Rensselaer Gazette, Volume 2, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 February 1859 — Corruption—A Few Facts. [ARTICLE]

Corruption—A Few Facts.

A telegraphic dispatch to the Cincinnati I Gazette of Saturday says: “Sherman’s Committee may or may not i complete its investigation this week. The report will be divided under four heads and probably will be unanimous throughout, namely: 1. Contracts for live oak; 2. Navy Yards at Brooklyn and Philadelphia; 3. Coal agency and contracts; 4. Machinery conI tracts. The testimony is damning to all concerned.” Sherman’s Committee, ft will be remembered, was appointed most unwillingly by the ■Democracy to investigate certain alleged i frauds in the affairs of the Naw Department. ! Its labors have been signally successful, but, ' we must add, most disgraceful, for they have revealed an extent of corruption and dishonj esty in the Administration that is almost appaling. Only two days \tgo we were told ; that it had been proved, by Democratic testimony. too, that the President himself was 1 implicated in raising money, through a Ponn- ! sylvania agency, for supplying the Navy ’ with coal, out ot the Government appropri- , aliens,which he had used in the Pennsylvania .election. J. Giancy Jones was the cat’s- ■ paw used by Mr. Buchanan. Mr. Isaac Tou- ; cey, Secretary of War. was,of course, mixed up in it, for it couldn’t be done without his ' connivance. Twenty years ago such an ex- ; posure would have ruined any man concerned ; ;in it, or any party that conceiled it. But ! now the President stands as well wi’h his ■ party as he ever did. Whether the party ' will stand as well with the people is not so ' i certain. Here is another transaction: “In one case it was shown that a large! quantity of paint belonging to the Govern- i ' ment was used to paint a dwelling house of ' Mr. Searing, a member of Congress, the labor also being contributed by the Navy yard. Ol course this could by no posibility have ! ; been honestly done, but we are yet without 1 ' Mr. Searing’s explanation of the affair, and ■it (remain- to be shown whether he was i aware of the fraud upon the Government, or i • was himself imposed upon.” Here is another a little bigger and alto-1 fgeiher more disgraceful: i. “W . D. Kennedy, one of the Tammafiy j Sachems, has secured this contract for some | time past. Il seems that in putting in his ; ' bids, he would oiler large quantitiec of cer- ' I tain articles at ridiculously low prices, an.l ■ • much less indeed than they c >u'd be possi- j Ibly purchased for. In this way he was ’ I enabled to put it in teep in many other ar- \ ’tides, and yet have the aggregate for the I average lower than that of any other bidder, ’ [and secure the contract- The thing up6n i the lace, of course, looks very fairlv, but bn examination we find that of the articles of- | sered at nominal prices, the master painter ! never wanted a pound, while of those put in ’ at high rates. Government was sure to need •_t heavy supply. " ' l ■ * I