The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-04-24
THE MESS At THE CAPITAL.
Vain Appeals-An Empty Treasury
Where does the Money go to-The Con.
dillon OF the Lunattc Asylum.
rFRou DUB OWN CORRESPONDENCE

y
short space Of time enough has been added to
that already known regarding the admins
tratIon Of State affairs, especially those re-
lating to finances, to more than confirm all
that has been eald on the subject In the COL
umns OF The NEWS; enough TO brand the par
ties responsible for such a condition of affairs
| with lasting infamy. As the schemes OF the
past, present and future OF those controlling
the administration of affairs are exposed, In.
creasing uneasiness is made apparent In the
ranks of the party that is compelled to shield
the rlnpleaders. Among the few upright
men In that party, q determined resolve seems
to have been made to bring the matter to q
| settlement at once.
schools are being closed on account OF the
want of funds to pay the orders of the State
Observation-Disclosures, by the way, appears to
| have performed his dnty notwithstanding
to the a~pportIonment Of the legislative .appro-
! prlation among the several counties.
This fact should be understood aud remem-
bered by the colored as well as the white pop
ulatlon of the State. 1t should be borne 10
mind by them constantly that all the talk
| about education has turned out to be 30 much
breath, spent for the sole purpose OF obtain
ing their good graces 10 hosting these cormo-
| rants into Office again. The proof OF this 10
to be seen right now, and there Is no occasion
Let the people ponder over q few OF the FOL
lowing facts:
Leaving aside the thousande of claims of IN
| diylduals against the Slate, and taking the
| Institutions the administration has direct
| charge of, there Is a condition OF affairs de.
mandlng the most serious consideration OF
every citizen. be be white or plaek, areaal9l
Every demand made upon the treasury, uR-
der the new appropriation for educational pur-
poses, is met with q cool response from the
| clerks, mo money" and when they utter 1t,
they display an uncomfortableIess calculated
to excite sympathy. 1t is like a tragedy actor
In a farce. Their chief Is absent more than
half the time, aud the humiliation they must
feel In the utterance OF this stereotoyped e1.
cuse necessarily Is great.
The duty of caring for the necessities OF the
wards of the State is lost sight OF In the gene
raj desire for plumber, or Is left unattended 10
because OF the plunderlDg that has been done.
An instance OF this kind ls shown In the case
of the Stale Institution for the deaf, dumb and
blind, at Cedar Springs, ~Sparlanourg County.
A draft of two Thousand dollars on the unex-
pended appropriation Of last year-amounting
to over three Thousand dollars-met with the
same response, mo money" The superin.
tsndent, without a ray Of hope lett, except In
the magnitude of the charity and sympathy OF
a people already suffering under manifold Ills,
brought upon Them by the same admlnistra-
ton, almost In desperation PUSHES from one
| place to another to raise money enough to pre-
| vent the calamity to the nnfOrtunales II tne
Institution sure to fall upon them oy closing IL.
At every turn he Is met with the reply lnaI
those who would willingly lend a helping hand
have tall they can carry" until naaiiy Inc
amount of five hundred dollars Is raised, with
which food, clothing, books, drugs, &C., can
be furnished q little longer. This is the reel
tai of an actual fact, and no pen-ptcture; To-
deed, the pen falls lar short of giving all the
facts In detail.
Mr.. Superintendent Jillson and mr.. comp
troller Neagle, who constitute The board or
/ commissioners, proceed tomorrow to the
Institution 10 ascertain what Is best to be
done under the circumstances. With the
present prospect, when the i've hundred dol
lara are gone, nothing remains 10 the poor
| unfortunales but to be sent TO tneir MONIES,
for those lucky enough to have q home, and
the remainder to become the objects Of chart
" among the people now nearly bankrupt
from the nayment of taxes, q part OF which
was TO helm support these objects of charity.
Nor ia it all that the subject of education
has received its death-blow,. and the deaf,
dumb aud blind are being robbed, The In
sane are forgotten by those whose duty first,
and last it q 10 protect them. The appeals
OF the noble-hearted superintendent-Who has
even m%ortraeed 10 the amount of fifteen
| thousand dollars his own private property,
that they might not suffer under his charge
have been met with the bland denial at the
slate treasury, ''no money! and when the
treasurer was appealed to personally by the
/ superintendent, and informed that unless
| something was done 1t would become neces-
sary 10 send them to their respective counties,
the reply was, s'send the1n.".
The grocers and merchants OF tnls city nave
exhibited great kinduess-one that will be The
more appreciated abroad when the great bur-
| den of taxation and the disturbing elements In
1 the Contiguous counties, which 80 relards their
business, are better understood. Some are
carrying as high as eight aud ten thousand
dollars of Indebtedness OF The last named ln-
stituliou. 1t ia Impossible for them to do
more, and the superintendent letter, OF the
18th instant, to the State treasurer, tells the
whole story. The superintendent writes as
follows:
OFFICE STATE LUNATIC ASYLUM,
COLUMBIA. April II. 1872
Hon Mules G. PARKER, State Treasurer:
EAR SIR-Please iulorm me whether or not
YOU are able at this time to pay any portion OF the
| approximation made by the last Legislature for the
support Of the State Lunatic Asylum, anil II not,
how soon you will be able to do 30? The credit OF
the Institution is exhausted. We are no longer
able to OBTAIN supplies Of food or clothing, and q
condition as desperate and disastrous In Its effect
upoa the insti' utlon as 1t Ia humiliating and d..
graceful to the State, Is staring us In the face,
and unless relief Ia obtained In thirty days at