack" Jones disclosed an alarming condition of physical weakness on the part jf the old man eloquent, and gave too plain cvidcuco that his race has becu nearly run. Three or four times he tottered to his chair and sat down to rest. Iiis mind is still power ful, and his frame is massive and erect, but it is quito clear that he is not equal to n sustained eflbrt. Tho people of Georgia never loved any mau better than they love Gen. Toomba, aud tho signs of his brcukiug down havo awakened a tcu der interest in him aud nil that to him pertains. He is tho most remarkable man in ninny respects that tho South over produced, auu it is doubtful if tho records of a lordlier lifo than his can be found in thc history of our Republic. In a long talk with your correspon dent ho talked freely of the ovents that led up to secession, tho organization of tho secession government, the causes of tho failure of the Confederacy, of his Hight after the collapse, of his opinion of reconstruction, and threw much light on thesointeresting topics. "I have always believed in tho sover eignty of tho State," he said, "but I have .icen very much misunderstood on thc iubject of secession. I have never bo icved the Constitution of the United States was a good oue, and as an original juestiou I would never have voted for it -but I was not tho blatant secessionist hat I have been represented, that is, up .o the time that I thought there was no ;duce or security for my people in the Union. Then I determined to lead them >ut of a compact that was protected by milling but good faith, and was shown o have no good faith back of it. My irst vote was cast for Andrew .Tnekson, mt I fell cut with him about thc nuiiili :ation troubles. In 1850 I supported he Clay compromises very strongly. It .as never been my custorr to consult my , lonstitucuts on public realtor*. When, ( herefore, they became angered at my ad ?orence to tho compromise that promised , o save tho Union, I only stuck to it , ho closer. My position was mado na ? ?sue in Georgia, and a convention of tho , leonie was called. I came homo to de ena it. I united with Howell Cobb, , vho was conspicuous just then for having ] efuaed to sign the 'Southern Address/ | md with Alexander Stephens, who , tooti upon the same ground I did. Mr. ( jubb rau for Governor, Stephens for , Congress, and I fought for my record. { Ve whipped the fire-eaters out and car- j ied tho Stato handsomely. 1 stood by ( hose views ol compromise in the Union j tibstantially until after tho failure of j ho Crittenden compromise. I suppor- j cd Breckirlridgo in that campaign of , 8G0. Mr. Stephens supported Douglas ,ud Ben Hill supported Bell. Wo lcd ho thrco elements in Georgia at that , imo. ''After Lincoln's election I saw that rouble was brewing, but I waa still un- , villing to commit myself to secession, md then, too, I was not certain that ?eorgia could bo carried on that issue. . Stephens and Hill were both for Union. . telegraphed Breckinridge, asking him . o appoiut a representative committeo hat wouid ofier some compromise to 1 ueet tho pressing exigency. Ho an- . lointed on this committee, nmong otu rs, Crittenden, to ropresc"* Bell and . Everett, or rather thc men who had sup- j lortcd them ; Jeir. Davis and myself for ! ds friend: Seward for Lincoln, and Dou- 1 ;las himself. Tho Crittenden compro- j niso was ottered. I supported it hearti y and sincerely, ni though tho sullen ob- ] linacy of Seward had made it almost inpossible to do anything. For suppor- \ ing this compromise I was denounced in ?eorgia by Ben Hill as having betrayed ? ny section and my people. I didn't uind this at all, as Ben is always de louncing somebody or something. At ) engt h I saw that the compromise meas- 1 tres must fail. With a persistent obsti lacy that I havo never yet seen surpn>Bod, {eward and his backers refused every j ?verture. I then telegraphed to Atlanta': ( All ia at an cud. North determined. ' seward will not budge an inch. Am in aver of secession.' When the fight was airly opened I still felt doubtful about ? :arry ing tb? State. Tho peoplo were dc- ] ermined against submission to tho un- ? ust encroachments of the North, but , hero were many who favored tho ap- | loiutmcnt of a peace commission, oth ?rs who wanted to wait for co-operation, , ind still others who feared to take so , lesperate a 8tep; and let me aay right , tere that I never doubted tho gravity | >f the situation. Tho statement that I , aid that I would drink all the blood , hat waa spilled is one of stereotyped les they have circulated about me when I loft the Semite. I knew it meant war, | ind I said in my farewell speech that ho next time I looked upon Washington [ thought it would bc at the beau of , southern troops." "What about thc meeting at Montgom ery?" "Tho Beeret history of that meeting las never been given. The mnjority of die delegates wero opposed to the dec don of Mr. Davis. His own Stato{ Mis dssippi, was opposed to him, and if the yoto bad been cast by delepjiiU?* rnthnr than by States he would "never have been, elected Carolina was for Davis nil tho time. Ho suited tho extreme views of that Statc? and Mr. Rhett held the delegates well in hand. Florida had only threo votes. O:.. of these. Ander don, waa an old school-fellow of Davis,' and Owens was a Carolinian and under tho influence of Rhett. They out-voted the third delcgato and gave Davis the State. With these two States, each counting as much os Georgia, he secured the Alabama delegation by ono vote -by means of whit trickery I will net discuss. Georgia, Mississippi and Louis iana would have preferred either Mr. Cobb or myself; but neither 'of us were candidates, and neither would consent to have a struggle : so they agreed witS the thrco States that bad spoken. Ttxas. informally represented, acquiesced, and Mr. Davis was elected. I was not on good terni., with Mr. Davis. Ho appoin ted me Secretary of State. I declined to accept it, preferring to go at once to the field. I was urged to reconsider, and at length did so, fearing that my refusal might be considered as significant of a lack of harmony. I waa never satisfied with my position in tho cabinet. The trouble was that too many of our leaders sought Buch places when they were needed in tho field. I secured our recog nition as belligerents, established rela tions with the unseccdedSouthern States, and then inshded on retiring. Lj this time other States had joined u?, and I felt that the Cabinet should be reor ganized. I suggested to Mr Davis that he ask for tho resignation of all the portfolios that all the later States might bo repre sented. He said ho disliked to do so, and I thou aaid I vould do it for - bim. He acquiesced in .bia, and I informed the Cabinet of what I had thought of do lng, and what I thought they should do. It was a bombshell in tho ranks. They asked me if Mr. Davis had sent mo to them. I then told them exactly what bad happened, but they declined to give up their places. I thou resigned and went to tho field." "What in your opinion was the cause of tho failuro of tho Confederacy?" "If I had to name ono thing that was most fatal I should say the conscript act. That demoralized thc troops and tho country. There was no necessity for it, and it sprang from Mr. Davis' de sire to have thc appointment of officers. Ho was crazy over his West Point mar tinets, and when ho could not appoint tho officers of tho volunteers, ho went to Congress and demanded the conscript law and got it. I said at the time : The cause is lost, ana this Bhould bo its epi taph : 'Killed by West Point.' In gen eral terms tho absolute inefficiency nt Richmond was tho cause of our failure. Davis is a remarkable character. Ho iu a good writer, and that is all. He was a slow man, and always acted rashly at last. His delay v,-us not caused by de liberation, but was a combination of va riety and n refusal to think. Ho is a very smnll military man. I told him that ninety per cent, of war was business -that wo must organize victory rather than trust to fighting entirely. I urged him to send to England to buy all tho arms there. Ho ordered 8,000 rifles. Joo Brown, of Georgia, had more arms for a long timo than tho Confederacy had. Under pretenso of giving tho Unionists timo to leave tho South, ? kept our porta opc? for Bixty days. ?o new government over started with such unlimited credit ns we had. Wo bad uny amount of cotton offered us. I urged Mr. Davis to Bend this to England as fast as it could bo carried, and buy Bhips mid arms with it. We could have bor rowed any amount we wanted. The first loan mado was ?50,000, when it should have been $5,000,000. But it Beemed to bo impossible to get tho Government to look nt the matter in a serious light. Had the first sixty days of the uonfeder nto Government been properly improved we could have so organized that defeat would have been impossible. At ono limo it was announced that there was an error of $000,000,000 in the amount of hills out and the amount on tho bocks of the Government. There was never a moment during tho war when Davin ac.. Luuiiy appreciated tho situation. Why, utter the march of the Confederates from Rappahanuock to Sharpsburg and back ?gain, when they had swept everything before them, numbers not availing any thing against them, Davis thought tho ?var was over, and actually began to pjarrel about who had whipped ft. He ?voa as jealous ns a Barbary hon, andoneo darted to have me arrested for ridiculing jim. I am thoroughly satisfied that tho establishment of a Government under Mr. Davis was an impossibility. Indeed :be fight was hazardous from beginning .o end, without method or statesmanship, ind sustained only by miraculous valor is long aB it was. The Constitution was i good one, but there praise of the Con federate Government, and its work must 3nd." "Have you ever taken tho oath of al legiance to the United States Govern ment?" "No, sir. The last oath I took was to he Confederate States, anu I shnll never .akc another. I do not like the General 3overnmont, and I would not consent to lerve if any capacity. It is a tempora ry concern at best. The Constitution ios no power within itself. It depends solely on the good faith "f the people, and hat guarantee alone can not continue to lind together a great country of diverse nterests. I have never really believed tinco 1850 that the Union was a perpe uity. The terrible experience of tho late var will probably deter any faction from making a row for the next few | fears. Had it not been for this the | ?Vest might have precipitated a collision luring tho election muddle of 187G. I lave no faith in the Puritan New Eng anders, tho fellows that Macaulay Bald vero opposed to bear-baiting not because t burt the boar, but it pleased tho poo pie. AB to the talk about the Northern people forgiving me, I have noshing to tay. As I have not forgiven them, and lon't expect to, lam indifferent aa to the tuite of their feelings." BEECHER ON RECONCILIATION.-This ?reat nation, was divided byan invisible ine, morally visible enough, on both ?ides of which tho north and south had itood in bloody antagonism for five terri ne years. In my own judgment, when [ consider human nature, when I consid er that a proud people have ?eon them selves emptied out of power, their politi cal existence almost annihilated, their property swept out of their hana's as by a consuming ?amo, the ascendancy of tho despised slavo established over them by what was to him a foreign arm, I should not have wondered if there had been ten times the resistance that there had been to reconstructive measures. Never in history has a people borne so much with so much patience* gallantry and patriot ism-a spectablo of moral grandeur and of substantial good intent and honor in those who have been so terrifically scourged which is without parallel. The spirit which would set the north against tue south, the east against the west, the Germans against the old Puritans or tho old Puritans against the Germans, il>? *bi!s? ogainot *hc blacks or thc blacks against tbo whites, is not only politically criminal, but it is absolutely subversivo of tho fundamental instincts of humanity. There is yet the power and the honor in this country to hold men to gether in charity and unity. When it was the need of the untempered north to bo nerved to resist the arrogance of plan-1 tatton domination I was not wanting. What we need now is love, charity, union. I speak again. Though I hateu slavery I did not bato tho slaveholder. I loved him and I still love him. I love all mankind not only for what they aro, but for what they are going to be. Contesting Wills. The controversies over Vanderbilt's and Stewart's wills has tended to make pop ular tho contesting of w ills. One of the latest cases is that of Mr. T. W. Waller, of Tidioute, Pa. He bad for years suffer ed a continuous death from a scrofulous swelling, or "fever-sore," on his limb. No physician could cure, or even give relief. In his pain aud despair, bo will ed to havo his leg cnt off. His friends contested his will, aud after repeated trials succeeded in "breaking" ft. and persuaded him to use Dr. Pierce's Gold? en Medical Discovery and Pleasant Pur ?alive Pellets. Under date of December 4, 1877, he writes that "after trying everything I could hear of in vain. I look ur. Pierco's Golden Medical Dis covery and Pleasant Purgative Pellets, and they effected a speedy, perfect, ana permanent cure." Read ibo People, Common Sense Medical Adviser, an il lustrated work of over 900 pages. 100, 000 copies already sold. Price, post paid, $1.60. Address the author, lt. V. Pierce, M. D., Buffalo, N. Y. mil Arp?n Female Colleges. j Our sex is thoroughly subdued in tho I progressive city. Every rooster that gets on a fenco flaps his winga and crows, ''Women rules here-ere-ri-e.' It? j these iemnlo colleges that a doini it. I came over here to see sixteen blooming damsels graduate at the Shorter college : for you see one of thom was mine and Mrs. Arp's, and as you had?nt heard nnything about a female collego I had a mind to send yo'rn hasty scrap. I havo thought for tomo timo you ought to p':t an occasional paragraph in your col urns about fomalo college commencements. There are aeveral female colleges in tho State and its about tho tiino of tho year when they dress up and nomo forth for an airing. The girla al ways buzz around with the Juno bugs, and tho big boys run' after tho ono just like tho little boyH run after tho other-Just to hear cm June. # Tho female sex aro monopolizing pub lic attention now. They havo got five colleges to our ono. Theres hardly a town in the State where they nint educa ting two girls to one boy. if this thing goes on whats to become of tia? Wont they be putting us in the brick-,round under tho shadows, and after while just keep us at homo for their amusement? Why I know of several farmers who have got their boya plowing and hoeing to mako cotton to raise money to sena [ their daughters off to collego. They say i thattbe'girls cant make any money to sena the boya off, and BO if the girla dont go nobody goea. Howa that? What are we going to do about it? The cart has gone before tho horse again. Well, I reckon its all right, for they say a smart mother makes a smart eon. Tho human raco will breed after the dam but its mighty hard on the country boys. Most ail the nico girls and the rich girls aro sent to the towns and cit ies to schools, and when they get there tho young lawyers rind doctors and store clerks go for cm ona still hunt. They watch em like a chicken hawk watches for ebickena in tho spring of the* year, and by tho time thoy quit school they pounce down upon em and carry em off with an impudence that ia amazing. Tho poor country boy dont get nary chicken at all. Sad, ain't it? Ho mado love to that gal before she loft home and her low, sweet promise made him plan dapper ?nd hoe harder, and he whipped up old Dobbins with a lively lick. But there's nary Mary Jane Tor ulm. There's a pale faced gent from the town at her father's. Ho drives n Ono horso and has gloves on and a standing collar, and his hair is colonyfled, and his hat stock on the side nf hi? head and Mary Jane hos surrendered. An impertinent Rome boy told me that was what female colleges' was for a sort of quartermaster department tho town boyB draw their supplies from. It wasn't exactly this way when I was a youth. Athens was a wealthy, aristo cratic city, the college boys tnero kept the place drained of its rich beautiful girls. They married them just as fast as they grew up, and they carried them off. An Athens boy couldont touched, em with a ten-foot pole. If he wanted a wife ho had to emigrate to git one. 80 Its bad all around for the boy who cant ?;o to college. In fact its a swindle--a raud-and must bo rectified in someway. Why I couldent biro a buggy yester day nowhero, for these town "boys had every one of em and was riding around with the college girls ?ike ? tornado was after thom. I complained of it to an observing friend and ho said you need ent bo alarmed ; these aro the smartest girls you ever saw in your life, and their parents wcro smart before om. Thoy are not goiog to marry theso flashy ? young bucks. Why, I heard a graduate making fun of a feller she roda out with bccauBo he Bard "I taken" and "they had went" and Bpolt three words wrong in his noto. She said she waa going to open a Behool exclusively for young men to atudy grammar. The fact Is, the boys aro neglected and Rome muBt havo a male college to keep the sexes on a bal ance. THE YOUKQ LADY GRADUATE. What the Valedictory said-Kind teach ers, over shall we IOOJK back to the happy days when under your patient and lov ing pilotage, wo dimed tho hill of knowl edge ; over shall wo hold tho recollec tion of your self-sacrificing devotion among mr holiest remembrances. And classmates, though tho links aro at last broken that have so long united us in their tender chain, yt are we still per mitted in memory's forge to rewoid tho scattered fragments, andi live once again in fancy tho happy existence that baa been oura, and which wo prize more than ever now that it CAD bo lived in reality no more. What tho Valedictorian Thought Thank tho Lord, 1 shall soon see the last of old Smith 1 He never was fit for a teacher, any way, cross old bear I And then ho shows partiality so I I nover could seo what bo finds in Sal Stebbing so attractive. No matter what she does, ho's good os plo to her. I guess Fd have to take it if I should come to school with . lessons no better than hers. And Mips Jones 1 H'm I tho old maid! She's just hateful. And Miss Brown, too! What a dowdy sho ls I No wonder no body'll have her. Thank heaven 1 I'm free of them all now ! " I don't believe I'd sneak to one of them if I should meet them on_the sheet. Let's see-I must cut thai reriwiukie giri rjghv away. I don't want to be dogged 'round by her any longer, and. what's more, I won't. I snail havo to keep on good terms with Steve Stowers' sister, though I do hate her BO; for Steve's got a jolly team, and ho always dresses nobby, and all thc Siris envy mo and Steve when we go ri ing 'long. And I'm going to give Sal Steobmgs a bit of my mind and then good-bye to ber, the minx I Well, I'm glad it's all over ; I never want to think , of school again or see a school book. What a life ? have led, to be aurei But I ehall go 'nto society, now, thank for tune, where I belong !-Boston Iran script __ M UTI LAT? KO THE COIN.-We have before us four silver coins, a dollar, two half dollars and a dime, all of which havo holes pierced through them. It is not, perhaps, generally known that for any person to subtract a portion of tho ailvor or gold from coin of tho United States so as to male it of less weight or value than it ought to bo pursuant to law is a statutablo offense, which is pun ishable by impi' jument for not moro than two years, and by a fine of not more than $2,000. It is a mean thing to mutilate tho coins of tho country, oven apart from the purpose of effecting a lit tle gain thereby, os it destroys tho beauty of their artistic appearance.-Baltimore San. QUEEN OP THE OVEN.-A biscuit made with Dr. Price's Cream Baking Powder-is certainly tho queen of tba oven. So light, white and enjoyable ! After breakfasting on biscuit modo with Dr. Price's Cream Raking ~?der, what man would cont?mplale a^c?dc, or grum ble because his wifo asked, him fer mon