The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1875-03-04
The Charqes AGAINST the State Treasurer.

lne JOINT lHVeSIiSaIluS Coinln1'IVo VI 'Ho
General Assembly, appointed to look into the
funding of bonds and coupons under the act to
reduce the volume of the public debt, and to
ascertain whether the funds for the payment
of interest raised under said act have been
kept separate and apart from all other funds,
as provided by law, submitted an elaborate re-
port of their Investigations last week. This
report has created much commotion among the
officials, both legislative and executive, and is
more than likely to result in prolongation of
the session, as there are threats freely made in
regard to the impeachment of the State Treas
urer. The report is accompanied by VOLT
minous mass of testimony, and the document
is entirely too lengthy for our columns, but we
will endeavor to give correct summary OF the
points developed by the investigation, for the
benefit of our readers.
AS to the funded bonds, the committee re-
ported that the aggregate sum already funded,
under the provisions Of the act aforesaid, was
$2,473,384.eS. Of this amount, the sum of
$s7S,5Oo belonged to class which the Senate
has declared to have been pledged without
lawful authority" and therefore illegally issued
in the first instance.
As to the funded coupons, the total amount
reached $S64O36. Of this amount, the sum of
$241, 900 were coupons which matured at q
time when the State was paying interest on its
public debt, and S196,845 were detached from
the bonds which were the property of the State
at the time of maturity The committee e1-
press the belief that these coupons we're not
valid claim against the State, and that the last
named item was fraud upon the State.
The committee examined the State Treasurer
upon the points involved, and were not SUITS
fed with Mr. Cardoza's statement. The follow
ing extract shows the damaging effect of the
investigation upon the minds of the committee,
who emphaticaIly declare their judgment as to
these singular transactions:
The committee feel bound to state, as their
unanimous judgment, that, in the whole mat
ter of the funding of the several classes of
bonds hereinbefore particularized, the State
Treasurer has shown singular want of vigl,
lance in guarding the public interests confded
of vigilance on his part, the frauds which the
committee have mentioned as having been
perpetrated upon the State could not have
been perpetrated at ALL Nor is that singular
want of vigilance rendered any the less culpa-
BILE from the fact that by tar the larger portion
of the coupons which have been fraudulently
funded was funded by the chairman of the
committee appointed by the two houses to ex-
anime the accounts of the treasury for the last
fiscal year. Senator Owens is not known as a
banker, or broker, or business man of expert
ence or capacity; and the committee can i'm
agine no reason for his being chosen as agent
for the funding of nearly 100000 of fraudu
lent coupons outside of the calculation, that,
as chairman of the examining committee, he
would not be likely to make troublesome or
inconyenient examination into the character
of proceedings to which he himself had been a
party. In courtesy to him, as member of the
Senate the committee invited his attendance
at one of their meetings, for the purpose of
affording him an opportunity of making an
explanation but, as he failed to attend, the
committee assume that he had no explanation
to make.
1t would be interesting to know the facts in
regard to Senator Owens, of Laurens, who de-
clined to testify on his own behalf. He is a
mere tool in the hands of shrewder men, who
are keeping in the background, and will not
allow further disclosures.
As to the funds collected for the payment of
interest on the bonded debt, amounting in the
aggregate to $31S, S,977.S1, the committee ascer-
tanned that 500, ,1O7.2S had been paid out for
interest, leaving balance on hand of $685.
S7O.53. The act requires that this fund "shall
be kept separate aud apart from all other
funds" and the State Treasurer construed this
to mean that he was to keep the interest ac-
count separate on his books, and testified that
the money itself had been kept in bank along
with other funds, "in one account" The COM
mittee justly take exception to this exceeding
ly loose construction of the law, and argue
against this fragrant violation of its provisions.
The report concludes as follows:
But, If his manner of keeping the interest
fund is 8 fragrant violation of the law, his man
ner of using it is q still more fragrant violation
of the law. Although the act to reduce the
volume of the public debt expressly provides
that the fund shall be applied, first, to the pay
ment of the annually accruing interest," and the
surplus shall be applied to the e1tngulshment
of the public debt and to no other purpose
and although the acts which levied the taxes to
pay the interest both expressly provide that the
proceeds from the taxes levied thereby
''shal be applied to the purpose for which they
are respectively levied, and none other" yet
the State Treasurer has persistenty applied to
the proceeds of the tax levied to pay the inter
est due July 1, 1874, to other purposes. He
himself testified that he borrowed some of the
interest money of July l, 1874, account to pay
the Legislature, December %, 1874 and to pay
the interest due January /, 1875, and also to
pay the DEFICIENCIES for the fiscal year ending
October 81, 1874" AS the State Treasurer, af-
ter diverting $4,000 to pay the Legislature, on
22d of December, 1874, had still balance in
bank of S7905420, and as he run down that tina
to about $4,000, notwithstanding all his re-
:t, f,r "a VOC in tho m meanwhile and as ,Ianu-