Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-03-07
auEER CONTINGENCIES.

head Tor the uScal year enuinB odnO
80, 1873, was submitted to the House Of
Representatives on the 18th of Febru-
airy by the Secretary of the Treasury.
The following tit-bits furnished the
Netc York San by its Washington cor
respondent, will interest the people who
are taxed to crafty the luxurious tastes
of their servants:
1872, Dec. Sc. L. Savoy, lunch to employees
Secretary, SIS.
This means that on the Sd of December,
1872, the Secretary of the Treasury gave
certain employees in this office lunch-a
little set-out Of sandwiches, sardines and
champagne, We suppoSe-and charged the
cost thereof, Sl2J, TO the contingent fund.
Very kind, very generous, and very proper
on the part of the Secretary, provided be
had paid for it out of his own pocket.
1872. Dec. so-T. Norheet, Russia bag for C. c.,
$ls.Jo.
The initials &C. c." are very indefinite.
Do they mean the Chief Clerk, the Com
missioner of Customs, or the Comptroller
of the Currency? The people would like
very much to know the individual that
sports that elegant sRussia bag for which
S16.50 was appropriated.
Here is a puzzler:
1873. Feb. Al. b. Van Dyer, S Champ. T.
Ext, Ss20.
The people can't understand this charge.
viii some one of their Representatives in
Congress call upon the Secretary to rise and
explain?
This item is the coolest Of all the steal
ing:
1873, Feb. IA L. Hazeiton, gum boots ard
shoes, stables, $3.50.
1t is certainly bad enough to make the
people pay the servants wages for the Sec
rotary and his favorite clerks, but to require
them to clothe these same servants is alto
gether too much for good nature.
Here is an item that also needs explana-
ton:
1873, April 3O.-J. McDermott & Bro, l new
truck, Internal Rev. Bureau stables SleO.
What use has the internal Revenue Blu
reau for truck? Wonder if this truck is
not in reality an old carriage which the
Commissioner had repaired about that
| time?
The Nelr York Tribune regards the
report submitted by the Secretary of
the Treasury to the House of Repre-
sentatives In response to its inquiry, as
a document of rare interest to the
thoughtful student of political econo-
my who considers this subject from an
unprecedented point of view, as citi-
zen of rapidly growing and develop
ing country to which the doctrines of
the old countries of Europe are not
suited. 1t shows, says that journal, a
degree of energy in the distribution of
the appropriation for contingent ex-
penses, an earnest and sincere disposi-
ton to make the Department stable,
and incidentally equine, a patriotic de-
sire to promote home industry In the
consumption of ice, a keen appreciation
of the value of matches and soap and
towels, lively interest in the great
American institution of horse-railroads
and willingness to travel to any post
of danger and back and scatter ''mile-
age" on the way, which cannot fail to
excite the admiration of the American
people. The Tribune groups some of
these expenditures as follows:
almost the first item in the account is
$50 yards of crash This was financial
crash, of course, and there was great wis
| dom shown IN buying it up by the yard in
advance. Then follow in rapid succession
items for 'keeping horse, .clEa horses and
wagons 'sEoeing horses 'oats, bran and
| meal repairing harness. might work at
stables hay and straw repairing car
riases,' castor oil for stables medical at
| tendance on ten horses, medicine for one
horse purchased, and travelling expenses
purchasing horses gloves and gauntlets,
stables, new truck repairing wheelbar-
rows EsOrrel horse 'bay horse gray
horse black horse amounting to SILL,
| 13l.6S. Taken in connection with the eX-
penditure Of g, $50 for 5000 horse-rail-
road tickets, these are items of which we
may well be proud. In the department Of
horse the Agricultural Bureau or the Ex-
ecutive stables could scarcely show better
record. The expenditure Of S20.50 for
| gloves and gauntlets,' doubtless for
the Department coachmen and foot
men, indicates becoming regard for ap-
pearances, and the purchase of castor oil
and the outlay for medical attendance
| for the horses show that the animals
were tenderly cared for. That the people
| in the Department were ready to answer
the call of duty and go anywhere, az any
expense, is fully established by the charges
of mileage. Mr.. Sayille of the Treasury
came to New York, and his mileage was
| only S46.40. Messrs. w. 7. Haines and w.
IL. Barstow went to New Orleans and No
bile, and the mileage for the trip for each
was only S4S3.60. 1t is iIGmateTial what
| they went for; it only cost the Government
| S967.20, and was worth il no doubt. Mr..
Zines went to Council Bluffs for S302.30,
and Mr. w. II. Whitney to Detroit for
/ S27. 1t only cost S25 to send Mr.. Petten-
gill to Harrisburg, and IS tOsend Mr.. Tick
nor TO Baltimore. Mr.. Whitney, who is
qni.e a traveller, went TO Concord, n. H.,
for Sl06.40, and Mr.. Jones to Brooklyn for
S4660, which undoubtedly includes the
ferry charges. NJ. Hosmer managed to
make S91.60 pay his fare to Boston, while
it cost John j. Knox $500, and
John P. Bigelow S151, to make the
same journey. Some fifteen or twenty
more items of the same sort show
| willingness to travel and a capacity for COM
putting mileage on the part Of the Treasury
| employees that have been rarely equaled and
never surpassed. Notwithstanding these
Journeys, enough employees of the depart
ment remained in Washington to consume
970, 494 pounds of ice, at an expense of So
| 231 50. This is an item that will give the
greatest satisfaction to the temperance so
cieties, as It is impossible that people who
drink so much ice water during the day
should drink anything else at night. For
ice pitchers and chests and repairs S124 %
were expended, and Sl13 for advertising
for proposals for ice. The irrigation of the
currency possibly neceSsitated the irriga-
ton of the Department. The expenditure
of 81, Ass s. for material for towels and the
payment of Mrs. l.. 3. Pratt of S226 81 for
hemming 2,1TS of them, so TO show that
| the Department is determined to go into
court or Congress with clean hands, The
disbursements TO employees in the laundry
for the year amount 10 S4,306 Il, but this
we presume does not include the hanging
out of sOiled linen, which cost one King of
| England his-but never mind; it is always
expensive. Other items in this account
are profoundly interesting and some
what suggestive. For the travellers in
the Department, Railway Guides
| = M L