The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1872-09-14
Pertinent Queries.
COLUMBIA, 8. O., Sept. 13, 1872

COLUMBIA, =. ~. sept. 10, 1917.
To Mr. Cardozo, Secretary Of State:
You have lately attacked Mr.. Tomlin
son. member of your party, and can
didate for Governor. What you say Of
him may or may not be true; he says il
is false. But it seems this charge OF
falsehood has become 80 common among
you, that it is difficult to know who
speaks the truth, or if there is any truth
in your party. OF one fact, however,
the country is we'll satisfed- according
to your testimony, regulars and boilers,
u more audacious set of thieves never
disgraced civilization. You came here
as preacher of the Gospel, believe,
turned politician. affected honesty, and
now yon are candidate on the ticket of
f. j. Moses, Jr., who, it is conceded, is
the most consummnto thief aud briber
in your ranks.
have preached from this commandment
but you seem to have forgotten it When
you were elected Secretary of State. By
the Act OF Assembly. No. 467, p. 1876,
the Secretary Of State is required to paw
the fees and perquisites of his Office into
the Treasury; he is to receive salary OF
So, 900, the same to include clerks salary.
BY the Comptroller General 8 report of
November l, 1870, it will be seen that
you received for salary So, 900; for com.
pleting index, $4,000; for clerk, 81, 200:
for contingent fund, $1,000; making the
amount received by you $1,000. At
page fifty of that report, find that you
paid into the Treasury, receipts of fees,
81, ,O26. I do not see what you did with
your contingent fund; but I do see that.
although the Act requires you to pay
your clerk out of your salary, you took
$1,000 from the Treasury for that. And
do. you mean to cay that you only re-
ceived for fees and perquisites 81, ,O26 for
that year? There is an Office which costs
the State $1,000 Why, before the war,
when the State paid no salary to the Sec
retary, but gave him the fees and perqui-
sites as his compensation, he kept de-
putty in Columbia and Charleston, paid
them both literally, and lnade from
SO, 900 to $4,000 year for himself.
Since the war the recording required to
be done in that Office has been increased,
and tho fees are much larger, and yet
you say that you only received 81, ,026.
Why, Mr.. Secretary, in your report Of
November %. 1869, PIP. 24l-2, of reports
and resolutions. You say that you issued
1,0G7 commissions to "officers appointed
by his Excellency the Governor Now,
if I am correctly Informed, the fees for
commission are So % at least. II this
be SO. you received for that alone
So, ,467.75. But you also recorded trust
deeds, mortgages, bills of sale, certifi-
Gates, marriage settlements, grants and
plats, leases, official bonds and pardons,
for all of which fees and perquisites arc
paid, that Of right belong to the Treasu-
ry, and you have only paid in 81, ,O26.
And yet you attack your brother Reu-
ben. the rival candidate for Governor. on
the boilers ticket. for dishonesty. You
also attack Scott, Chamberlain and
Parker, of the Financial Board. Par
son, will it not be as we'll for you to ex-
plain this finanoinl transaction, as to the
fees aud perquisites in the Secretary OF
States Office, before you denounce Reu.
ben as phosphate thief There are
some other little matters connected with
yonr Office of Secretary of State which
will not bear ventilation. But the fees
and perquisites are enough for one text.
When parson becomes politician he
is almost sure to lose his character for
sanctity. x.