Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1872-01-26


embczzlement in Treasurers Of
fee to Jan. 8, 500 OBJ 10
Sin months and nine days.
The three Clerks who embeZzled this
amount, Edwins, Madden and johnson, were
appointed under Mr.. Lincoln and continued
thereafter
Here are transactions involving an
amount of money almost beyond human
comprehension, ffty-fUe thousand mil
lions, covering over eleven years Of time,
and passing through the hands of three or
four thousand different people during that
period, with losses sustained through
a lack Of official integrity on the part of
the TreaSurers appOinteeS of less than one
dollar on q H2iyiOI1-a percentage so small
as to almost defy calculation, and intimate
ly less than the loss from the abrasion of
the gold coin paid into and out of the
Treasury during the same time. 1t is
firmly believed that no parallel for such
success can be found in history.
INTERIOR DEPARTMENT.
There have been discovered in this De-
partment since March 4th, 1869, thirteen
defalcatiOnS amounting to S2l6,097 95, of
which S107,000 have been recovered of
these defalcations nine were Johnson's APP
pOintees and jour were Grants.
Out Of nine Pension agents who have de-
faulted five were appointed by Johnson,
four by Grant. The three land officers who
defaulted were all appointed by johnson,
as was also the Discussing Clerk whose
defalcatiOn was dicOvered at the very out
set Of the Present Administrations, and
who was last week convicted and Senten-
ced for his crime, which was committed
before this Administration came into Of
flee. I'1 every case, it fell TO the lot of the
new Administration Of the Department to
expose the crime OF the offender, and to
recover the embezzled money.
THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT.
Since March +, 1869, one hundred and
five pOsmasters have been prosecuted on
account involving defaults of S91, 1855.
of these cigbty-tiUG were appointed by
Johnson and tlOenty by Grant. In the
Money Order Office sixteen defalcations
have been discovered, involving S156, $780,
IS. OF these appOintees one was Lincoln's,
| tlUcLuc J0hnSOnS and three Grants One
Of these defaulter5 appointed by Grant was
| induced to use government money by q
| bohemian adventurer, now circulating
through his newspaper vile SANDERS on
the President.
Thus, in three years, the defalcations ex-
posed and prosecuted by the POstOffice De-
partment reach the sum of Sl92, 63S 63, of
! W
will be recovered. The responsibility of
less than $4,000 of this is legitimateIy
! chargeable to the want Of official integrity
on the part of the appOintees of the pres
ent Administration. The receipts and eX-
penditures of the Department for three
! fiscal years last past are as follows:
Aggregate receipts for three years$58 153, 77G 70
| Aggregate expenditures for three
years.. ..'...'....'..' f-,Uot, UI3 Il
! Money-order Office transactions
tor three J,SlI, IO3 80
Total $3.50 O52 638 96
Now, COncede that every cent in
/ yolved in the suits against post
/ masters and in the defacatiOns
of money-order accounts is in
| jeopardy, and the amount ISL. 2oi, 3T y
or about onc-ainth Of one per cent. on the
! dollar And this money tempts the Gu
| pidity andzwant Of official integrity of over
| $4,000 persons. Is there better record in
any civil service i'll the world?
THE WAR AND NAVY DEPARTMENTS.
| OF these departments Mr. Crounse says
| that the officers in the army and navy can
not be held to belong to any party. Hold
! ing their positions different from civil of
ticers, it is hard to hold any administra-
ton responsible for their defalcatiOns.
Thus, Hodges defalcation, discovered by
this Administration, had existed for years.
So of the four navy paymasters, detected
and punished by Secretary Robson.
Mr.. CFounse then gives n list of officers
detected, prosecuted and punished by
Grants Administration, only oneJ0urth of
the number being his appointees.
a CONTRAST OF LOSSES AND TEMPTATIONS.
Let us now contrast the business of the
Government, for three fiscal years, with
the losses sustained through the want OF
official integrity on the part Of its subord-
mates.