Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1859-05-31
From the Opposition.
SHOW the money Goes.,'


HOW Mr.. MISCELLANEOUS MAKES THE MONEY GO.
We now pass from the post Office. There
is another grave Department of Governments,
entitled "Miscellaneous"-a sort of Public
Gutter, into which all the refuse items that
can't be disposed of in the regular depart
ments, are indiscriminately thrown. 1t car
ries them off to the handsome tune of S18,-
100000 This respectable Gutter has been
deepened and widened 100 per cent. in the last
six years, as the following will show:
Average depth and width under Fillmore, $4,000 900
Ditto in 1878 Is 900 600
1t is a regular race between the War Sec
rotary, the Post master, and Mr. Miscellane-
aus, as to which shall have the biggest gutter.
The old war-horse amt to be sneezed at; and
the head of the Post Office is pretty fast
coach; but they say Miscellaneous is a Young
American" great and growing.
But there is another large outlet through
which the Public Blood is flowing like tor
rent. erefer to the Custom House system
of the United States.
In nothing has the unparalleled prodgality
of the American government been SO ex-
hibited as in the enormous expenditures upon
the
CUSTOM HOUSES.
The system (says the Hon. J. Clancy Jones,
the present Minister to Austria, and who took
the 5 per cent. commission, against law and
decency, to procure those contracts for the
Reading Forge Company)-"this system" (of
building expensive custom houses all over the
country commenced six years ago" The
total disbursements for all Public Buildings
from 1907 up to June, 1858, Mr.. Fillmore's
last year, only reached some $4,000, 000-the
whole amount far all Public Buildings, for 46
years. In fue gears, from 1858 to June 1858.
the amount expended was eleUel million, Secen
hundred thousand dollars (S1l,7OO, OOO)
The chief items are the new Capitol and
the Custom houses referred to. In every d.
rection, there is a splendid custom house,
some of them costing as much as the Palaces
Of Europe. The Bulldog of the Treasury
estimates the cost of the new custom-house
at New Orleens at 81, $40 900 Congressional
Globe, 1878; p. 2220.) The cust0m-house
at Charleston, it is estimated, will cost ST.
100000. The watchful guardian above re-
terred to- gives the following startling sta
tiStics
STATISTICS OF JOHN LETCHER.
See his remarks in Congress, May Is, 1858.
Congressional Globe, 1878, p. 2220.)
Cost Cost administration
of Building over all Revenue.
Belfast Maine, SIC ,597 20 l6l IS
waldOboro'. Maine 1913 IL 6O71 AZ
Wiscasset; $500 90 6703 81
Burlington, VT, 40 ,036 90 44S1 &c
Barnstabe, siass SO $40 so 1879 So
Sandusky, Ohio, "A, 81 S5 1872 At
These cIstom-hOuses are already compile
ted, having been built since 1850. Mr. Letch-
er proceeds to mention various others noIc con-
stTucting or authorized, such as the custOm-hOuse
at Oswego, n. Y, for which $4,000 is ap-
propriated, and the administration of which
Gncluding post office) costs S6.020 above all
receipts; the custOm-house at Astoria, Ore
gOn, for which Sal, 1913 is appropriated-the
administration of which costs Sl7,00 above
all receipts, &c. Here are large sumo appro-
priated for buildings, where the collection of
the revenue actually costs more Gotten much
mOrel than the cohOLe customs amount to.
The above are selection from a list pre-
scented by Mr.. l.. of sirty-one Custom II Ouses,
Post Offices, and Court Houses (the Custom
House in many cases contained the post Of
fee and court house. which involve the ap-
preparation of Sl220S, $50 - He gives a
list of 80 other places, where such buildings
have been applied fOr-at estimated cost
of S6,560,00l. But as we happen to have
another document before us, entitled the
Report of the Secretary of the Treasury
on the Finances for 1878, let us look a
little further into the matter. We find tia
king Mr.. Letchrr's list) at Belfast, Maine,
that S5,052 05 was collected from customs.
1t took SeUen men 10 do IL, and cost S6,0l 81.
ed, and it took nine men to do it, at 81 ,557, :
10. At Wiscasset, they collected up the
enOTmOur sum of Sl30,93. 1t took SeUeu men
TO do that, and cost 81. 5000. At Barnstable,
Mass, they cole ,ted 81 ,462 IS, and it took
NINETEEN MEN to do it, at S1I, 953 20.
But we will make off a list