Democratic Sentinel, Volume 5, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 January 1882 — Robeson Leads the Republican Party. [ARTICLE]

Robeson Leads the Republican Party.

In the distribution of the bills to be reported from the Committee on Appropriations Secor Robeson will have charge of that of the navy. This is the place of all others which he most desired, and as the chief manager of Mr. Keifer’s canvass for the Speakership he caused himself to be placed second on the Appro- j priations, second on Naval Affairs, j and Chairman on Expenditures in the : Navy Department. Among the multitude of big jobs which have been nursed for the present Congress is one for building up a new navy, estimated at thirty millions to begin with ; but winch, under the manipulation of Secor Robeson and the rings that he fitly represents, will most naturally expand into eighty or a hundred millions. During the eight years that Secor Robeson served as Secretary, one hundred and eighty millions were squandered and stolen in that department, almost without a show of conceal meut. Contracts and patronage wore openly huckstered in the markets of Philadelphia and of New York to the highest bidder, and no honest trader had the remotest chance of being considered ■unless he subscribed to the terms of Cattell and other brokers of official favor representing Secor Robeson. Promotions, choice statons, pleasant transfers and rotten claims were procured through female iuflueiice. It was a long carnival of open venality and robbery. Finally, when holding over for the coming of his successor, Robeson outraged all decency by awarding contracts for several millions, in flagrant violation of law. Ke left behind him a lot of rotten hulks, of worthless machinery, and a demoralized service, to tell the story of an infamous administration, the sole aim of which was to steal the public money. Nothing like it had ever occurred in our history. Investigation confirmed the worst charges, and, when the proof was about to be submitted to Congress, Robeson’s next friend, Murtagh, the proprietor of the Grant organ, an 4 President of the Police Board at Washington, was instigated to have Mr. Whitthorne, the Chairman of the investigating committee, intrapped by regular detectives into a house of ill-repute, in order to break the moral effect of his then forthcoming report. One of the detectives refused to obey Murtagh’s orders to commit this atrocious crime, and the conspiracy was thus exposed. After all the revelations against Secor Robeson, his party stood by him at home and at Washington. He knew the secrets of the principal leaders, and he was familiar with the methods by wliich success was obtained. Hence he was sustained by the machine, and to day he is the recognized Republican chief in l the House. He stands forth as the organ j of the party, and, of course, he intends i to utilize it for his own profit.— New I York Sun.