New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1874-05-07
IRREGULAR TRUST FUND.

Now we come to the specific charge that
| $l2l 900 not accounted for Up. ., heading -
Being named first out of its order, with un.
| favorable comments, | will consider it first
| The amount of this fund, according to &C.
counts, have overstated in the charge by
| 81 ,378.Sl. The charge refers to the retained
bounty, or irregular State bounty fund. The
| following expression, viz: In one item
stated at upwards of sl2l 900 not accounted
for, it will be seen that accounts cannot be
produced, and no attempt has been made to
prove what has become of the money!" pre-
sents a charge which deny. The truth IS,
that accounts have been produced, and no
efforts could have been more active and more
persistent than mine to show what has be-
come of the money.
After my return from Arizona, and tie
completion of my reports of work among the
Indians, set myself Immediately to settle
up my late Bureau matters. as best |
could.
On JanuaryS s, 1873, being reminded by my
aid-de-camp, Captain Sladen, that had not
closed this fund and one other, wrote let
ter to Major Vincent, under date of January
s, 1873, explaining the delay, and stating
that had deposited the unexpended balance
of the fund, with list of those claimants
not yet paid, in the Treasury of the United
States. Soon after was ordered, by a COM
municatlon from the War Department, dated
January "a, 1873, to take the money from
the Treasury, and turn it over to Captain
Mcmillan, the disbursing officer of the Secre-
tary of War; as it was decided that the Sec
rotary Of War succeeded me III the care of
this fund. l did not so interpret the law,
but obeyed the order, and turned over the
money Isl ,G2S.59) as directed.
There were, therefore, when the charges
were made, already in the hands Of the War
Department officials, first, this money,
81 ,G28.59, with a specific list of the men not
yet paid; second, the two cash books that
have been brought into court; the large
"Bounty Register" marked RETAINED boun-
ty," which gives the name, regiment and
company of each soldier, the date of muster,
the date of payment, and through whom paid,
with other information necessary to identif-
cation or test of payment; and, fourth, the
/" Letters Sent" and "Letters Received"
books of Major Coates, which he aflirms con-
tains the evidence of the receipt and ac-
acknowledgement of General Ballocl's checks
in payment. 1t is true that the receipts or
vouchers which were first delivered by Gen
eral Balloch to the Third Auditor, and Or
dered to be withdrawn, because not pertain
ing to United States funds, and afterwards
deposited with the Second Auditor, with like
result. have been lost, how cannot explain.
l think they were thrown into the masses of
waste paper delivered to the paper-makers,
either during or just after the removal Of the
old Office to the new. 1t is the only reason
able explanation of the loss. 1 could have
no possible object in destroying them, and
believed them as safe as other vouchers, till
l called for all.books and papers for .examin-
alton, that might intelligently account to
the Treasury for the uneXpended balance.
No payments from this fund were made
by me as disbursing officer, nor by Major
Brown my successor, and General Balloch
always said that he left the vouchers in
his office at the Bureau when he was re-
lieved, and has not seen them since. 1t
appears to me he could hope to gain nothing
by their disappearance. AS soon as | found
search for them in every direction to be un-
successful, l began to. probe the matter OF
payment. The different respectable firms
and attorneys named in the records were
applied to and furnished with copies of the
lists of names, comparisons were carefully
made and the attorneys have made aflidavifs
to the fact of receiving the money upon
proper powers of attorney and of having
paid the claimants which by the books pur.
ported to have been paid by them. There
were but twenty-one names .(specifying by
memoranda of claimants whose claims were