The Portland daily press., 1876-07-20
The Blunder of an Innocent

Strange as it may seem to intelligent peo-
pie, an ex-confederate who now fills (physi-
cally) chair in the United States Senate,
has been taking the statements of Demo-
cratic organs as true. Now and then we ex-
pect to find an example of such rare SIM
plicity in the ordinary walks of life and
where the individual has lived fifty years
and never read line in any newspaper except
the Argus or Maine Standard. But that
man whom confederate legislature sent to the
United States Senate should fall into such a
delusion is more than wonderful, particularly
now that Republican newspapers are not
thrown out of the southern mails. Never
theless he was innocent enough to let that
opinion take him in charge as it were.
When the confederate congress assembled
last December, and this confederate set him
self to proving that one quartermaster fur
nished too few oats for too much money
during the rebellion and that confederate
spent days and nights in trying to prove that
the cattle he stole from the Union army
which he was fighting, were not guarded so
carefully as they should have been, this par
ticular confederate wrestled with the Oft
repeated declarations of the Democratic pa
pers that the chief occupation of federal
officials, civil and military, since the thrice
blessed days Of ]. Buchanan was to en-
bezze Uncle Sans money and steal every
thing they could reach or carry away. One
Gay, therefore, he appeared in the Senate
fuif1 o,,I Ise - l.,
voice and huge order in his hand. He de-
manded of the Secretary of the Treasury
the amount of defalcations, the amount of
loss per $1,000 to the aggregate received and
disbursed since 1884, arranged in periods
representing presidential terms aud detailed
statement of the balances due from public
officers for that period. He was going to
show the country the fractional part of each
$1,000 which eluded the grasp of the theying
Republican officials.
Secretary Bristow set his clerks at work.
1t was wearisome task, but the vast num-
ber of hirelings at the command of the head
Of the Treasury Department was able to ac-
complish the job in time. A few weeks ago
the formidable document was sent to the
Senate and that body has seen fit to publish
part of it for general information. For the
period between Jan. 1884, and December
81, 1887, which included a part of Gen.
Jackson's last administration, the losses by
embezzlement were $1055 per $1,000. From
Jan. l, 1888, to Dec. 81, 1S41, a period
which embraces the greater part of Mr..
Van Buren's, a Democratic administration
the losses amounted to $21.15 per $1,000.
From July !, 1858 to June 80, 1857, 1.-THE
Pierce administrator the losses. amount
ed to $3.50 per $1,000 and from July 1,
1857 to July l, 1861 the losses were $6.9S
per $1,000. Now for the Republican ad-
ministrations. Under President Lincoln's
the losses amounted to $1.41 per $1,000; un-
der President johnson, $0.4S per $1,000; un-
der Gen. Grants first four years $0.40
per $lO0a and from July /, 1873
to June 30, 1875 the losses were
S0.26 per $1,000. The average loss
on disbursements from Jan. 1884 to June
30 1851, when the Republicans practically
came into power was $9.02 against IS cents
during the Republican administrations.
note appended to the circular says ''that nc
deductions have been made for amour Is
which may be collected hereafter" though a
large percentage of the recent losses will
doubtless be recovered which will reduce