The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1859-03-24
From the Cincinnati Gazette.
THE TREASURY ROBBERY.
ABSTRACT OF THE REPORT
OF THE
Investigating Committee,
Made to the Legislature, March 8, 1859.
ALBERT A. bliss.


Treasurer from lS41 to 1852,
The first Investigations Of the Com
missioners we're confined to the accounts
and official transactions Of Mr. Bliss,
Treasurer of State from March 1847 to
Jan. -, 1852 At the time Of his cleo
ton he was a practising attorney at
Elyria, in Lorain county; and, as he
states in his deposition. twas not worth
a great deal of money" and, as stated
i'm the deposition of others. owned q
house and lot and a "snug little farm"
in Elyria, and was worth from $4,000
to $4,000.
WHO MR.. BLIss's sURETIEs WERE.
For his 6rst term, his sureties con-
sisted Of his personal friends from his
own vicinity. For the second, however,
they were Messrs. William S. Sullivant,
Michael L. Sullivant, Thomas Noodle,
Demas Adams, ir., Joel Buttles, A. II.
Pinney, VIM Miner and Jacob At
wood; all but the latter residents of Co.
lumbus, with all of whom, previous to
his frst election Mr. Bliss had but
very little, if any, personal acquain-
tance, and who were therefore uninAu-
enced by any considerations of friend
ly or political character. The Commits
sioners infer therefore, that they were
Influenced by considerations entirely Of
a pocuniary nature, as they were con-
nected, directly or indirectly, with the
banking business, and "the Treasury of
| the State Of Ohio had, for long per-
iod, been the source of profit to many
Banks and Bankers" Mr.. Sullivant,
who was President Of tho Clinton Bank
Of Columbus, corroborates this state,
mcnt.
HE RECEIVES INTEREST on DEPOSITS
OF STATE FUNDS.
Mr. Sullivant also swcars that there
was, as he supposes, an understanding
with the Banks, that a certain amount
of interest should be paid to Mr.. Bliss
on his deposit account; and that in the
City Bank of Columbus, there was an
amount due for interest, at the time he
went out of Office, of $4,000 or $1,000,
which his sureties considered as a part
of his assets, available to them to pay
tho.amOunt due from him to the State,
but the Bank refused to pay it. Mr..
Deshler swears that there was no agree
ment as to interest to be paid MIR. Bliss,
but there was interest paid him
Upon deposits for which certificates
we're issued, interest was paid him at
the rate Of four per cent. per annum -
Such deposits were claimed by Mr. Bliss
as his private funds, but Mr.. Dcshler
was somewhat suspicious that they
were in reality the funds of the State. "
The testimony of w. G.. Deshler, Mr..
Noodle, D. w. Deshler and Thomas
Heaton, also shows that Mr.. Bliss was
the recipient of interest on his deposits
of funds of the Treasury; and it does
not appear that he ever accounted to
the State for any portion of it. The
amount he received it is impossible to
ascertain, though Mr.. Deshler testiies
that, as teller Of the Clinton Bank, he
paid Mr.. Bliss at least 81, 3O6 as interest
on deposits. The Committee add
"Unquostionably large sums for inter
est were received by Mr.. Bliss from var
ious sources, of which no definite intel
ligence can ever reach the public"
MR.. BLISS AND HIS PREDECEssoR-How
THE BOOKS WERE KEPT.
Mr. Whitehill was the predecessor of
Mr., Bliss, and the entire amount ascer-
tanned to be due, was paid by him to his
successor a short time after his acces-
sion to Office. The whole sum, S4O5,
6l2 so, was paid in cash.
During the whole term of Mr.. Bliss,
according to the Report, the books of
the Office were kept in a manner neither
creditable to him nor his principal
clerk, Mr.. Hume. The testimony of
Mr.. Hume diseloses the fact, which,
more than all others, has contributed to
the defaloation, that large sums of
money were paid into the Treasury
without the knowledge Of the Auditor,
and therefore not charged to the Treas
urer This same error, so fruitful of
evil and loss, was continued during the
entire term of Mr.. Breslin.
1t frequently happened that days and
weeks would elapse without entries be-
ing made in the books, except in the
daily cash botter. In one instance, to
which Mr. Humes particular attention
was called there were no entries from
the Both Of June to the 18th of No
vombor, on which last named day,
with the vouchers before him, he made
all the entries from vouchers 278 to
1881, representing the transactions for
the period named He assigns as the
reason that he was the only clerk, and
that it was impossible TO make up the
journals and accounts in any other
manner
Mr. Whitohill required, during his
time, frequent footings and examina-
tions; but, during the term Of Mr..
Bliss, this was seldom done. The
books Of the Treasury did not show,
on any one day, its true condition;
and IL was only known at the time of
making up the annual reports for the
fiscal year, ending on the 18th of No
vember. Mr. Bliss testifes that, from
the nature Of the whole business, aud
from the manner Of doing it, both at
the Auditors and Treasurors Offices, Il
was next 10 an impossibilty to deter
mine whether tho cash on hand agreed
With the accounts on tho books oftouer
| than 0n0e q wear.