The mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1863-1943, 1865-02-18
TIE MOUNTAIN DEMOCRAT.
The Recent DehAleatisn OF the Inter-
nal Revenue Collector:

The steamer which goes East on Mon.
daY will take the report, official or unofi.
cial, Of Collector Patch's defalcation. and
Of it's settlement by his bondsmen. We
do not know If the Government will be
fully informed as to the circumstances
which led to that defalcation, and as it is
important that they should be understood
and considered before . new Tax COllec.
tor is appointed, we deem it advisable to
refer to the subject again in this place. -
When thA first rumOr of the detale@si"~
got afYoat, tho press was authoritatively
assured that no defalcation existed, and
that only an ''irregularity" had been dis.
covered. When the actual truth trans.
pircd, in spite Of the officer who sought
TO conceal it, q portion of the press was
supplied by the same authority apparent.
", with an excusatory plea, to the effect
chat the compensation Of Collector Patch
was insufficient, and he had been led TO
overdraw his account trusting that the
Government would allow the difference,
and that Congress would be induced to
pass bill affording remedy in his case.
All Of these excuses were in conflict with
the facts, so far as they could be discover.
ed. The deialcation amounted to about
&2S, 900; and according to the showing
put forth by his friends, the Collector
was in receipt Of at least 1856 per month,
10 gold, over and above ell the expenses
of his Office, while it is believed that his
net compensation was much larger than
this But admitting this to have been
its extent, and that an Office of such re-.
sponsibility should be allowed q liberal
salary, any man Of ordinary economy
could afford to live on the salary named
rather than increase it by an improper
use OF the funds committed to him for safe
keeping. Besides this, the amount of the
dedication was largely in excess of any
merely private needs resulting from in
sufticiency Of pay, and the Collector did
not act like man in straitened circum-
stances. When he took office he owed
several thousand dollars, which he is un-
derstOod to have paid some time ago, He
soon afterwards purchased an expensive
pew in fashionable church. lie con.
Uributed handsomely every month to the
Sanitary Fund. lie advanced 5000 to
help establish the Flag newspaper, and
subsequently loaned that concern 81, 900
in greenbacks, which were used as ten
der to the California Associated Press in
an effort to obtain certain Geographic
news facilities. Surely his necessities did
not force him to do these things, nor do
such facts strengthen the appeal which it
was asserted would be made in Congress
TO reimburse his bondsmen in theamount
he caused them TO lose. On the contrary,
they go to confirm the generally received
and undenied statement, not made on Of
fetal authority, that the Collector was
led to speculate in currency, not by his
necessities. but by the tempting opp0r
tunity which existed to make money by
the use Of Government capital lie in
tended no ENLIGHTENMENT, but probably
thought that il he sold grecnbacks for
gold when they took a temporary rise, he
could buy them back when they fell and
make q profit for himself without loss to
Government. There is reason to believe
that this sort Of brokerage was carried on
for q considerable time, though what
amount Of profit was made and by whom
shared, cannot be circum>tantialIv stated.
There should have been an official inves,
tigation 10 determine the exact facts. -
Such being the circumstances Of the de-
fa'cation, the impropriety,t to Use the mild
est expression, of representing it as mere
''irreguIarity,' Of excu>ing it to the pub.
lie in the manner stated, and OF appealing
for all appropriation TO cover the embcz
element, is so manifest as to require no
further comment +. Bulletin.