Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1876-09-13
The 'Percentage'' Argument.

covered IS the attempt 10 SHOW that
Giants administration has been
honest because the percentage Of
loss upon receipts and disburse,
ments, as shown by those fearfully
and wonderfully kept books in the
Treasury Department, is less thar
1t was during the time Of Jackson
IL this be so-which we do not now
care to dispute-it only proves
once more how outrageously figures
can be made TO deceive. The
treasurer who receives $40, 100000
per annum and steals or loses one
per cent. of the amount, steals or
loses $4,000, 900; while the treasur-
er who receives but $50, 0O0,0 900
steals only half as much in getting
the same per centage II would by
no means follow, therefore, because
the loss shown by the books under
Jsckpn's administration, with its
comparatively small expenditure,
was the same percentage of the
grossamountas it was under Grants
with its enormous expenditure,
that there was the same reason TO
sgpectfraud or dishonesty. The
loss Of thousand dollars per an
mum under Jackson would have
maize no more Of a showing as
percentage than the loss Of forty
Thousand during some of the years
of Grants sadministration. From
which twill be seen that the "per-
centage" doctrine is delusive, to say
the least.
But even il the percentage doc
.trine were entirely sound, it would
still constitute no defense to the
charges Of dishonesty and robbery
brought against Grants admins
tration. 1t has been one of the
peculiar features Of that admins
traton that it has not entered its
robberies on, the books of the
Treasury Department, and no cal
.culation Of percentages based upon
those books can possibly show the
amount, either absolutely or rela-
lively, of those robberies. What
ahowingis there on the treasury
books, for instance, Of the amount
pooteted by Belknap in his post
leadership ttransactionsl Will it
be said -shet this money was not
',stolen" from the people, but from I
the post-trsdersl Ask the poor
soldiers on the frontier what they
think Of it and who it was that the
money came from. What showing
is there on the treasury books by
which the enormous fortunes Of the
Osttelis can be figured as percent
ages Yet the n oney was stolen
from the people as much as though
( had been taken from the vaults .
,r the casb-roou in the treasury ;
There is nothing on the :
looks TO show that there was any i,
oss to the government through the =
business. The "percent- !
ge" is all right on this point; the +,
looks balance there is neither ,
overs nor shorts" Yet the !
,eople were robbed of hundreds :
# thousands Of dollars in the bus A..
ness. There was another tran :
action which shows upon the books :,
10 percentage Of loss. It was the =
Misrepresentation Of the Ku-Klux !
md 20 carry New York for Grant. :
els an charged up in due form. Q
The account Shove absolutely cor
ect on the books; bat there was
'34 900 that the country knows of
tolen outright in that business, i
nd how much more "the Great /,
Ruler of the universe"-to use !.
rants sanctimonious phrase
My knows. These items, how :
yer, are comparatively small, a
hough they are by no means all or .
alf of the small items of robbery :
oncerning which the books are ;,
ilent. There is one single item !,
which outweighs them all in mag !,
item of stealings in 4.
he collection Of the report made :,
" the Civil Service Commission in =
s7O-a commission, by the way, 7
whose chief fault was a too blind !;
in Grant-it was stated,
IS q result of the most careful ex-
mination, that "one-fourth of the |;
evenue was lost in collection" 9
Il that time the revenue amounted :
o 100000, 900 per annum, SO that :
be stealing in that item alone was !
be enormous sum Of s50,000,000 9