Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1876-04-26
President Grant and the Secret
Service Fund,

All governments have what is called
a Secret Service Fund BY recent
sworn testimony before an Investigating
committed a. ashingtou it appears that
President Grant requested regularly
authorized officials to pay out $50, 900
Of the Secret Ser7ice Fund of this Gov.
ernment to men employed in Philadel-
phia and New York to register the
yotes-called in the country assessing.
President Grant ordered the payment
ment of the above mentioned sum when
he was told that the amount regularly
appropriated for the registration Of
voters had all been expended and did
not pay for the work. Under the Law
he has the right to use the Secret Ser
vice Fund for the payment of Just
claims, not provided for BY appropria-
tion. If the claims for the assessment
or registration of voters was not proper,
then the responsibility rests with the
men who lied the Presiden. into the
belief that there were act sufficient
funds to pay for the work.
In Philadelphia the voters had been
assessed or registered, and the men,
after they had been paid what money
was set apart for the purpose, said that
their pay was not as large as it should
be, and that they were justly entitled
to more money for the work that they
did All people 5ut those too ignorant
to read, or those too lazy to read, know
that the assessments or registration is
made in the cities BY men of both the
Republican and Democratic parties,
and that the people who we're asking
the Governmet for more pay for their
work we're both Republican and Demo-
cratic people, and amongt the most ur-
gent to have the Government pay lsore
for the registration we're Democratic
Congressman from Philadelphia. These
appeals coming from all parties to Pres
ident Grant, induced him to give ear to
them but there being no appropria-
tion beyond what had already been ex-
pended, he could not increase their pay
unless he direct portion Of the Secret
Service Fund, which he lawfully could
do. He listened to their appeals, and
gave them the increase of pay asked,
and that is the sum and substance of all
of the clamor that within the past week
has been sown broad cast over the land
as terrible act of corruption on the
part of the President.
In Juniata county the great majority
of the men who assess or register the
voters are Democrats. Suppose these
men were to declare that their pay is
insufficient, and that the more promi-
nent men of beth the Republican and
Democratic parties iu this county should
join in asking the Commissioners to
allow them more pay, and the Commis-
sioners, having fund in charge that
they could lawfully direct to the pay
ment of the increase asked by the as
SCISSORS, listening to the appeals of the
assessors and their friends, pay the
increase, it would make case similar
10 that of President Grant. Would
the Commissioners in such a case be
chargeable with gross corruption
There is nothing in the charge as it
now appears against The President, and
the effort to beslime him through the
Secret Service Fund, from present ap-
pearances, will prove failure to as
great degree as the effort long ago to
prove that he possessed not tie ele
ments of generalsbip. In the present
storm of wicked denunciation be will
prove himself, despite all the manufae-
tured evidence against him, an honest
man.