The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1869-04-15

of March 81, 1863, all are accounted
for except s2.3SO,0 900. They could
not be used without being filed up
aud signed by the Assistant Treasur-
er at New York. As they have new
er since appeared, and from the other
evidence presented, the committee
conclude that they were destroyed,
but criticiso severely the loosouess
of procedure by which such an
amount Of securities could disappear
uuaccounted for, and without any
certain method Of fixing the delin-
quency upon any one person. Va
rious other differences aud discropau-
cies are noticed, but not Of large
amounts.
In respect to the balance Of secu--
rites standing in the various tables
as on hand, the committee liud them
to be on hand as stated.
The committee proceeded to dis.
cuss at length the manner in which
the business of printing, numbering
and issuing securities was carried on,
showing gross carolessness and want
of accuracy which renders it impossi.
| bic in many eases to trace out errors
or decide whether actual fraud has
been committed, 1t appears, they
say, that although q system of re
ceipts transmission of securities was
established. yet the receipts were
loosel" given, often on slips of paper !,
and the clerks in the various bureaus
never or seldom compared their ac
counts to ascertain whether errors or
discrepancies actually existed, or to
trace them out il discovered. The
books in respect to transmission aud
delivery Of securities, whore there
were any were so kept as to make such
a criticism and comparison almost inn
possible. The want Of proper ac-
counts led in some of the bureaus,
and particularly in tho Registers
office, to other evils. a leading one
will be mentioned. Itwas the course
of practice in printing and transmit
ting securities to that Office, both
from the Bank Note Company, and
for a while by the Treasury Bureau
to transmit with each 1000 Impress
ions a quantity, usually 10, extra inn
pressions not numbered, and intend
cd to be used to supply those of the
regular numbered class which, from
time to time, might be enormously
filled up or accidently defaced. These
extra impressions were called "stock
package" and whenever there was
occasion, in the course of business, to
use one oc them, the Que impaired, or
said to be impaired, would be thrown
in the fire or otherwise destroyed, as
is stated by the clerks, and one taken
to supply its place from the "stock
package without any account or rcc>
ord be ng kept Of the performance,
and without any proof or method of
proof of the actual destruction of the
one so actually or ostensibly disposed
of. 1t is impossible, therefore, to
account except on very vague evi-
dcnce for many OF the securities that
went into the Registers office, though
as to registered bonds in which, to a
considerable extent, this loose prac.
tice prevails, no loss eau happen to
the Government that can not readily
be detected in the semi annual pay .
mcnts Of interest, and the committee
are personally satisfied, from an ex.
animation of the interest accounts
and individual accounts in the ledg
ors, with the persons to whom the
bonds were regularly issued, the to.
tai of which make up bases of inter
est account, that no fraud has been
perpetrated in respect to the regis
tered bonds in this way.
The existence and redemption Of a
considerable number of duplicated
notes and coupons have given the
committee a considerable degree OF
anxiety, and they have devoted all
the time that could be spared for
that purpose, for an inquiry into, and
consideration of. tho causes which
are supposed to have produced them,
and the explanations which have
been given by the various officials,
as appears in the testimony, and as
has been otherwise obtained by the
committee from personal examin-
ations Of these offairs, it is obvious
that very large proportion of these
duplicates are produced by altcra-
tions made after the securities we're
issued, and usually, no doubt, in
cases where the securities had been
stolen from private holders. This
class may be set aside aside at once
as of no pecuniary interest to the
Government, inasmuch as the Gov
ernment suffers no loss ia consequence
of them. Other cases, in which it is
certain, or nearly certain, that dupli-
Gates Of originals are actually compos-
ed of securities issued in that form
from the Department are more seri-
Gus aud less easily accounted for.
The suggested explanation in favor
of innocent duplication is, as appears
from the testimony, that they are
mere accidental errors of the person
in charge of the numbering machine,
by which, in given l 1000 impress
sons, some two or more would be
made to bear the same number, and
the number which they should have
borne was entirely omitted on any, in
which case, for instance in one thou
sand dollar bonds, there would be two
numbered fvo hundred, and none
numbered five hundred and one
With a view to see that the quantity
and numbers are correct, and also the
Inspection which clerks in charge of
iseues are supposed to make, to see
that the securities issued compare in
quantity with the books of issue, and
in consecutive numbering with the
numerical register of issues kept in
the Registers offico aud 10 the Loan