The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1875-07-23
q'he state Treasury Investigation.
PARTIAL. REPORT OF THE HOUSE COMMIT
TEE-rHEY DETAIL WHAT THEY HAVE
Done AND HOW THEY HAVE BEEN
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. PUB
IJC FUNDS AT INTEREST
Justly CONDEMNED.

H,RRIsTURC July 1.-THE following
has been transmitted to the Governor from
the Committee appointed by the House OF
Representatives last winter to inquire INTO
( the condition of the State Treasury
To His EcceUency, John r. Harfr@n1h
/ GorerRoy Of tic Commonwealth Of PenH-
svyraaia, and j. T. Temple 1udtt0T cen
erdl:
! The Committee of the House appointed
to investigate the accounts OF the reasury
4 of the State. beg leave to report their pro-
I ceediugs to date.
/ The committee is composed of members
of the House of Representatives, alone.
They were appointed by the Speaker, un-
der resolution passed in conformity with
n well-establishcd parliamentary practice
"a system generally followed by legisla-
tive bodies, and which, in its practical
workings, has given birth to the most i'm
portant investigating committees of the
Congress of the United States. The reso-
luton directed that the Committee should
have power TO send for persons and papers,
should have free access of all books aud
papers in the office of the Treasurer OF the
State, and have the assistance of a clerk
and an accountant. After organizing, a
aiority of the Committee, with their ac-
countant, called upon the State Treasurer
at mis- Office, in Harrisburg, and stated by
had called. The State Treasurer refused
to recognize the Committee, denied that
they had any authority to Investigate, and
would not permit their accountant TO even
look at the books or papers. The MEM
bers of the Committee, as private citizens
or individual members of the Legislature,
he said, might examine the Treasury ac-
counts, with the assistance of the clerical
force of the department. This meagre
Of ~
had no right to accept. They were there
as duly authorized representatives of
branch Of the legislative department Of the
government that branch in which alone is
vested the power of impeachment, AS well
as the sole power of devising methods of
taxation. They felt that they could only
act in this representative capacity, and
that by accedng to the terms of the State
Treasurer. they would divest themselves
of their right to invoke the power of the
House, when i'm session, to open the books
and papers to the inspection of themselves
and their accountant.
Upon this refusal of the State TreasUr-
er to permit full and free investigation,
the Committee might have rested, con-
scious that the people ofthe State would not
have required the Committee to go further,
until the House re assembled, its power
was invoked, its dignity maintained, and
the books and papers of the Treasury open
ed to searching and untrammeled investi-
CATION.
But the Committee have not given up
the inquiry on which they started. The
best means at their command have been
resortcd to. y vast field, however, Ia be-
fore them, and amass of facts is to be scru-
tnized, embracing transactions of many
years, and including innumerable items
amounting to many millions of dollars. If,
as is alleged, frauds were perpetrated, no
monuments have been erected to mark
their existence or aid in their discovery.
But the Committee desire to make the in
vestigation thorough. and to lay naked ev-
cry fact that has in it the taint of corrup-
ton or dishonesty. To this end they i'll
woke the aid of any aud all who can name
a witness that should be called, or trans
action which should be investigated.
In this connection the Committee call
attention to the following facts:
The amendment to the Constitution of
1888. adopted in 1857, provided that ''un-
less in case of war; invasion or insurrec-
ton, no part of the sinking fund shall be
used or applied otherwise than in the ex-
, tinSuishment of the public debt, until the
amount Of such debt is reduced below the
sum of five millions Of dollars" A SINH
lar provision was inserted in the Coustitu-
tion of 1878.
These would seem to be sufficiently plain
and explicit to prevent any inroads upon
that fund. Yet, on page 80 of the report
of The State Treasurer for 1875 will be
found this entry
"By credit authorized to be
made under n resolution of
the Commissioners of the
Sinking Fund, dated Nav
9ih, 1874, being the whole
amount of funds used for
general purposes since the
creation Of the fund............S2, SG7 ,S17. 30
(. The first use Of any part of the sinking
fund revenues for other purposes than the
payment of the public debt appears to
have been made about 1866. From that
tine to 1874. the large sum of nearly three
millions of dollars was Withdrawn. Had
this money been applied to the uses con-
! tenplated by the constitution, the State
! debt would have been that much less May
/ 9th. 1874.
The committee are aware that an act
was approved April 18th, 1870, authori-
zng the Commissioners of the Sinking
/ Fund, in certain contingency, 10 permit
/ the State Treasurer to use a part of the
! sinking fund revenues for the current ex-
! penses Of the Government. AS to the va
| lidty of the act or its conflict with the
constitutional provisions above quoted
| the committee will not now express any
! opinion. But they do call attention to this
! fact: The public accounts show that more
/ than one half of the SO, S61, 81. 80 was with
| drawn from the fund before the act Of
] April 14th, 1870, was passed. And with
drawn, so far as the Committee is able
/ to discover. without the shadow of a legal
sanction. Such open disregard of the plain
est constitutional provisions cannot but
have perncious effect .on the morality and
! probity of public officers.
/ During the period Of twelve years, be-
/ ginning with December 1, 1862, the com
mittce are unable to find that one dollar
{ has been paid into The State Treasury on
( account of interest received on the public
! moneys. All hat time, however, a large
amount of State funds has been in the
/ TreasIrer's control, and by him deposited
with various banks and bankers through
out the State. For these twelve years the
monthly balance in the hands of the State
/ Treasurer, in round numbers, averaged
! 50, 100, 60o.G0, varying from the highest
monthly balance o: Sc, S03, 13499. August