Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1876-07-12
PUBLIC p1uNoEREss.
AMOUNT STOLEN IN FORTY YEARS.

Some time since Senator Davis, OF
West Virginia, offered a resolution
ia the Senate calling on the Secre-
tary of the Treasury for list of de-
faulters to the Government from 1860
70 1876, with the amount OF their
defalcations. The purpose Of the
resolution was to furnish little cam
paicn thunder for the Democrats.
Some one moved to amend the reso-
linton so as to have a list of defalca-
tons from 1886 to the present time,
and it was adopted. The Treasury
clerks have been working at the
matter for several months, and have
sent wagon load of manuscript to
the Senate in the form of an answer.
II has been decided not to print it,
first, because of the great cost, as it
would amount to over $4,000, and
again because there are hundreds Of
cases of nominal balances against
mon who are not really defaulters
against the government, but in the
settlement of whose accounts there
has been some misunderstanding or
,niscalculation, and to whose honor
and integrity it would be very unjust
to class them in list of thieves. In
very many cases they arise from bal
auces due from officers of the army
killed in battle, or those who were
wounded and taken to hospitals,
where their papers were lost or de-
stroyed officers of the navy who
have gone down in ships at sea with
their papers with them, and while it
is apparent that the money intrusted
to them was expended honestly there
are no papers TO prove it.
In the list there are some very
funny cases. Washington Irving is
found to be defaulter in the amount
of three cents. Hawthorne, the novel
list, who was counsel to Liverpool for
several years, died owing the gov
ernment 81. A very prominent Off
Ger OF the government stands on the
books as defaulter to the amount
of one cent. The famous banking
firm of Corcoran & Riggo, of Wash
ington, owes the government S7.20.
The English Government owes the
United States, according to this re-
port $1,000.
The amount Of money disbursed
by this government since 1886 makes
big list of figures-l2, 1886, S7O,072.-
%, of which there has been lost to
the government, according to this
estimate of defalcations many of
which are only nominal, as has been
stated, S22,265.OO, or about half a
million a year.
The amount Of real defalcations,
emitting these unadjusted accounts
which have been alluded to, was
about half that sum-
1t is very interesting to examine
the accounts under the several ad-
Ininistrations. The report com
mences with General Jackson, and it
will be seen that the defalcations in
General Grants administration, not
outstanding the constant Democrat
lie howl, of "Thief, theft have been
infinitely less than those under any
other President. The losses to the
government under Van Buren, were
by far the largest, being more than
double those of any other admins
tration.
The losses on every $1,000 of dis
bursements were, in the administra-
ton of Jackson, SI0.55 Van Buren,,
s2l.l5; Harrison, Sl0,37 Polk,
S>,34; Taylor and Fillmore, S764 i
Pierce, $3.50; Buchanan, nearly
$6.9S; Lincoln, S1.41; Johnson, IS
cents Grant, the first four years,
~ cents the second 4 years, %
cents. This is exclusive of the Post
Ollce, which administers its own
revenue. Ia the Post Office the loss
las gone down from Sl1.1S on the
Sl,o00 in Jackson's administration,
ana S-6.l9 in Van Buren's to $3.50
lor the first term Of Grant, and S1.01
Tor the second, with an an average
Of S3,5l for the whole period.