The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1858-12-17
Now Board of sinking Fund C ON mis-
sfOners.


Now Board OF sinking Fund ON mis-
sfoners.
The Committee of Ways and Means have
reported bill to provide for the election Of
a Board of Sinking Fund Commissioners,
prescribing their duties, term of Office, and
compensation, which contains in our opin-
ion, many very Objectionable features. 1t
embraces the plan, which, it was predicted,
would be concocted by politicians, to con-
centrate the funds of the State at Indian
apolis, and give the management of them to
the agents of the dominant party, who
would, by this power, exercise q monetary
influence as dangerous as could be exerted
if they had possession of the State Bank.
According to the bill the Board is to be
composed of President four Commission
ers and Clerk, making six fat offices to be
filed by the Legislature for a term of four
years. They are to have all the powers
and discharge all the duties of the old Sink
ing Fund Board, who are to resign and
transfer the funds to the new Board on the
first Monday of April next.
The new Board is to have not only the
control of the Sinking Fund, but they are
TO be constituted the sub-treasurers of the
State, to whom all its revenues are to be
paid to be kept in their charge; and from
which they are to pay the expenditures Of
the State on the checks of the Treasurer.
The State Treasurer is thus deprived of his
most important functions, by the transfer of
all the public moneys to the custody of the
new Board and is reduced by this provision
to simple register of the public accounts.
The bill makes very singular disclosure
in its 10th section, in which it is declared
that Gas the present salary of the Treasurer
of State will not be commensurate with his
services and responsibilities, after the with
drawal of THE PUBLIC FUNDS FROM HIS OWN
PRIVATE USE, be it enacted, that after Dec.
oath, his salary shall be at the rate of 81
900 per annum, and that he be allowed
$500 for clerk hire and stationery, in lieu
of percentages and perquisites now receiv-
ed" 1t would appear from this, that the
State Treasurer has enjoyed the private
use of the public funds, and percentage
and perquisites for their use:
1t has been known, and we have often re-
ferred to the danger, that there was scheme
to obtain possession of the large trust fund
about to be paid over by the Bank to the
State, and to organize some kind of o COM
mission through which demagogues and
spectators could get the use of it for their
individual profit and for the benefit of the
party. This bill seems to be the consum-
nation of that project. The party in power
in the Legislature will have the appoint
ment of the commissioners, who will have
the control, at their discretion, of between
three and four million dollars. The people
know from daily disclosures how the favor,
of the use of public funds are dispersed, and
it is easy to foresee who will have the loan:
from this generous fund, equal in amount tC
the capital of the State Bank. 1t will torn
a grand political corruption fund, the contro
of which will be the subject of bitter party
strife and of corrupt and proaigate intrigue
1t will aggravate the deplorable tendency o
our present party politics.
The scheme will concentrate all the money
of the State of every description ut lndi
annapolis, to be kept and dispensed there
giving that section an important advantage
in the use of funds that belong to the citi
zens of every portion of the State.
There is besides no adequate security pro
vided for the good management of the funds
The Bill provides that the commissioner
shall each enter into bends of 100000, t.
be approved by the Governor. The value
of these official bonds can be estimated from
the declarations made in another place, b.
the chairman, who reported this Sinking
Fund scheme He said that he found tn
official bonds in the State Treasurer's offic
rs of little value as the worthless securitie
that had been taken by some of the Treas
urers for private loans of the States money
"A Governor VINO Wanl6u W bOEiOWI VI "loh
ed to serve his party, would not be rigi(
about Bonds; and bonds for hundreds
thousands of dollars would be poor secur
ties for millions in cash. But the Bill de
clares that embezzlement shall be felon,
and punished by fine and imprisonment fe
two or more years in the penitentiary. W
would like to see public defaulter with
million in his pocket, or even $50, 900
his purse, sent to the penitentiary for tw
wears. The Bill is most dangerous schem
to concentrate the public money at Indian
apolis, and to place it in the hands of polit
cal managers, without any adequate guar'
and pledges for its safety. 1t is so obje
tionable in all its leading features that pu'
lie attention should be aroused to arrest
passage.
Legislative Proceedings.
The Judiciary Committee reported sever