The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-08-26
scnntor Hcnry's Investigation.


Our distinguished Senator from Deer
Park. lust returned from Europe, has land
nj in time to receive the earliest news OF
the result Of the Debt investigation which
Lc had the honor to set on foot last win
,.r. and which he had, like Benton, "soIi.
tary and alone" attempted to set on foot
several times before.
When the Potter investigation was put
uulcr way about the same time last win
fer. Hon. Alex. II. Stephens said that it
would turn out to be either tragedy or u
,r,e He might have said the same thing
in regard to Senator Iicnry's movement.
Ii by any possibility It could be true that
the United States debt, involving so large
ly and so intimately rs itdoes the finances
and business of the whole country, and
affecting, to certain extent, the finances
J ci the whole world, had been systematic
nils ialsi,icd, and two hundred millions OF
rash stolen from the Treasury and con-
rralcl on the books and debt state
mcn,s, requiring Us it would the conni'
vance and perjury OF so many high Off
cioI. heads OF bureauS and chief clerks in
2. the Treasury department, then indeed
we nigh, well have dcspaircd ofthe Re-
puhIic. Such an immense, wide spread and
lrrp rooted fraud would have shaken our
iormof government almost, il not;entirely,
topicccs. Confidence in publicmen would
have collapsed. 4 debt statement OF the
Government would have thcnceiOrwartI
/, amounted to no more in popular cstima'
ton than the statement OF a suspected
bank or insurance company. The finances
oi,hc government would have been utterly
lcmoralxcda and every body in Europe and
America would have looked upon all bonds
As tainted, and been afraid TO touch then
for fear many of them were spurious, and
thu great departments OF the government
would have been looked upon rs little else
than 30 many charmed houses OF corrup
, ton.
y Senator Davis set on foot this invcstiga
i ton, which has resulted in his personal
4 modification, for personal and political
ends Had he been n man OF largo and
well disciplined habits Of thought, he
would not, for many reasons, have riskcd
the publicity which he so vain gloriously
courtcd. He would have first studied
long and well the modus Operandi OF keep
ing Treasury accounts. He would have
by virtue OF his prestige asa United States
Senator, made the acquaintance Of each
auditor Of the Treasury land there arc SIX
!, Of thcm) and the leading clerks under
them, and OF the assistants to the Secretary
ofthc Treasury, and Ofthe experts, statisti
y clans and detectives OF the Department,
aud learned from them all that it was pos
sb!cto ascertain in regard to the manner
Of keeping the Debt account of the Gov
crprrnt, and by that time, say in Sly
months, he would have had some under
standing OF the subject matter he proposed
to investigate, and could have, by the aiC
Of wiser Senators than himself, decided
whether it was necessary to pursue the in
I quiry further. But, no, Mr.. Davis coult
not possess himself with this sort OF men
s tai and moral discipline. lie was afraid
that some body might.get the start Of hin
. steal his thunder-and rather than miss
the notoriety he sought he was willing to
risk what has happened, a humiliatinG
fmlc .a . rat
Well, We do not regret the investigation
Nobody has cause to regret it save Mr.
Davis While it has cost the Government
considerable money, yet it has really cos
no person so much as Mr.. D. 1t has beer
at his expense most emphatically. lie has
however, done Il service for the countr!
4 tla, he Ind no idea OF rendering. He has
budcd wiser than he knew. The Treas
urv DEPARTMENT has been thoroughly win
dictated hy the examination. The deb
statements now stand clear Of any suspi
cion. What ex.Sccretary Boutwell, stated
on the floor of the Senate in regard to mp
parent discrepancies from year to year is
shown to he true. lie explained, for in
= stance, that the books Of the Register O
, the Treasury would always show adiifcr
cnt statement of the debt from that Of the
Secretary. And yet despite all the cxpla
nations then and afterwards made, Senator
IIcary insisted on his investigation, and
only u short time before he went to Europe
he reiterated aud declared that the eXami
nation would show all that he ever assert
ed in regard to something being rotten in
Denmark. .sU
2 As the Baltimore !inlcriedn we'll said the
other day, Senator Davis may be good
/. Judge of horsencsh, in which he ha.
traded so largely, hut he is not much OF 4
statesman. 1t was noticeable all along
tina, his Democratic brethren in the Senate
did not join in to any extent with his de
imand for an investigation. Thurman
N who is Il candidate for the Presidency
Z and who cNltivates Davis and Hereford on
: that account, occasionally said word
a OF encouragement, but aside from this our
Senator had the glory all to himself, which
4 was Just to his mind, inasmuch rs he cx.
4 pcc,cd, after he got through, to be, in the
q! language of the late door keeper, OF the
4, House, III bigger man nor old Grant"
= VIZ arc sorry that brother Homer, OF