New-York tribune., 1875-02-27

mere citizen and taxpayer to de-
termine where they belong. 1t was for
that reason that we qualified our state
ment by the words, "as near as 700 can
"Qet at themn After much experience we
give it as our judgment that authentic in
formation in regard to the National finances
is not half 80 abundant as geographical
knowledge concerning the interior of Africa.
The African is the more satisfactory field for
the explorer. However, our statement OF the
aggregate amount expended in the two years
varies less than 100000 from that which the
Treasury Department furnished to Gen. Gar
field, and which il should have furnished to
| the public at the meeting of Congress-
Our statement of the balance available on
June 80, 1874. exceeds that of the Secretary
by nearly $8,OOO.OOO. That there should be Il
difference is not strange, considering that
Secretary Bristow did not think it worth
while to give the exact sum in his report, as
Mr.. Richardson did the year before and we
were compelled to got at it by cir
| cuitous process. The explanation OF so
large discrepancy is not easy, how
| ever. If $14,775,OO0 of appropriations
remained unexpended July 1, 1873, and
| $7,59O00O fresh appropriations were added in
1874, and only $S,515OOO were expended, as we
are now officially informed. how is it that only
| $122 10000 remained on July 1, 1S747 BY sim
pie arithmetic the sum should be s13,S5OOOO.
By special enactment of Congress at Its last
session all appropriations remain valid until
| the Secretary can command the funds, and we
| are at loss to conjecture what can have be-
come of the S1,65O,oOO which have not been
l.. II. lI,.,ta aa1
| to be appropriated.
| Mr.. Garfield, having received the above men
| toned information from the Treasury Depart
| ment proceeds to make no less than four DIS
| tinct misrepresentation of the positions taken
| by THE TRIBUNE. which we subjOin with brief
comments:
]. Tho balances OF appropriations standing to the
credit OF the Supervising Architect Of the Treasury
July 1S73 amounting to S4,77i637, as stated by the
Secretary of the Treasury page Sc Of the finance
port for included the n o6 80 FOR construction
and s52 $40 for repairs and preservation, heating
apparatus, vaults safes, &c-t0ta, SS6l45S3 05-the
total Of appropriations for the fiscal year ending June
30 1874 which available on the passage OF
| the act. The whole available at that date THE
TRIBUNE has therefore overstated the amount by
| than eight and half millions.
| If MIR. Garfield will look again at the third
|
UNE's structures on Retrenchment q la Mode"
he will find that the appropriations we add
are those for 1875; that the expenditures we
deduct are those for 1874, and that the unex
pended balance remaining on July /, 1874, Is
not overstated by eight and half millions,
but by less than three, as already noted.
H. The nexpende1 balances OF former appropria-
tions which remained to the credit of the Supervising
1 .Fiap
for 1874 amounted to s2e79 H. and not *3 O9s
stated by THE TRIBUNE
| If Mr.. Garfield will again consult the quota
tons from THE TRIBUNE which he reprOduces
in The Record-and we are obliged to him for
thus aff0rding the readers of his speech an
opportunity to correct its errOrs-he will sec
that what we add to the unexpended bal
ance of July. 1873, is the appropriation for 1875,
and that the unexpended balance on July 1,
1874. is not given by us at S230OO.O0O, but at
| S15,OO0OO0.
III. In one paragraph of his speech he
makes us give the appropriations for 1875 at
| S8,350,0O0, and in another place he makes us
give them at S1234O,OO0. We have never
stated them at the latter amount. The diff
| ference between our summary of them and
| that furnished Gen. Garfield by the Secretary
| is owing to the fact that we include and he
| omits furniture custodians and janiOrs and
one or two minor items.
~ The balances standing to the credit OF the Super
visiDg Architect JAN 90 1916 for all purposes. 80
OS9 So and not si5,COOOoO, rs stated by TIE TRIBUNE
We have said nothing about the balance
standing to the credit of the Architect on
January 20, 1876 The $15,OOO,OOO balance was
stated to have existed on June 30, 1874. that
| date being given as clearly as it is possible
for our BREWER type to print it. We by no
means think it gratifying circumstance that
SG,30O,O0O of the appropriations for public
buildings have been expended in six months,
against only S9515,OO0 for the whole fiscal
| year 1874.
! This then is the sum of the whole matter.
In dealing with the expenditures. total appro-
priations, &C., for two years. The TRIBUNE,
drawing solely from the blind figures given
in the official reports, reached net result
differing less than seO0,000 from that which
the Treasury Department, doing its best to
make a case for him. furnished to Gen. Gar
field. In calculating the balances of appro-
priatOns, we made the amount three millions
more than the Secretary acknowledges, though
| how he can reconcile the figures he gives with
the figures his predecessors have given is as
yet mystery. In dealing with our state:
ments, plainly printed in his hands, Gen'Gar-
| field contrives TO make four distinct misrepre-
| sentatiOns of essential points, shown to be
misrepresentation by the very passages which
| he quotes. There was time when no man in
the Union would have been 80 thoroughly
ashamed of this performance as Gen. Garfield