The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-08-05
SENATOR AvIs, SPEECH.

crepencies IN the books of that depart.
ment. In this speech the Senator takes
up tho report made by the Senate
Finance Committee In response to the
resolution originally offered BY
himself. He shows that no
member of that committee
ever visited the Treasury Department
to get at the facts, but contented them
selves with such explanations as the Off
cials in the Treasury building pleased to
send them This report. thus prepared,
admits there have been changes and al
terations made in the statements OF the
public debt, revenue and expenditures,
contained in the fusnce reports to Con-
gress from year to year. This admission
Is a concession to the correctness of Sena.
tor DAVIS first speech. The Senator in
a most able and searching manner, re-
views and dissects this sophistical, ex-
planatory and deceptive document, which
was prepare ed in tho Treasury office and
fathered by JOHN SHERMAN.
Mr.. DAVIS, in the course of his re-
marks, while paying his respects to an
ex-Secretary of the Treasury, Senator
boutwell,, in reply to some remarks
from that gentleman, comes down in this
emphatic manner:
| cordially agree with the Senator that
the reputation and credit of the country
are concerned in the matter of forcing
balances in the public accounts, and it
becomes a matter of moment TO fix the
responsibility, if such has been the case,
where it properly belongs In this con.
nection l will state what is not generally
known, but what is well-known to the
Senator from Massachusetts Mr.. Bout
well, that in November, 1871, while he
was Secretary and during his admlnis-
tration, q letter, together with state.
ment of the public debt, prepared in the
Secretarys office, commencing with the
year 1885 and ending with the year 1870,
was sent to the Register, in which he was
arbitrarily directed to make his state
ment of the public debt ito be sent to
Congress) correspond to the one sent
him, compelling MIN thereby: and by
reason of the orders from the Secretsry's
office, to disregard the official data i'll
mis- office, the only true source from which
he could make a statement OF the public
debt TO Congress rs required by law and
l now further state that the data and
warrants in the Registers office will not
sustain tue statement of the public debt
he was compelled arbitrarily to make to
Congress; ard in order to make his state.
ment of the public debt rs made up from
data in his Office agree with the one sent
him from the Secretary's office, he was
forced to make changes in the former
statements of the public debt, and in
crease it in the aggregate more than $780,
100000.
And because such official attacks on
the public accounts and statements and
others | have mentioned were made
under the administration of the Senator
from Massachusetts, while Secretary of
Treasury, and have ventured in my
humble way, to bring them TO the atten-
ton of the Senate and ask an investiga-
ton, it seems l have provoked his dis
pleasure, and in his wrath he uses Ian
guage that adds nothing to his reputa.
ton for politeness nor makes his official
conduct clearer, and says l cannot un-
derstand the public &C, cunts; In reply to
which l will only remark that nobody
else can since, as Secretary Bristow says,
he remodeled them.
may not understand the public ac-
counts, but l confess / do not want that
superior knowledge that would induce
Inc to make the changes in the reports
and statements to Congress of his prede-
cessor made by him. imagine it would
be better for him, for the country, and
particularly the public Indebtedness, had
he not been so wise.
The Senator IN effect acknowledged
he made the changes that produced the
confusion and discrepancies in the public
accounts that have gwen rise to this and
other discussions. This may be the rea-
son that influenced him TO vote against
a special committee of Investigation, and
for one of which he is member, and his
party friends in the majority. But
submit il would have been more manly
for him had he made the confession
earlier, and not waited until an eX-Sec-
rotary OF the Treasury, the Finance Com
mit.ee, and others had fastened on him
tho fact that he was the cause of all the
trouble, confusion, changes, contradlc-
tions, and discrepancies that exist in the
finance reports.
The Senator then launches into mass
of figures which canrot be condensed, by
which he fortified all OF his previous posi-
items in the most ample and thorough
manner. We are bound to say that, if
he don't know much about double entry
bookkeeping, rs sneeringy suggested by
supercillious Yankee Senator, he
proved too much in figures for the whole
brood Of Senatorial defenders of Radical
rascality.