Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1864-10-26
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER rs, 1864.
MISCELLANEOUS,
PRESIDENT LINCoLN's SALARY.

l b
A Letter from General Spinner-- Retttation
Of Stander-The President Does Not Re
Genre Has Salary Tn Gold-He Does Not
Draao 1t for a Pear-Hts Noble and Dis
taterested RatriOtism-"He Country Needs
the Money More Than he Does"-His Loss
on HIS Salary.
WASHINGTON, Oct. Is, 1864.
In answer to letter from New JERSEY
In reference to the chage of Mr.. Lincoln
having drawn his salary 10 geld, General
Spinner, United States Treasurer, writes ::
The salary of the President is paid on
warrant drafts on the eTreasury for the amount
due, less income tax. These warrants are
paid him regularly, monthly Instead of
drawing his money on these drafts, he has
been in the habit of leaving it long time
without interest In one case his salary
remained for eteUen months.
'On several occasions I solicited the
President to draw what was due him, urg-
ing that he was losing largely in interest
on the amount due him. He asked me,
'Who gains by my loss?' On my answer.
ing, The United States, he replied, Then
as 1t goes for the good of the country let 1t
remain; the Treasury needs At more than 1
! do.
Having at length satisfied the President
that 1t was necessary to the closing of my
annual accounts that the drafts on the Treas.
ury that he held should be presented and
| paid, he endorsed and handed them to me
drew the amount in United States notes,
and placed it to his credit as a temporary
loan, at five per cent. per annum, payable
principal and interest in greenbacks
Since then his salary has been from time
to time mostly invested in stocks of the
United States, purchased at current rates
by his friends for him. The interest of
| these stocks is payable in coin. When
| this interest became due I tried to induce
him to draw it, Failing in SO doing the
amount due him was sent him by Hon j.
G. Underwood, Judge of the United States
Court, District of Virginia.
An investigation of the transactions of
the President connected with the receipt of
his salary has been made, from which it
appears that Mr.. Lincoln, from his for
bearance in collecting his dues, has lost at
least four thousand dollars, and achich he
has UirtUaty giUen to the people Of the Uni
ted States.
John G. Underwood states to Gen Spin
Der I'm the early part of last summer
you desired ME to take little bag of gold
over to Mr.. Lincoln, to whom it belonged,
it being the interest due upon Government
bonds | took the bag to Mr.. Lincoln and
delivered your message. and counted out
the coin to oyer eight hundred dollars.
His reply was that he was in no immediate
want of the money, and he reckoned the
Treasury needed it more than he did, and
therefore he wished me to take it back to
you, that it might be used for the benefit
of the country.
bordering upon this noble example of
patriotism and unseltish devotion to the
great cause in which we are engaged, |
obeyed him, aud, as you remember, re-
turned the bag with its contents to your
custody.
Leroy Tuttle, Assistant Cashier of the
United States, writes to General Spinner,
that the first investment of the President
was in sixteen thousand two hundred dol
lars, seven and three-tenths bonds, which
be left in the vaults as special deposit in
the winter of 1862, and held them until
July, when he converted them into Skies.
The interest on the Seven. thirties was
usually left uncollected after falling due
For Instance, the interest was sent to him
in coin, which he returned, with the mes
sage that the Government needed it more
than he did On the lst of August, a
friend of the President came into the
cashiers room with eleven Treasury drafts
due the President, each draft being for
months salary, making in all the prece-
ding eleven months salary, or 22,306,67,
for which amount q loan certificate was
given, payable in legal tender Treasury
notes, bearing FIVE per cent. interest, paya-
BILE in like funds.
Seventeen days thereafter another depos.
ite of 3,874,73, was made for him, paya
BILE in like manner Said certificates were
pres ,nted for payment on the 18th of July
last, nearly one year after date of deposite,
by friend Of the President, who took
therefor lawful money, and invested the
same in United States stocks.
The present investments of the Presi-
dent are in United States stocks, upon
which interest is payable the same as to
any private citizen, but unlike citizens gen.
orally, he has not heretofore had his interest
until long after it was due, and then it was
always collected by some friend of the
President who said the President would
never collect it himself.
Aside from the loss of interest to the
President by his neglect to collect it until
months after it was due, the single trausaS
ton of loan certificates, considering his
uncollected salary for one year, and the
difference between FIVE per cent layful
money which he received and six per cent.
in coin which he might have received, will