The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1880-05-05
q. 8. TREASURY BOOKS.
The Books Of the Treasury Department
in Bad Condition.
Erasares, Alterations and Entire Pages Cut
Out of Journals, Ledgers and Other
Books.
New York SUM-

New YORK sun.
WASHINGTON, April S0.-After moro than
two years of constant labor by two experts,
in examining the books of the Treasury. I'M
der the resolution of Mr.. Davis, of West Vir-
ginis, condition of facts is found which
claims the most serious attention.
The Register OF the Treasury is the book
keeper of the Government. All the public
accounts finally go to his Office. Until the
advent of Grantism. the official statements
of the National debt were made exclusively
by the Register. for the good reason that he
alone had the evidence by which they could
bsverifisd. In 1870 Mr.. Boutwell, radically
changed this established System, and took
upon himself the function of Issuing the
debt statements monthly. When the report
of the Secretary and that of the Register for
that fiscal year (1S69 10Y were published, the
former showed an increase In the debt of
S24O, OOO, 900 over the latter for the ten years
from 1861 to 1870, inclusive. 1t was alleged
by Mr. Boutwell,, Mr.. Sherman and others,
in the debate on this subject. that this i'm
mense discrepancy resulted from che new
mode of stating the debt.
To make the two official statements agree,
Mr.. Boutwell, issued an order 10 1870, re-
curing the Register to adopt his figures
though the public books did not justify the
change. he had gone back to 1858, aud re-
constructed the debt upon a new basis of
his own, which covered the huge discrep-
ancy, and many other shortcomings of which
little is yet known. To do this effectively
he was obliged to force balance by adding
So 1913 S27 76 to the public debt, authority
for which can not be found on the books of
the Treasury, The items we're absolutely
invented.
ANY proper examination of the public
debt, and the receipts and expenditures be-
tween 1860 and 1870, would require, accord
ing 70 the testimony Of the ex perts, tour or
more clerks for five years to do the work
thoroughly. Yet il appears from the report
of the Committee that Mr.. Boutwell, en-
ployed raw CLERK for that service during
five months, and his figures constituted the
whole foundation of the change which up
rooted the well regulated practice begun
under Hamilton, and followed by all the
Secretaries of the Treasury down to Bout
well.
When it is known that bonds, bank notes,
legal tender notes, internal revenue stamps
and other issues are delivered by the Bureau
of Engraving and Printing TO the Loan Dr.
vision, the Treasurer the Comptroller, and
so on, without any sufficient checks TO pro-
tect the Government against fraud, counter
feiting and robbery, there we'll may be mis-
B1N1DBS Is 10 Iuo OpoTdLtOuo VI TIC 1IehbUry.
All bonds that pass through the Registers
office, originally or by transfer, are recorded
But they might easily be issued under the
present method by collision and go out
without record, because there Is no safeguard
worthy of the name. The integrity of a
single clerk is the only protection to the
public. That is to say, in the absence OF an
effective check he has it in his power to
issue bond for $4,000 for only 81 900 paid
in.
No return can be found for the accrued
interest on the bonds sold, which Is believed
TO cover many millions And the running
account OF interest on the public debt differs
nv tens of millions between the different
ofnces, as the statements of the cash bal
ances do, when respectively made by the
Secretary. the Treasurer, the Register, and
Comptroller, who are commonly accepted
as checks upon each other. This is also the
case In the accounts OF recsipts and expen-
diturss.
The journals ledgeIs and other books OF
the Treasury abound in erasures and altera
tons of material figures affecting hundreds
of millions Of dollars. Whole pages are cut
out of several of them. Mr.. Stoughton
called the Returning Board rescali.Ies "cler-
ical errors" The champions of Boutwell,,
Richardson and Sherman have fouCd that
phrase convenient TO cover transactions
which ought to send somebody to the peni-
Tertiary.
All these contradictory statements forced
balances mutIlations of records, false exhib-
Its, and this singular change in the monner
of making up the public debt account. to
include the eyentful period between 1861
and 1870 when everything was at loose ends,
were not the result of accident, nor the
work of careless clsrks. There was another
and larger motive behind, touching the
Republican party. its management Of the
Treasury, and The integrity of leaders
standing well before the country. This
committee has only scratched the surface.
H