40 THE FREEDMEN'S SAVINGS BANK 
each was a member of from three to eight other 
boards or organizations more or less closely re- 
lated to one another in the capacity of borrower 
and lender or of purchaser and seller. Many minor 
officials were likewise connected with similarly 
related enterprises. It was thisidentity of person- 
nel which gave some foundation for the charges 
against the so-called “Freedmen’s Bureau ring” 
which for a time controlled the Bureau, the 
bank, the freedmen’s schools, Howard Univer- 
sity, several commercial enterprises and religious 
organizations, and a few political undertakings.” 
Somewhat later, about 1870, the Bureau’s in- 
fluence began to wane, as a new element began 
to contest its control. These newcomers were 
from the District of Columbia and were con- 
nected with such interests as the First National 
Bank, the District of Columbia government, the 
Seneca Sandstone Company, the Metropolitan 
Paving Company, the American Building Block 
Company, and other such organizations.? This 
state of affairs was sure, sooner or later, to affect 
the bank unfavorably. 
2 See, e.g., Fernando Wood’s charges, Peirce, Freedmen’s Bureau, pp. 
110, 111, 117, 153. 
23 See below, chapter 5.