Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1859-03-24
WASHINGTON NEWS AND GOSSIP

FINANCES OF THE Posr OFFICE DEPARTMENT.
II is a matter of frequent inquiry As 70 what
method will be pursued by the officers OF the
Post Office Department, in the absence of an
appropriation for the postal service, in making
its indebtedness to its employesapp In
a shape that will enable the iatter to negotiate
loans on the basis it represents. Various spec
uIations are INDUCED in concerning bills Of
credit, statements of accounts, warrants, &c
Ordinarily. the accounts of contractors, after
being examined and audited, are certified to
the Postmaster General by the Auditor for the
Department. The Postmaster General then
issues his warrant to the Treasurer of the United
States, authorizing the payment Of the amount
due. This warrant ia returned to the Auditor,
examined and recorded; and it goes next to
the Treasurer, who registers it and appends his
endorsement Then 1t becomes the property.of
the creditor who presents it for payment, as q
draft upon the Treasury. Until the warrant
has passed through the Treasurer's hands, it is
worthless to the contractor or anybody else
and as it is an order on tho Treasury, the
Treasurer cannot be expected to receive and
endorse it while there is no money in the
Treasury applicable to its payment. As for the
simple statement Of account, the contractors
may obtain that but II does not assume the
shape of negotiable paper insomuch as there
may issue dozen similar statements of the
same account. In his letter, the Postmaster
General simply refers to these accounts as debts
of record; and we are satisfied no formula has
yet been adopted by which their existence may
be made apparent through negotiable instru-
ment to be placed in the hands of the creditor
With Postmaster's accounts it is different
Under section 4, Of the act of 1886, they are
allowed to retain their commissions and the
expenses of their Offices out Of the moneys they
receive. The excess they are compelled by the
act of 1916, 1.-THE Sub-TreaSury law,) to deposit
in the Treasury. At the end of the quarter
their accounts are adjusted and audited, and
the Postmaster General transmits to the Treas
urcr warrant covering the amounts retained
for commissions and expenses, which warrant
is received in lieu of the amount of money it
represents, and credited and debited. on the
Treasurer's books, to the Post Office Depart
ment. 1t will be perceived that "a this war
rant goes into the Treasury in lieu of tho
money, tho latter must have been previously ap-
prOpriated otherwise the Treasurer would not
receive and record it. Whether any law au-
thOrizes the use OF this money until it shall
have been appropriated by Congress, is as yet
questionable; and, if not, Postmasters' ac-
counts will have to be adjusted in the same
way that those of contractors are, and all the
receipts of the Offices will then have to be paid
over to the Treasury. This will not however,
occasion much Inconvenience, as the Postmas-
tiers will. under the law of 1886, have the right
to retain their compensation, &c, until the
close of the current year, and they will not
therefore, be deprived of their pay for more
than three months, as they may with safety
use the receipts for the quarter ending Goth Of
December next, and rely on Congress to pass
an appropriation bill in time for the Postmas-
ter Generals covering warrant to be available