The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1842-05-21
Total,
SS.72l 50

"Ihis enormous sum-" says Mr. Poindcxler,
| islands charged on the books Of tie Custom
| House in the short space Of three months, of
which S5,il6 IL debtcd to the collectors and
| storekecper's offices, in which there were en-
| poyed 10 clerks; making an average of S1I2,17
per annum Tor stationery for each person attach
cd TO the offices, There were, during This quar-
ter, 1873 realms of foolscap and letter paper or
dcred and supplied for the use of the Custom
| House, which iornls a part of the aggregate sum
| as above stated. 1t is evident that SO large an
amount of stationery could not have been rcquir-
cd for any legitimate purpose connected with the
business Of the several departments of the Gus
tom House, to be used in the short space of three
months, and therefore, the greater portion of the
articles purchased must have passed into the
hands OF Mr. Curtis, who succeeded to the office
OF Collector about the close Of that quarter, or
have been traudulently distracted from the Gus
tom House OF which no evidence was given to
| the Commissioners; but in the accounts and YOU
cheers rendered by Mr.. Curtis in the second quar-
ter Of the same year, being the first quarter after
he became collector, there is CHARGED, for dis
burscments in the purchase Of stationery ordered
and received by him for the collectors Office,
81, 753 10; for the appraisers, Sis so; for the
Storckccpcr, S2O3,S7, for inspectors, SPA so; for
the store in Washington street; $50 Sc, making.
in the whole, the grand total of slO,0la 80 for
the stationery, alone during one-half Of the year
1871"
"'Thc single item Of steel pens and quilts, of
the latter Of which but few were ordered, and
therefore scarcely worth mentioning, amounted,
during the three years of iIoyt's administration
OF the Custom House, to the sum Of sc, 225 l6
The price of those pens; charged in the bills rem
dercd and paid by Mr.. Hoyt, ranged from the
minimum Of nine dollars per gross; to the mari
mum OF twenty-five dollars per gross the larger
portion being OF lower class, which are in general
use for clerks, both mercantile and official The
dispositions of David Felt +. J, Emo, and Josiah
Hayden, who are large dealers in the article of
steel pens, are referred to, to show the standard
price per gross of the descriptions used at the
Custom House. lfpurchased in boxes, which is
the most convenient mode of supplying clerks
(the cards being entirely usecss,) it will be seen
that the first class of "Gillot's" Magnum Bonum
pens, or pens Of equal quality, could be supplied
in the New York market, at four dollars fftv
cents per gross on the card, or one half that sum
in boxes; and what is denominatcd the sscommer-
cal PEN" at two dollars per gross on the card,
or ~ 80 IN boxes. Taking the average of these
prices, and considering that l9-2Oths of the pens
supplied to the Custom House are in the latter
class, it will appear al these rates the sum appro-
priatcd by Mr.. Hoyt while he remained in office
would have supplied the enormous quantity of
Sugar pens, making an average of LA, orc per
annum, to be distributed among about one hun
dred clerks who are constantly employed in wr-
ting, or an average Of abont 1900 pens each per
annum."