New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-02-25

10 Do very careful ana procA6o III JUL "a
aminatiOns, inventories and process verbal
copies afterward. We recorded the series.
numbers, amount and description OF every
bond, warrant and certificate of indebted
ness funded, and prepared process verbais
of our own of the contents of every package,
compared the same with the records,
checked them of again when the burning
day arrived, and witnessed the burnings.
| with the Funding Board, in the boiler fur
mace beneath the State House. :.
The Funding Board records of 1874 and
the first four months of 1875 contain many
inaccuracies which, now, can not be cor
racted because of the destruction OF the
obligations funded and the imposslhilty OF
com parlng them with the minute ana record
book entries. Bonds are recorded az iun auSoi
which are not included in any process verbal
as destroyed, and as destroyed which are
| not recorded as funded.
Bonds of one series are recorded az funa-
| I'd and az destroyed, when, obviously, an
other series were really funded or destroyer.
| The wrong numbers and in some cases lln-
| possible numbers or numbers higher than
! the whole number authorized, are given,
| and the total number and amounts OF the
| funded bonds and warrants exceed the
| numbers and amounts destroyed, Judging
| nv the records and the process verbals OF
| the burn!ngs, by about $36 OOO
| Assuming that :hese irreconcilable records
| are the results of errors simply, and The
general summary seems to show that this
is in part tho case, the most repre-
hens,ble carelessness in the perform
| ancs of the duties intcusted to this
| hoard is manifested and the work necessa-
| riiy performed by your committee was
| thereby made much more onerons than
| would otherwise have been required. IL
was necessary tor Us to ascertain and deter
mine, if possible it any OF the State obliga-
| f,,DA aH
| if more bonds than the law authorized to be
issned in any case had been funded. This
| can not be settled absolutely, OF course,
until all the bonds OF each series are finally
funded. In one case that of the $l34, OOO
PJ. Kennedy bonds, the records show that
Slil, 600 have been funded, or *7OOo more
than ". re authorized, while $3OOO, or three
missing numbers of bonds, have not yet
been funded, and ten, or O,000-humhers
two To eleven inclusive-have been funded
in duplicate, or more than once.
The exhibits appended to this report will
| show the nature and extent OF the lnaccu-
races and anomalous character OF the re-
| cords of funding and burning as Kept ny
the Funding Board.
The expepses Of the Funding Board. for
| The first six months of its existence,
amounted 10 the large sum of VS., Jay u,
with office room and furniture tree OF rent.
and Judging by the limited amount ct
clerical labor performed) an lnslgn'hcant
expenditure for clerk hire and stationery.
Certainly the amount disoursed was ample
for the keeping OF correct ana rellaDie
records and accounts, and tor dong what
| YOUR committee, because OF this 1ailure,
have been compelled to DO.
summary of the results of our labors ls
now presen ted. as an appendix to thls re-
mort. condensed as much as possible, TO-
getber with a history OF eacn series ol
| l. hp iAf
| This history. disgracetul and indicative ol
legislative and governmental corruption as
in part. il is. will enable the public to Ut
ders,and how, in what manner, anu Tor
, what our enormous State debt was created
, and how very little they have been bene-
, fitted by the squanderins OF go many MIL
, lions.
= | of all bonds aad warrants so far fund
, Cd and DESTROYED; OF those funded
! and apparently not destroyed, and de-
| | stroy ed and apparently not funded, as ar
/. ranged in me;hodical order. These exhlo
Q it's may be relied uloa as correct deduc
= tons from the Funding Board records, an'
they NAV. and should be utilized as guild
f ~ The fntnre operations of the Fundin;
Il BOARD The same method of classification
a shorld be continued until the funding o
the State debt is completed finally, II cor
g | rect results are desired.
g 1t may be properly stated mere tnat
=, yerv valuable and exceedingly useful &C
u | ditiOn was made to the Funding boaru, III
der the supplemental act OF the extra SCI
SION of 1878. in the person of Mr.. job
r, Phelps, who be came ex-otficio memo {
e the Funding Board, az president OF tn
q | Cation Exchange of New Orleans. w
consider that this gentleman's presence
J. the board, ard the Jealous and active an
If | influential part taken by him IN lts proceed
>, ings contributed very much to It's olderi
l. working and to checK the lauoinS "a ooo'
g | ful State obligations.
81 The Secretary OF State now acts as-D
d tore he was only in name the-secretary
TO the Funding Board. and toe minute BOOK
;" eedings, under his charge, Is, so lar
% we can Judge, properly kept. FORMER
ID two clerks were employed to write up u
Of minutes and assist the board otnerWis
g. Under their clerkship the minutes recorde
ID are not considered reliable; because hu
,e | riedly written, with numerous lnterline
of tons in different handwritings, and blan
spaces left seemingly for matter to be
at terward filled in, etc.
of Some of the irregularities in the procee
70 ings of the Funding Board require not
al by YOUR committee. These occurred durli
Id the first year Of the boards operations.
he II ia known that, in lS7 |, an astonlsnlh
w ly large amount of legislative vonche
ar we're issued, to the extent OF $i,OOo,o
by or more, aud that great numbers
al them were sold to brokers at very lo
nv rates. and increased to allow for such d
en- CONN.,. besides being hawked about I
Of | streets az sort of merchandise. Nun
ds GUS legislative committees, ostens,oiy
ed | iuyes cation during the interim Det"e
sessions. besides all sorts of committees
49, investigation and examination travelling
-, | construction to all parts OF the State, IN
~ di,ion TO the regular committees, were
W lowed clerks and assistant clerks, mess
~, gers, sergeants alarms, etc, anu lnosU
W. fr.yagant rates of compensation Tor
ia diem and mileage. with allowance Tor
ra. count often added, were allowed 10 me
at beers and employs, IN the shape OF cru
,en on the warrant clerk anu approVeu Nou
~. era issued by hun. Also, appropriateness
nrs contingent expenses would be made, -
"a | 600 at a time for instance, and war;
~ would be- drawn for the same by the "
aS rant clerk. This would be sold for II
mo- | sixty 20 seventy cents on the uoAiar
,dss broker, and he then would pay it part
nd money and part in the warrant clerk
md warrants at par to the warrant clerK
Ca self, thus realizing double discount
ditional appropriations one upon tno "
too followed: and SO, with discount upon
co. count. and vouchers swelled to allow
ny d;sconnt. the so-caled floating debt sWe
last by millions.
a al Jtis sajd. too that the uncancoled orr
or's IN the warrant clerk, for which war;;
the we're issued, somehow or other got out u
reof the market again and became merchan
among brokers, thus doubling the expe
g of ture for tho pay Of employees. What
ton known IS "Pinckney Smith" warrants
Ond vouchers have been sold on the street
YER low as from TWO ana nan W nv =,
ants on the dollar, and yet the otato paiu :. -
| until IA at a G1QCOnOt.