The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-01-28
THE TREASURY.

Investigation Delayed by the Senate
vote-Tbe Preamble to Mr.. Davis'i
Resolutions TabIed-Another Dam
aging Exposure OF Mr.. Boutwell,,
Bookkeeping.
AS the World has been predicting, the
Republican majority in the Senate ha;
decided it will not investigate the Treas.
ury Department. The final vote was
reached to. day, and the result was the
tabling of the preamble to Mr.. Davis's
resolution by 25 TO 90, and the substitu-
tion by % to 90, of Mr.. Edmund's amend
ment referring the resolution to the
Finance Committee for MIR .Davis's mo-
tion for special investigating commit.
tee of five. This means simply that the
matter is dead SO far as the Senate
Is concerned, for the regular Finance
Committee has neither the time nor
inclination to make such an investigation
as is needed to get at the facts. The
tabling OF the preamble was to prevent
any possible laceration of Mr.. Boutwell's
feelings, which the maker of the pream-
BILE had not allowed to prevent correct
statement of the facts. The scene in the
Senate Chamber to-day, while Mr.. Davis
was making his final plea for special
committee was simply disgraceful. Not
over dozen Republican Senators were
in their seats, and not single one of
these was paying the slightest attention
to the speaker. Mr.. Boutwell, himself was
not polite enough TO remain in his seat,
but kept dodging about apparently with
no other purpose than to keep out of Mr..
Davis's sight, and finally left the
chamber altogether, although the
latter gentleman proved that Mr..
Boutwell, had made misststements in his
explanation and wanted that gentleman
to explain them. Mr.. Boutwell,, however.
did not make even pretense of explain
ing away he damaging charges, and tine
party evidently did not care for any ex-
PLANTATION. The Democrats voted solidly
against Mr. Edmund's amendment and
against laying tie preamble on the table.
Mr.. Davis speech was wholly statistical,
and, of course, very dry, but its array OF
facts and figures makes an even worse
showing for Mr.. Boutwell, than anything
that has preceded it. He took up one by
one the statements which he made in
his first speech, and proved conclusively
that each and every one was borne
out by the facts and that Mr.. Bout
wells explanations, as Mr.. Davis deli
cately put it, "are not well founded.
and are not fully sustained by
the reports" For instance, in explain
ing the way in which his first report had
increased the previously reported annual
expenditures from 1861 to 1866 some
thing over 100000, Mr.. Boutwell, de-
clared that the "exact difference was
made by the leaving out or putting IN of
certain outstanding warrants and trust
funds" but Mr.. Davis showed that the
amount stated by Mr.. Boutwell, was not
the exact difference, and the reports to
to which the ex-Secretary had appealed
as his witnesses made no reference what
ever to warrants or trust funds. In the
matter of pension expenditures MIR.
Davis showed that Mr.. Boutwell,, 10
explain a large increase of $1,000, 900,
had brought in the Naval Pension
Fund, which is set aside by law, and
which the ex-Treasurer himself admitted
no one had a right to use, and this five
wears after the report was made to Con-
gress and the accounts of 1865 were clos
ed. Further, after this 5000, 600 was
thus unlawiully dragged in to square ac-
counts. there is still $50, ,0l0 Sc unaccount-
ed for, to which no reference whatever
is made. Again, Mr.. Davis showed from
the record a plain statement BY Mr..
Boutwell, that one OF the discrepancies in
the account of Indian expenditures was
caused by an error of the printer, and
was correct the LeXt year, and then
showed that up to to-day the figures stood
Just as he had stated and that
the present Secretary's latest report
had them the same way and still
shows an increase Of S2,0G0000 in
the Indian expenditures for 1873. Then
he called attention to the fact that he had
| shown that for the nine years preceding,
the report for 1871 increased the public
debt in the report Of 1870 for that year
| S94, ,000, ,000 for 800 over S99, 100000 for
| 1864 over s75,0OOO00, for 1863 over S2l,-
100000, for 1862 about Sl0OOO,OOO,
aggregating for the nine years s24s 960,'
352 "a, and yet but one of the years Is
noticed by either OF the Senators who at
tempted to explain. Mr.. Davis then went
! further, and showed that the report OF
| 1870 made the revenue collections for the
eight preceding years Sj0,oo0,00O less
than they were shown to have been by
the reports for those years, or, as Mr.
Davis put it, "if the reports from 1862
10 1869 are to be believed and
credited. it was in the Treasury
of the United States, but the Secretary
in 1870 says, in effect It was not there"
Another very significant discovery Wa:
made BY Mr.. Davis and stated to-day, Ii
that what had always been known ss
the Pacific Railroad debt, and which Mr..
McCulloch used to always state ss a part
of the public debt, amounting In 1870
to over $50 O0O, 900, was by Mr.. Bout
well stricken from the public debt state
ment placed in a separate table and
| that amount IN the next annual report
was useI 10 swell the announced reduc-
tion of the public debt for that year,
nothing being said 10 indicate that this
s60OO0000 of the so called reduction
was still owed. In conclusion Mr..
Davis remarked that he not al
the outset charged fraud, hoping and be-
lIeving that the eI. Secretary would: be
able 10 explain away the discrepancies; I;
but they had not been explained away,
in bis opinion, and he was reluctantly
compelled to the conclusion that there is
no reasonable explains alton TO be bad, and
that these changes and alterations have
no, resulted in the public good, and If
there had been frauds, they have In part
served to cover up and conceal Them
After the session OF the Senate, Nj.
I Davis said, in reply toa question, that
the result was only what he had expect
ed, and that IN effort would now be made
to have some of the leading Democrats
/ in the House introduce similar resolu-
,ions there, and have searching inves-
tigation under the auspices Gf that
branch ~ J.. World