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.
