The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-05-11
Comptroller Green's Illegal Use OF
Unexpended Balances OF Appropria-
tons

Unexpended Balances OF Appropria-
tions.
Governor Tilden is reported to have in
sisted upon o discontinuauce of the practice
hitherto prevailing OF reappropriatlng unex-
pended balances of old appropriations in the
annual State Appropriation bill in a loose and
general manner, without specifying their
exact amount and the use to which they are to
be applied. The Governors familiarity with
accounts enables him at once to see that such
an irregular mode OF dealing with the public
moneys must open the door to fraud, and is,
moreover, in conflict with the law. An honest
financial management courts restrictions and
safeguards and adheres strictly to all the
requirements of law designed to protect the
treasury hence State Comptroller Hop
kins is, no doubt, in accord with the Cover
nor in his desire to put stop to this loose
legislation.
The practice condemned by the Governor
in relation to State appropriations has been
followed in an aggravated form in our city
Finance DEPARTMENT, and is one Of the grave
evils Of which we have complained in Comp
troller Green 9 management Mr.. Green has
persistently refused to furnish the Board of
Estimate and Apportionment-to which
is assigned the duty of making the
annual appropriations for the support Of the
city government and deciding the amount to
be raised by taxation with an account of I'M
expended balances of former appropriations,
and has used such balances at his own pleasure
without any authority OF law. No person out
side Mr.. Green's Office knows how many
Of these unexpended balances there are for the
years 1871, 1872, 1873 and 1874, or what is
their aggregate amount. Mr.. Green has
stated IN general terms that many of them
exist ''only on paper" In other words,
there is deficiency in the City Treasury
which he conceals and covers up from the
sight Of the people; for if the taxes had been
collected, and if the unexpended balances had
not been used loosely and without legal re-
appropriation, no such thing as balance
con paper only" would be possible.
The mischief of Mr.. Green's disregard of
law in respect TO these balances can be
understood by one example. In the first two
years Of Mr.. Green's term of Office he asked
for a much larger amount Of money for
interest on the city and county debt than
he actually required This led to the belief
that The public debt was then larger than it
really was. AT the end of the year Mr..
Green had a heavy unexpended balance
of the interest appropriation in his hands.
This fact he concealed from the Board of APP
portionment and from the people, under
stating the total amount that would be re-
CURED for interest, and thus misleading the
taxpayers as to the actual increase of the debt.
He then, on his own responsibility and in
violation of law, secretly used the unex-
pended balance to make up the a mount of in
terest he required. What other unexpended
balances have been in like manner illegally
used by the Comptroller is not yet known.
But il is a suspicious circumstance that Mr..
Green's Albany lobby corps should have intro
duced bill in the Legislature, pretending to
be for the decrease Of the years taxation, but
in reality intended to wipe out all unexpended
balances since 1871, and TO prevent any in
quiry into the use that has been made Of
them II is fortunate that Governor Tilden
has called attention TO this unexpended bal
ance" abuse in our State finances, as it
serves to show the mischievous and lawless
character Of Comptroller Green's policy, and
to expose the real object OF the bill he has had
the efrrontery to impose upon the Legislature
under fictitious title
Va 80 IL.