Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1870-09-16

their circulation, or three millions
of dollars per year; so that in this
way the National Banks have raid
into the Treasury four times the
cost of preparing all the bonds and
notes issued by the United States
since the war commenced and this
goes. to swell the general revenue
and lessen your taxes. Now. did
Gen. Morgan know this fact?
But now comes a terrible sensa
ton! $40 internal revenue uefaul-
ters. He says, "when / tell you
that there have been $40 detaulters
among the collectors of Internal
Revenue, you look surprised, and
ask one another why have we not
been told of this before For the
simple reason, my friends, because
the facts had been concealed and
had to be dug out. Now this is an
interesting picture; $40 defaulters,
rascals, thieves, and as many more
rascals in the Treasury Depai tment,
including Secretary Boutwell,, Com
missioner Delapo, Comptroller Tay-
lor and such like, covering up, hi
ding, concealing this rascslity, and
then comes our friend Gen. Morgan,
the virtuous, the incorruptible mi
ner into rAscality, digging up, yes,
digging up this mass of corruption.
Yes, / dug it up, /, Gen. Morgan.
And 10 strengthen his assertion, he
gives names; and among them
Frank Soule and Sheridan Shook
familiar names in Johnson's time
Champions of the whisky ring
good Democrats.
Now while you looked surprised,
L can hardly imagine how McCul-
loch and Rollins, Boutwell, and De
lano, Stanberry, Everts and Hoar
looked, if ever they read this. They
are Honorable men, bound to pre-
vent rascality, and don't like to be
shook in the same bag with Sher-
idan Shook. And what must be
the feeling of the $40 collectors, in
Guiding nearly every man who for
merly held that office. They are
branded as deeply as Gen. Morgan
can brand them. What is the basis
of this wholesale charge? 1t is true
that during the close of Johnson's
administration the Internal Revenue
service became demoralized. am
not here as the defender of the col
lectors; Hubbell ought to be that.
several of the leading officers openly
used their offices to promote the
policy of Andrew johnson. Mos,
of these named by Morgan are shi-
ming lights of this faction. Some
few, perhaps ten in all, became de-
faulters
The rest are not now and never
were so. Under the revenue laws
all assessments, of whatever char
acter, whether legal or illegal,
whether excessive or not, and
whether collectible or not, are
sharged on the books of the Treas.
urer to the Collector. He can only
acquit himself by paying over the
amount in money, or in the final
settlement of his account, showing
what could not be collected. His
mere current vouchers, though
sworn too, are not sufficient. They
are received as his statement of cur
rent account, but are not audited
until his account can be examined
by Auditors and Comptrollers, and
passed through all the machinery
provided to settle accounts. Now
the simple explanation of the mat
ter that Gen. Morgan dug into is
that the accounts in the treasury
showed to the debit of these collec-
tors large balances of uncollected
and uncollectible assessments, which
in nine cases out of ten were turned
over to their successors or were in
solvent. The vouchers to settle
these accounts may be, and no
doubt are, on file and in due course
the balance, if any, will be adjusted
and paid. Now it is just as hard
and cruel to call these men rascals
and defaulters, as it would be to
call you rascal because a mer-
chant had you charged with an ac-
count that you had paid. In the
same way any disbursing officer of
the army, any paymaster, quarter
master or captain, might be ar
raigned as a defaulter, if his prop
erty accounts were not closed.
cannot but think that Gen. Morgan
has in his wholesale SANDER of pub
lie officers, merely for a political
sensation, done injustice to himself
and his character for fairness and
candor.
The next point made by Gen.
Morgan, / most respectfully turn
over 10 Mr.. Hubbell. 1t was order
No. rs, which it seems the vener-
able and verltable Gideon Welles,
as Secretary of the navy under
President johnson, issued in May,
IS66-and by which as Morgan al
leges.. he unlawfully and unconsti-
raised the pay of tile
navy. Now if this is true as stated.
it was an impeachable offense of the
highest grade. and the fault was,
that brother Hubbell, then our Rep
did not have both John |
son and Welles impeached for high |
crimes and misdemeanors. Upon
Morgan's showing it is q clear case,
md I call upon Hubbell either to
lefend his chief, whose banner he
'nilowed from our ranks, or to ex
,lain his neglect of duty. l think
could help him little by q very
simple explanation, but 1 will not
linn his laurels by sharing them.
Certain it is, that the Republican
,artp at the last session cnrHactad