108 THE FREEDMEN’S SAVINGS BANK
INVESTIGATIONS BY CONGRESS
While the commissioners were wrangling, and
the friends of the Negroes were trying to induce
Congress to settle the affairs of the bank, two
congressional investigations into the affairs of
the institution were made—one in 1876 by the
Douglas Committee, and another in 1880 by the
Bruce Committee. Both investigations were
made at the instance of the southern Democrats
and the Negro Republican members from the
southern states. Most of the northern members
of Congress objected to the waste of any more
time and trouble on the Freedmen’s Bank. Both
political factions in the South were willing to
throw responsibility for the mismanagement of
the bank upon individuals affiliated with the
northern Republicans.
These investigations laid bare the fraudulent
methods and corrupt practices by which the
bank had been brought to ruin. The report of
the Douglas Committee, after giving a historical
sketch of the bank, went into details in regard
to the causes of its failure, asserting that some
of the trustees were honorable men, but that the
controlling members, especially after the removal
 of headquarters to Washington, were either
sharpers or dupes; that the law failed to make
the trustees liable to penalties for misuse of the
funds under their control; that there was no
1 The Douglas Committee from the House consisted of Douglas of
Virginia, chairman; Bradford, of Alabama; Stenger, of Pennsylvania;
Riddle, of Tennessee; Hooker and Bliss, of New York; Frost, pri Massachusetts;
 and Rainey (Negro) of South Carolina. The Bruce Committee
from the Senate was composed of B. K. Bruce (Negro) of Mississippi,
chairman; Angus Cameron of Wisconsin; Los B. Fe of Georgia;
Robert E. Withers of Virginia; and A. H. Garland of Arkansas.