New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-09-24
TREASURY MIsMANAGEMENT.

LOOSE MANNER OF DIsBURsING THE SECRET sKR-
VICE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. OF DOLLARS
EXPENDED AND NO ACCOUNT RENDERED OR DE-
MANDED-AN EXPENSIVE DETECTIvB-Two SAL
ARIES AND UNLIMITED PERQUIsITEs DRAWN BY
NETTLEsHIP, THE DISTRICT CONTRADICTIONS
PIICITY OF THE NEw-YoRK CUSTOMS OFFICERS
fFRoM THE SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUNE.l
WASHINGTON, Sept. 22-If anything more were
needed after the startling disclosures OF last Win
ter to prove the grossest mismanagement OF the
Treasury Department under Secretaries Boutwell,
and Richardson it NAV be found in the loose and
irresponsible manner in which the annual appropri-
atons for the Secret Service force have been dis
bursed The business of this force is not one which
would naturally foster high sense OF honor among
its employees or inspire the officers of the Govern
ment with unusual confidence in their integrity,
and. when il was known that many OF them were
hardened criminals, the least that Secretary who
desired an honest expenditure of the public money
could do was to cause the most careful
scrutiny Of their monthly accounts. But while army
and navy officers, men proverbially careful ana
honest have been required to furnish vouchers lor
every cent of money they have expended and to
show their official authority for every outlay, the
men employed by Col. Whitley have been allowed
to draw thousands of dollars from the United
States Treasury without furnishing the first item OF
information as to its expenditure.
Secrecy may be- probably Is, essential to the de-
lection of counterfeters but the secrets of Whitley
and Eettleshlp, far it is necessary to divulge
them by furnishing itemized accounts of their ex-
pendituTes are perfectly safe in the hands of the
accounting officers of the Treasury, unless they
show compounding of felony or other violations Of
law. and then they ought to be exposed Congress
appropriates annually $125OO0 for expenses in
detecting and bringing TO trial and punishment
persons engaged in counterfeitiDg Treasury notes,
&c and although it does not require the Secretary
of the Treasury to report how each dollar OF this
money has been expended. it is none the less his
duty to see to it that it is honestly paid out.
THIS has not been done Persons who have been
employed by Col. Whitley who are not officers of
the Government. and with whose selection the
Secretary of the Treasury has had little or nothing
to do have had the most exorbitant bills for
"incidentals," for travel" &C., paid without o
word Of explanation.
NettleshIp Whitley's assistant. recently indicted
in the courts of this District for conspiracy
TO have been the most experienced detective on the
force His regular salary has been 80 day, Sun
DAYS included and he has drawn in addition 80 a
day for subsistence, making an annual compensa-
ton of $685. pretty fair salary for a detective
But this is not all. His average bills for Incl
dentals" during ten months of 1873 and 1874
amounted TO STA 90 month or the enormous sum
Of $S57S 80 a year and he was also paid for
"traveling expenses" at an average rate Of s75 %
month, or $9OS year. In other words, the Govern
ment has been paying this model detective more
than $l2 100 year for less than one-thd of which
he has furnished any vouchers or explanations.
One or two items in this account are peculiarly in
torestans. IN April last the prncipal business which