Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1871-08-05
The Treasury Troubles.

at THIS pace were all right,
and spoke CONTEMPORARY ofthe " gossips'
who had reported defacation in that dc
rar;ment. This authoritative announce.
mcnt is certainly very tarly, and to the
public neither satisfactory nor conclusive.
Mr.. Leopold took possession of the key of
the safe belonging to that Office on the pre-
cediny Saturday night; on Sunday morn
ing there were rumors about town of a
large deficit in the Government funds the
organ was profoundly silent upon the SUBJ
ject Of the arrival Of the Government off.
cial or his business here, for nearly week,
and then with supcrcilious air attempts
to convey the impression that the defalca-
ton rumorcl by the "gossips' had no
foundation in fact. The truth is that the
Agent, on taking possession Of the safe, at
once discovered a deficiency in the public
funds to very large amount, and the Re-
ccivcr admitted that the money had been
loaned to his personal aud political friends.
Those friends, after securing this town,
Seattle and Portland, finally succeeded in
raising the amount necessary to meet the
deficiency, on Friday night. The Agent
in the meantime retains possession Of the
Office, awaiting instructions from Washing.
ton. The diversion Of the public funds to
private use, even temporarily, is breach
of trust and palpable violation of law
which ought not to be tolerated in any
official any more than in private business
The return of the money is no atonement
for the offence Of uulawfully abstractiug it !;
but it shows that the parties implicated in
the transaction were not as dishonest in
intent as large majority Of Government
officials, Congressman aud Presidential ap-
pointccs, who accumulate fortunes by Off
cial peculation without exposing them
selves to the punishment due to their crimes
The prevailing sentiment of the dominant
party sanctions these practices, regarding
not the offence but the public exposure as
the only crime, as such exposure affects
the party. The President is himself an
habitual gift-takcr; the Acting sccrc-
tary Of the Treasury is convicted bribc-
taker; the immaculate Harlan, of Iowa,
accumulated large fortune in year as
Secretary of the Interior; Indian Super
intendents, and other Federal officers in
the Territories, almost uniformly become
suddenly rich, and yet no moral stigma
attaches to these practices. 3D.:
The Radical faction hostile to Gov. Sal
ONION in this Territory, openly manifest
their joy at the exposure which duplicates
him in the unlawful use of Government
money. 1t is not because they are moro
honest, but because they have not yet been
exposed. But We ask, in all caudor, does
the public suffer more by the clandestine
use ofpublic funds for private speculation,
than by populations which are perpetual
drain upon tho peoples resources? The
Collector Of Internal Revenue was found
to have six clerks upon his pay roll, and
was retaining 26 per cent. of the whole
amount collected to pay the expenses of
collection. The Collector of Customs was
given an opportunity to resign to avoid the
party scandal Of public Investigation Of
his official conduct. The Surveyor General
has the disbursement of the money appro.
priated to his Office for surveying public
lands, and report says he has invested two
thousand dollars in the printing material
purchased to establish an organ in opposi-
ton to the Governor. Was that his own
private funds? When he affects to be 50
greatly shocked at the use Of public money
by another oficial-evcry dollar of which
has been refuuded-how does he explain
the appointment as one of his chief depu.
ties man who once attempted to collect
pay from the same Office on maps of sur
veys which had never been made? We
doubt if many Of the Federal offices in this
Territory could stand critical investiga-
tion with any better showing than that of
the Receivers office. '".
We are no apologists for the Governor
or the Receiver, but most heartily condemn
the system Of peculation which mauifestly
prevails in every department Of the Gov.
eminent, and is so far tolerated by the
dominant party as to be recognized as lie.
gitimate party spoil, upon which is based
assessments and collections for party cx-
penses. A Government official holding an
Office with fixed salary of $4,000 year,
is assessed on an annual income of $780,.
600, and compelled to pay party tax ac-