Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1853-08-26

bv dav and il is a humiliating admission that
great State like Pennsylvania should permit heT
honest creditors TO sacrifice portion OF tner
claims in such a manner and the Board earnestly
hone that there NAV neveAIDe a recurrence of this
kind from any cause, OF combination OF causes
whatever.
This brings us to the inquiry, How was this
state Of things brought about 9! In answer II
maf be stated in the first place, that the appTo-
priation for repairs and motive power expenses on
the Portage road, for 1852, fell taE very TAR, below
the actual amount expended. by reference 70 20 the
late report of the Canal Commissioners, II VIII DC
seen that the expenditures exceeded the approprl-
alton the sum ofOnc hundredand dtorty-three thou
sand nine hundred and seyenty-siX dollars. In
other words there was, at the end OF the hscal
year Ist Of December, 1852, an actual reported
debt of the above amount. Aporuon oi TINS deps
was caused by the road being kept open day ana
night during the winter Of 1872. a double
set of hands the whole time was Indispensable yet
the measure seemed to be demanded, as wei ty
the public sentiment, as due regard to the ac-
commodation of the travel as the trade. 10 TINS
enormous deficit, it Is apprehended, may be adueo
| a large sum which had not been reported by the
late Superintendent at all. Should the apprehen-
/ sons Of the Board, in this respect, De reahZed'
they cannot conjecture how II happened ne
most charitable way that 1t can be accouhIed lor'
is to say that it the result oi lHe1eUSeots neg
rl5ere: rvpFid ,.A.z officer hereafter be guilty oI
similar conduct, and it be discovered while he Is
within reach Of the Board he viii be made pub
lie example ofat once.
The appropriations to pay the debt on this road
and the current expenses of the present year,
not made until the 10Th of April last. Thus II II
apparent that the disbusng officer on the road
had no means within his reach to pay tins debt,
from the time of its creation in 1852, until after
the 10Th Of April, 1858, nor had he the means Of
paving the current expenses Of the present year
Under the act Of assembly, the superintendent
can only draw thirty thousand dollars at one
time. He must then disburse that sum, return
his vouchers to the Auditor Generals office, and
have them audited before he can draw any
more.
1t appears from the books Of the State Treasu-
rer that the superintendent had drawn between
the 18th Of April, 1858, the day on which the ap-
preparation bill passed, and the 18th Of June, the
day which the :. strike" occurred, the sum OF
Sl6l $50 So, all of which had been dlsburScd.
This much larger sum than had been
disbursed in the corresponding period of last year
if indeed it be not more than has ever before been
paid out on that road, in the same length OF time
OF the above sum, about So 600 had been pur-
chased by sundry persons from laborcrs, and 9th
ers, at a discount. In the opinion Of the Board
these claims should not have been paid at the
time.
They had been purchased on speculation, and
should not have been paid until all the claims in
/ first hands had been fully discharged.
The propriety Of this course Is nor the more
obvious. since it is known that the appropriation
will be exhausted before the whole debt VIII be
liquidated, and thus the parties who purchased
! these claims at discount, VIII have been rClm-
/ burscd. while many oftho>e mcriJ0Tious mon who
had served the State faithfully night and day
land some Of them too in limited circunstauccs,)
will have to wait, perhaps another year.
/ 1t is due TO the disbursing officer however, TO
| say that at the time these claims were paid, il
! was believed the appropriation would cover the
/ entire indebtedness Of the road. The views Of
the Board in regard TO the future course Of all su-
perintendents, as well supervisors, in this res
/ pect. are sufficiently indicated in the resolutions
which were informally considered aJ PlttsbuTg IN
June, and atterward adopted by the Board at
Johnstown, on the 18th. They are IN these
words:
Resolved, That the superintendents ofthe Phil
/ adelphia and Columbia, and Allegheny Portage
railroads. and the supervisors of the several dIylS-
ions of the Pennsylvania canal, be directed in the
/ disbursement Of money for the payment of debts
/ in ALL cases to pay FIRST those creditors who
/ have performed the labor, and in 40 CASE to pay
any check roll or other evidence Of debt in the
hands of second parties until ALL the debts in the
! first hands shall have been fully paid.
Resolved, That said superintendent and su-
pervisors be also directed to draw from the treas
ury, at the earliest practicable moment, as much
money as may be necessary to pay all back debts
due TO laborers, engineers and other hands IN the
employ OF the Commonwealth, and that hereafter
said parties be paid monthly, so long as the ap-
/ preparations for that purpose may last.
In this connection 1t Is proper to state that a
number of the newspapers charged the officers on
/ the road ''with specUlating in the wages Of the
/ operatives" ," &c The committee, IL is true. made
no such allegation, yet the publicity which had
! been given to the suggestion by she press, indu-
/ cCd the Board to investigate the matter. They
/ therefore propounded to every witness who had
/ any knowledge of claims having been sold, the
! general question, . Do you know of any officer OF
the State having been concerned, either directly
or indirectly, in the purchase Of check rolls, or
/ other evidences of debt against the Common
! wealth !'' To this a negative answer was given
/ in every instance The Board being desirous to
do justice to all parties concerned, deemed it pro-
/ per to call upon the bankers who had purchased
/ the claims referred to. To this end they went to
/ Hollidaysburg, and addressed a note TO Messrs.
Bell, Johnston & Co., and also to BRYAN Glenn
& Co., requesting their attendance. Mr.. Johns
/ ton representing the former and Mr.. Gardner the
latter firm, appeared in compliance with the note.
The Board then put this question to each Of them
! - Has there been, or is there now, any arrange
ment between your house and any officer of the
State, by which such officer is or was to receive
| any portion of the profits arising from the pllr-
! chase ofthese claims g. These gentlemen both
/ answered, unqualifedly, that - no such arrange
ment has ever existed - and Mr.. Johnston, with
whom Gen. Ross deposits his money stated in
aasyvor 10 a9aothOv question, that Ross receives
no compensation whatever, on account of the
money being deposited with them. - Mr. Robert
j. Ross, of Harrisburg, who had purchased a con-
siderable portion Of these claims stated substan-
tally the same that Nlessrs. Johnston and Gard
ner had said. The Board viii barely remark on
this point, that they rejoice that the evidence e-
cupates entirely every officer IN the service of the
State from all participation in these specuations.
Whatever difference ofOpinion may exist with re-
gard to the propriety ofthe traffic in these claims
bv Others no one, it is believed. would attempt to
ri