The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1872-09-19
The Moses Brsnoh OF tho Mooney Fam
ily-Some moro Light Tor tho People.

A great deal has been written and
spoken about the enormous and, to
large extent, fraudulent issue of pay GER
'tificates by F. j. Moses. Jr., as Speaker
OF tho House, during the last session of
the Legislature. His friends of first
confessed his misconduct TO use mild
term) in this regard, and attempted to
excuse it, by pleading TINT the money
had been applied to relieve the wants of
the poor victims of the bloody Ku Klux
Klan. This explanation offering but
lame apology at best, and being further
more shown to be glaringly inconsistent
with the facts, has lately been dropped,
and general denial put in by Moses in
stead. He says he has issued no fraudu-
lent or illegal certificates, and challenges
investigation and the production of
proofs, or reasonable evidence to sub
stantiate the charges made against him.
He assumes the role Of al innocent man,
and demands that his guilt be proved
before he be condemned. This is an
absurd position for candidate for pub
lie Office to take, for it results in the
manifestly false proposition that any
man who is not, or cannot, BIO convicted
of crime, is ft to be ruler and to be
entrusted with the dearest interests OF
the people. But oanoMoses sustain him.
self even on this shallow prete1t? We
think not. His venality and corruption
have ceased to be questions long since.
More than this, We are now able to fur
nish additional facts in relation to legs-
lative expenses and to the issue OF fraud
ulent pay certificates, which we make
bold to say cannot be explained upon
any hypothesis consistent with honesty
and fidelity On tho part of F. J. Moses,
Jr.
There are now on hand in the Trea-
surer's Office, fled away as vouchers, pay
certificates, issued by Moses alone, as
Speaker of the House of Representa-
tives, during last winters session,
amounting to $576, 541.40. Pay certif-
Gates issued by Ransier. or the President
pro tenn. of the Senate, amounting to
$310, ,929.S8, and certificates, signed by
the officers of the two houses jointly,
amounting to $71, ,441.15. The total
amount thus expended from the State
Treasury, up to the 18th of the present
month, at which time the Investigations
upon which these statements are made
were ended, WAS 1858, ,912.43. For the
larger purt OF this outrageous expendi-
ture, F. j. Moses, Jr., is solely RESPONSE
BILE.
Now the members of the General
Assembly, Senate and House together,
number, we believe. just 156. The last
session continued 107 days. The per
dion of the members is Sc. 1856 multi
piled by gives 936, which is the mum.
ber OF dollars required to pay the mem
bers for one day; and 936 multiplied by
1O7 gives the total amount for the ses-
sion-$l0O, 1852. Instead we find that
actually over nine times this sum has
been paid out, and, besides, there are
certificates still outstanding which are
estimated at several hundred thousand
dollars more.
Furthermore, 107 days being the
length of the session, S642, with an in
considerable addition for mileage, would
be all that any member would be entitled
to. Numbers of the members, as np-
pears by the vouchers in the Treasurers
Office, received certificates for upwards
of t,oo thousand dollars. But we are not
done yet. The cream of the thing is
yet to como. We wish to introduce to
our readers the Moses branch OF the in
teresting Mooney family. Pay csrtifi-
oates to the following ostensible parties
are on file in the Treasurer's Office,
signed by F. j. Moses and countersigned
by A. O. Jones, Clerk of the House:
Joseph Meyer. $1,537 42
Peter Emminger. ........... 843 10
John Sterge. ge................ 973 %
Geo. Singer. LAO 33
n. I. Markle. le............... 847 48
J. Richardson. n............... 1,494 80