The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1872-02-15
.,FIE ADMINISTRATION,

4 .-HE ADMINISTRATION.
just now q grand effort is being
madc to show corruption in tho pres.
ent Administration by its enemies.
1t is therefore most fitting and prop
er to show how perfectly unfounded
is this cant, and to do so we quote
as literally as our columns win per-
nit, from d showing made in tho N.
| Y. Times.
The list Of deSalcations and on.
bezzlements IN the public service.
kept in the office Of the Department
of Justice, shows that the sum of the
losses undor President Grant is ST.
097, 1868 64. Under Andrew johnson
Lust two defalcations-those oil
Whitaker and Steadman-come to
81, l,062, 336. SO. go that all the losse sur
der Grant are scarcely larger than
just two instances of the many that
occurred under johnson. Further,
the records now show that three
sourths of the losses under Grant
were by defacations by officials left
in Office by johnson, and who kept
right en- stealing qnite o while be-
fore Grant had time to remove them
| all.
| There have been suits instituted
against forty collectors OF Internal
Rcvenne, these being all who were
found 10 be owing TO the Govern.
mont. The following is record Of
the forty:
Amount of Up-
| collected and
collectors. Money. Taxes.
lincoln -, ses,slo 81 $ sss, 2:s 80
johnson. % 7s7.ses s. 2,sos, ,ssl o2
Grant. 10 I75,ss5 s. s42.els 40
The lessen enforced by these forty
cases in litigation, thus condensed
and classified, is, that three.fourths
OF the cases, four-ffths Of the mon |
ey, and nine-tcnths of the uncollect-
ed taxes, are the inheritance of pre-
vious administrations, manly of Mr..
Johnson's.
The list of suits brought in be
half of the Government against de- |
linquent Taxpayers, for violation of |
the customs, shows that there was
collected and paid into court, in
1868, Johnson's best year, Sl27, $40.
81, whereas, in 1871, under Grant,
the amount was 1894, ,339.97.
In the customs, fifteen suits have
been brought against officials, some
for defalcations and some for settle.
'ment of accounts. The following
table tells its own story:
ssss y; e issslsss aaSssi
Appointed by Buchanan..-. x5158 81 I
Appointed by Lincoln.....-. 17N8 AZ /
Appointed by Johnson.....-. 33,62a 10
Appointed by 9rant........... 1871 75
In the case of one Lincoln ap.
pointment, one Buchanan appoint.
ment, and three Johnson appoint.
ments, Judgments have been
obtained amnnniinS 40 gid, a,1a2.oz,
and paid in full. In every case the |
SUIT mas been brought or the judg
ment obtained by the law officers of |
this administration, and in the three
cases of actual embezzlemont, those
of Deputy Collectors Bowerman and
Wilson, at Baltimore, and Wellman,
at Savannah, the two former are in
the penitentiary, and the latter is
under indictment for trial.
The United States Treasury OF
fee, since 1860, has handled the en-. +
ormous sum of Fifty-tivc Thousand
Millions of dollars, and the total
amount of defalcations in tho Office
has been Fitty-five Thousand dollars.
or less than one dollar in n million.
No such record can DO found else
where in all histsry. Every one Of
the clerks guilty in the Treasury
office was appointed by Gen. 6rants
predecessors. @
In tho Interior Department. there
have been thirteen deialcations--
nine in tho pensions, three in the
Land Office, and one by disburs
ing clerk. Nine OF the thirteen de-
faulters were appointed by Johns N
and they lost the largest share of the
money.
In the Postofice Department, los
have been sued for failure to adjust
their accounts. The following tabio
shows their record:
No. of Amount
Appointed by Johnson IS s77.oli.M
Grant."'...,2e i4,72LfI
Since the 5th of March, 1869. the
department, upon investigation, has
discovered sixteen defalcations in
the money order account, varying
in amount from s26.96 to Sl15 000,
and covering, ail told, the sum OF
Sl56, 63S.63. The two largest eases
We're those o: J. w. Norton, Super
intendent Money Order account, New
York, (s1i5, ,000), and T. G. Simms,
Postmaster at Atlanta, Ga, 1922. :
696.3D. These deiaulters were ap-
pointed as follows:
Appointed BY Lincoln....... I Sis, 5,ooo.cl
- - Johnsou....-i2 3a,i22. % Z
'' . GRANT. s.5l625
The following record oi how Pres
ident Grants Administration deals ,
with defaulters is one that answers |
whole host OF ISLANDERS against the s
President:
MARCY, naval paymaster, detsul-
ter st Mare Island, California; cash. /,
Tered.
clock wood, Giraud and Parker.
naval paymasters, defrauded Oh dis
tant stations; cashiered.
81. Ledyard Hodge, defauiter in .
Paymaster Generals Office; in the +,
Albany penitentiary for ten Years.