Wilmington journal., 1876-03-17
SECRETARY OF STATE SCANDAL.
Auditor Reilly Gives a Correct Stale
ment-S5, 1906 VS.. SG,9i7.16.

| EieHt-Sj, tU.OO VS.. $t,9i1.i6.
The Raleigh Nct0S has had a report
er to see what the Governor and the
! Auditor have To say in regard to the
Secretary of State scandal It looks
very much as if bnat gentleman was iu
the same boat with Belknap:
I Governor, said the repol ter, the
community seems very much startled
over that letter from the Petersburg
lndex-Appeal which was copied yester-
day morning in the News aud which
shows up your Secretary of State in
such bad coiors. Does that letter state
facts?
[ glanced only hastily over it. The
question was this: The Secretary went
on to New York and purchased station
ary and we thought his charges too
high and therefore called III experts
and furnished them with samples
of his purchases, aud on these sam
pies they arranged what they con
sidered fair scale o. prices which
was 25 or 80 per cent. less than Secre-
tary Howerton's prices, and [ approved
the experts prices and refused to APP
prove the Secretary's.
How much vas Howerton's whole
bill?
I don't now remember. One Of his
bills for stationary WAS twenty five
hundred dollars and the experts scale
of prices reduced it to tifteet, hundred.
The Secretary contandeu that his
prices we've fair and reasonable, aud
that the New York booksellers would
say the same.
DR.. Howerton has gone north,
hasn't tthr?
[ heard some one say yesterday he
had gone to New York.
1t looks bad for the doctor, Gov
ernor.
Yes, it does look bad.
The reporter next called on Auditor
Reilly. After exchanging the usual
salutati0ns the reporter made known
his business aud the Auditor replied:
[ am glad to see you. Some things
were in that letter that were not cor
rect. 1 wish they had left ont my
name, all that mess about Honest
Jonn, and said the Auditor had done
his duty. [ don't like to appear like
claiming any honor for dong NV
duty as [ am not entitled to any.
Howerton's bill for stationery and |
blank books presented to me for |
auditing was six thousand rine hun
dred and forty-scven dollars and |
sixteen cents. This I refused to !
audit. [ thought by looking at the |
bill the charges were unreasonable. |
[ went and notified the Treasurer and |
the Governor that L reqnirrd a meet
ing of the regular officers AS desig |
mated by law to pass on these accounts |
as | Nas no Judge of them n.y9elf !
,Che Governor called the meeting and |
none OF the ,fficers being judges of /
such matters, We agreed on calling III /
experts AMI accordingly Measr3. JOHN |
and lambeth aud JOup !
Nichols were invited TO the meeting |
and these accounts were tn,n8d !
over to them for their cunsideraS
ton. Howerion furnishing them |
With samples of goods supposed |
to be pu, chased, and from hose sam |
pies they estimated that he goods |
could be furnished the State Cor the |
sum of five Thousand seven hundred i
and seventy dollars and six cents,
making a dltfereuce of about eleven !
hundred au1 seventy dollars !
aud ten cents. The reporter stops !
this statement here at the instance OF |
the Auditor, who desires nothing /
more than toe plain setting forth OF
has business duty. The books and
stationery were bought from Brown !;
X Warner. IN New York city. The |
Auditor required the whole bill TO !
be itemized. Tine bill has not been
paid. The Auditor required from
the Secretary a power of attor
1ey from Brown II Warner and then
A full receipt from himself for the
imouut and this the Secretary refused
TO give.
The repoi ter then saw Mr.. Arm
strong who was oGo Of the experts TO
investigate the accounts He sand:
The great difference seemed to be in
the stationary bill.
What wa, that difference ?
think about nine hundred dollars
was taken off the So tionaay bill, and
between three ard four hundred dol !
ars off the blank book bill. My busi
ness Was with the blank books, John
Nichols and myself.