The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-11-28
NEW ORLEANS JOURNALISM.
A LEGISLATIVE REPORT AND A GU
BERNATORIAL LETTER.
How New Orleans Editor Went for tine
Charity Hospital Fund, and Love
lie. ter TO the Pic.
COMMITTEE Room OF PUBLIC AND GBAgrTA.s
BILE INSTITUTIONS OF THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES.,
New Orleans. February IA, 1876.
To the Honorable Speaker and Members of tho
House of Representatives:

NeW OElsaES. FebruafV IA, 1876 J
TO the Honorable Speaker and Members of tho
House Of Representatives:
The Charity Hospital board do not com-
plain OF tho hsufficiency OF the legis-
lative appropriations. but only OF the man
ner in which those appropriations have been
paid by the State officials and realized by
the Charity Hospital. The complaint Ia that
the appropriation having been for the much
greater part paid in warrants which were not
cashed on presentation. nor for a long time
afterwards lat all events to the board. they
were compelled to borrow money in open mar
ket upon those warrants as collateral securityy
! or sell them outright and submit to an excess
i've discount therefrom. The board complain.
also. OF the, delays which have occurred In the
delivery OF warrants by the Auditor for
certain appropriations. They called the
particular attention of your committee to
the delay which occurred in the delivery
to them OF warrants for the appropriation made
last year, amounting to $4,000. The matter was
first called to the attention of the House by Mr.
parish. This appropriation was made In Feb
ruary. but the warrants were withheld by Audi
tor Clinton until late in the month Of December.
| a delay Of about ten months. upon what
YOUR COMMITTEE BELIEVE TO BE MERE pHE-
TEXT
viz: That there was no money in the Treasury;
that the Auditor was invested with q power or q
discretion to withhold their issue until there
was money to meet them and that there wers
injunctions Of the Superior District Court, par
sh Of Orleans, In existence. restraining him
from their issue. The belief OF your COMMITTEES
that these were mere preex4s. Is based
upon their general knowledge Of the
inner workings Of the Auditors and Treas
urer's Offices. and upon the inspection Of the
pretended Injunction order, and upon the fact
proved TO us by ineontrovertible testimony
that Auditor Clinton's objections to delivering
these warrants were Immediately overcome
and
DIssAPPEARED AS IF By MAGIC
the moment that certain arrangement or
contract had been made by the Board Of Ad-
ministrators with his brother in law.
MR.. ISAAC N. sToUTEMYER,
one Of the ostensibLe proprietors and the editor
Of the
NEW ORLEANS TIMES
newspaper. This arrangement or contract in-
eluded one onerons condition. which should
not have been imposed upon the board The
facts touching this contract your committee
now proceed to set forth:
The board fearing that the appropriation Of
$4,000 would DO lost to them by the efIux Of
time-that is to say. if not collected before the
Legislature Of 1876 assembled and that their
creditors would have to be delayed still longer.
concluded to try
AN ExPEDrENT
much resorted to nowadays. that is to offer Mr..
Stontemyer las one who was supposed TO be able
to accomplish what no one else could, /. q,
the removal of Auditor Clinton's objectionss
fee or compensation large enough to induce
Fin to
LEAVE HIS EDITORIAL CHAIR
for brief space. to exercise his eminent
legal abilities In the enlightenment of the
audtorial mind as to the wrongfulnesg OF
his course with regard to the appropriation for
the hospital It was supposed by the board
that Mr.. Stoutemyer would succeed In con-
vincing Auditor Clinton that there we're
no legal obstacles In the way Of
delivering those warrants, and the result
proved how correctly this was calculated. The
onerous conditions Of the contract into which
the board entered with Mr.. stoutemyer,
tFoR HB UNDERTOOK THE JoB.J
was their agreement TO pay him for the service !
III he suceeeded) the sum of ss5oo In cash, or
thirteen per cent ON $4,000. This fee has been
paid to Mr. stoutemyer In warrants Of the
Auditor, which leaves the hospital out Of that
appropriation just s4s.5oo. The board say that
THIS $500
will not ultimately be lost to them as two OF the
largest creditors agree to make deduction
from their claims sufficient to compensate the
hospital for the sacrifice 1t might have to make
in the collection Of these warrants, provided
their claims were paid at once. In the mean
time, however, your committee fad that these
creditors have not been paid as they are not
disposed to accept Auditors warrants at their
present market value. and the
HOSPITAL IS OUT FOB THE PRESENT sG5Oo
Your committee think there can be but one
opinion as TO this remarkable transaction. Al
though not entirely satisfied that the board had
POWER TO RANSOM
the appropriation out OF Auditor Ciinton's
hands at this heavy cost, or al any cost,
they are unwilling TO censure them under the
for 1t seems TO be case OF du-
ress. They had either to agree to the terms Mr..
stoutemyer imposed upon them, or lose the ap-
prop iation. But your committee cannot suf-
fer Auditor Clinton and Mr. StouteTnyer tn