Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1880-05-01

Public Debt which had been regularly
made by the Register and officially To-
ported to Congress annually by him
from the very foundation ofthe Govern
ment.
The Register is the official bookkeeper
oi the Government, and no money can
lawfully 10 into or out Of the Treasury
unless upon warrants passing through
the Registers office, and yet Secretary
OF the Treasury ordered the Register to
change his official statements 20 Con
gress, and enforced the order, against
the protest OF the Register, the changes
involving many millions OF dollars and
covering long series OF years. The
Registers duty to make full and truth
iul official statements is ~ old as the
Government, while statements from the
office OF the Secretary IN this regard
were never issued until 1870, the Bureau
taking charge Of that subject not having
been actually established till cOmpara-
lively recent period and not having
been recognized by law Till 1875 by what
is known as the Kellogg amendment to
AN appropriation bill March ). ll15.
the MILLIONS THAT wERE 1T.
In the official finance reports OF 1870
II appears a tabulated statement oil the
public debt iur the fiscal Years le33 To
1870. inclusive, in which the statements
of the Secretary and Register OF the
Treasury ars COntrasted. The Secre-
tary's table, which appears IN the n
nance Report for the first time IN 1910,
shows laTgsinCrease Of the Register.
In 1870, by order Oi the Secretary the
Registers office went back nearly ioTty
wears and changed the statement Tor
each wear from 1888 to 1870, largely in
creasing the amount OF the public debt
statement. For the year lSo2 ten m'I'
lion dollars, in round numbers, for the
wear 1853 twenty million, for 1904 seven
tv tive million, while Tor lSbo. 1900,
1867 and 1868 there is total decrease ol
about twenty-tve million, an an M
crease Tor 1862 Of S99,OOO,UOO anu Tor
1870 of SgI ,0OO, 900, or nearly 100 million
in each Oi the latter years NotWith'
standing these large differences between
the statements Of the Secretary and
Register in the official reports ol lo'O
the Finance report of 1871, as made tp
Congress, Is found 10 contain agreeing
statements from the Secretary aud the
Register. This Was brought about by
the Register changing and increasing MS
amounts so ~ Ia correspond with those
oi the Secretary, and these changes anu
increases still exist. II is lai well
established that all official rrpnrts to
Congress made previous 10 1870 hy The
secretary and the Register, oi the
Treasury substantially agreed and we're
many millions less than M nov reported
in the Finance Reports.
Assistant Register Tllcomb testified
IN response tO Senator DAVIS as follows
q hand you the Finance Reports OF
1870 and 1871, and call your attention To
the tabulated statements made bN th"
Register. BE kind enough to look at
them both.--A. see them.
q These are the tabulated statements
made by the Register Tor 1870 aud lShf
A. They are. :,
q. DO they agree la figures A, ]
see that ior the year 1870 they do not
agree
q. What difference is ,here?-A.
Some Sg6 ,OOONn difference.
y Are there any other years lOr
which they Ito not agree \. They de-
not agree Tor 1873
q What il the difference there, IN
round numhcrsi--A One hundred
million dOllars.
u Follow It on iurther.-A. For 1858
there appears tu be- difference oi about
SIS, ,OOl,OUO.
q. state which is the largest in
amount the 1870 or 1871 statement p
A. The 1871 statement.
u. You have stated three yeaIs; one
amounting To Sm,OO,OOO, another To
nearly SlOO.OO go, another tO nearly
81. 900, 900. Are there not other years
where the amounts do not agree IN these
Two reports2-A. Yes, sir; the years lIn-
mediately preceding those wears.
q How taT back dO the tables IN the
two reports ditier2-A. Without exam
ininv each item, ! see that a difference
,ccurs ia 1888. Tha, Is apparently the
,irst wear.
q And there are more or less differ
rnrrs from 1888 down to 1870, according
10 thr-r rcporls'-A YES, sir
.. Then | understand YOU that
neither the report OF 1879, the report oi
1871, nor the pamphlet, all ISSUED by
the Register, agree N the amounts a. 10
thr total oi the public debt'-A. 10 1t
sPpcars - ~ A.,
annual reports oi the various Registers
of the Treasury made prior Ia the report
| OF 1871 agreed substantially With each
other A. 10 the public debt of the United
States Tor each year?- A. Yes, sir.
y. since ls7l-'72 does not each annu-
al report substantially adopt the preVl-
Gus report ipr all except the year with
which Il dedls?-A. believe -.
q ~ that In fact the material changes,
whether they weTe the system or what
1 not. that occurred, betsecn lsb4 and
/ ls7l'-A. think they occurred IN .''l
exclusively, with the exception oi a
I hIunier IN TIN, tahulated statement
/ which VAS made hy Mr. Neryln-he did
not know how a. make 1.-THE blunder
/ Of deduCtng the cash IN the Treasury.
I By Mr.. Allison q In answer 10
| senator Beck YOU say that the REPORTS
| iur 1870, aud prIpr YEAR, liom thr lie
gistcrs Office. substantially agree ~ TO
| the public debt, you also say tt.at the
/ reports of 1871, ani subsequent yeArs,
( substantially agree A. Yes sir
U Nov, will You state briefly whether
NJ not the mode oi stating the debt IN
the Registers office VAS the same Tor
! 1870 aud prior Years, a. Tor 1871 and
subsequent years, and, u not, state the
/ ditirrrnce'-A. The mode ut stating u
Sas different There was change IN
! the mode Ui stating the debt
v When A. Alter 1870.
This shows clearly that there are
many and large differences IN the Ofh-
| cial reports for 1870 . al previous years
and 1901, ranging from lev dollars to
nearly a hundred million dollans IN the
statements iur the respective years, and
| that the changes made IN ISL Nenl
/ back a. 1885, aud thA, tie report 0i
/ $50. the report II 1871, and the pam
/ phlel all issued by the Register, diiiei
I a. 20 the amount oi the pubhe debt
} The Official finance reports o. Congress
I previous 70 1870 and since 1871, sub
/ siAntially agree, showing that ia.
changes we're made betSeen ls'O and
I ISL The Otiirial Finance rePort made
~ ISL differ widely from al preSiOu.
reports 10 C,lngrt-ss, and after ls3O thers
4ssA change in the mO,ir Of stating the
debt which cAuss-i many changes "a
amounts, increasing the Appartnl
amount Of the pubic debt IN SONS
year. nearly a hundred million dat
. lArs.
TIE NECESSITY FOE HAKsOST.
one OF the witnesses examined by th'
onmmitt.-e gAs WIlllAIa 6nIitoFt, wisn
ior iteen wears prior N the eraminA
ton, had been employed in the kes.s
,sTs oshrs and sho had se.9Es 2: R1a1