New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-04-29
THE TREASURY INVESTIGATION.
MR. DAvIs's LONG AND EXPENSIVE SEARCH ENDEl
ITS BARREN REsULTs-IIs INCAPACITY To UN

mission in public life. that which was intended to
round 0u; and make symmetrical his public career, is
the Treasury investigation, to which no has been
devotiDg his spare time for two years. Having
completed bis report several weeks ago. he has been
laborng ass!duOusly, but In vain, to secure the
unanimous assent Of his colleagues on the commit
tee to the conclusions he had himself reached.
The document was laid before tho Senate to-day.
It not read but the Senator. willing to crafty
the pardonable curiosity which must exist i'll the
minds of other Senators and the public at large,
seized the opportunity to explain summary what
the report contains.
Mr. Davis first called attention to tho speeches he
made when he was seeking to persuade n Republi-
can Senate to make him tho chairman Of n commit
tee to investigate tho transactions Of Rcpu5-
lican executive officers. He said that he was
laughed at by some Senators, while Others
asserted that 1t was impossible that there should
have been anything wrong in tho public statements
of the successive Secretaries of the Treasury. Ho
said he believed II was generally conceded that
all his allegations correct Ho thereupOn
briefly alluded 60 the principal features OF his
speeches and IN respect to each asserted that tho
evidence amply bore ont all he had declared
changes involving many millions had been
made in the statements Of the public debts
warrants covering hundreds Of millions were miss
ing from the Treasury files erasnres lnnumcrable
were discovered in the books of the Treasury Of
which no satisfactory explanation was 10 be had;
notes bonds, revenue stamps, etc., were delivered
from the Printing Bureau to other branches of tho
Department and no checks taken. II WAS found to
hc possible. he sad. for single official IN the loan
division to issue a bond without the knowledge Of
the Register, or auy other official of the Depart
mcnt.
In short Mr.. Davl|s report is a series Of insinua-
tions from beginning TO end-or, at least, all OF t
which II not devoted to the attempt to establish the
accuracy Of the statements in his own speeches.
that terrible state affairs exists In tho Treasury,
whereby tho public NAV have been ANA may yet be
dcfraudod Of vast sums by tho colluson of corrupt
officials.
Senator ingalls, presented the minority report, and
proceeded in n few sentences to work Mr. Davis into
"A most lamcntahlc state Of incohcrcncv and uncer-
taintv He said tho Chalrnan's efforts had been
largely directed to attempt to support the state
mcnts In his own speeches. Two years and Il half
of earnest labor. ut yast expense, with corps Of
trained assistants, had failed to disclose single
fact that was not fully known to Congress and the
country since 1871. No one who had examined the
finance reports could fail to have seon that the
statements OF tho public debt, subsequent to
tho report of 1S70J7l, did not agree with those of
previous date, but the majority report fNils to
TO have been the result Of u careful revision nnd
analysis of tho books Of the Department. None of
the changes Indicated that any alterations had
been made In the iginal books OF the Department,
or that the accuracy Of the records to the least
extent doubtful. On the contrary, the testimony
taken by the committee shows that in the process
of making the changes in tho statement no alteration
was made.
In short Mr. ingalls, said, any competent person
might verify for himself the wisdom OF the entire
procedure Tho very statement which contains tho
change also bears, in Il printed note from tho
Secretary under whom It was made. full OK
planation rs to the alterations or erasures. Tho
experts had not been able to discover that
any of them wcro other than what they
purportrl to be, simply corrections OF clerical
errors tho necessity for which fully stained
by spending records Othcr books OF the De-
partmcut. lie declared that the public credit IL an
indispensable element of the National life, and who
ever waut0nly assas it il public enemy. The re-
port Of the majority is unjust in It's insnnat tons its
inucndOcs Is hints and partial truths. II IL prac'
teal suDprcSsiO rcri.
Senator ingalls, was still moro severe lie said ho
had arrived at the conclusion that the grand diff
cnlty with the chairman Of the committee was his
incapacIty TO understand the difference between
change in the mode of stating the public debt and
n cnango i'm tho debt itBclf, Throughout two long
ycors the committee had struggled with that dinl-
Guilty ut every stcp. The evidence, from beginning
10 end without particle OF contradiction,
shows that not figure has been changed
i'm any book Of tho Treasury since its
entry upon that book that thero had been
in two bureaus of the Department bad methods of
keeping the accounts of tho public debt, one by
issues and rrdrmptiOng that Is, with the bond that
IL issued upon one side and the sum paid To redeem
It on the other while tho other method was by re-
ccipts and expenditures Of the negotiation. mo-
inent's reflection will show that these two accounts
cannot agree up to 1870. Tho two disagreeing
statements were published. but during that year
the Secretary thOuGhtIt WISE to reconcile tho two
statements. IL was simply this that had disturbed
the mind of tho chairman.
Senator Dawes dealt with the other features Of
Mr. Davis's statement In on equally effective man
ner. - -, -,
minority Were mere Uenrralities. and that thoy did
not attempt to cOntrOvert his Facts.
Senator Edmunds asked if any money was miss
Sir. Davis answered to tho effect that the money
had been found by sOmebody:
BIrSEdmunds-Well, is 1t In or out OF the Ireas-
Mr. Davis-It is ont.
Mr. Edmunds-Whati stOlenf
Mr. Davis nearly lost his self-posses9ion, 6pt man
aged TO explain that be had not th0ught IL nlS Dusi-
moss to examine into the NATTER,
Mr. Ingalls, called for tho reading OF tho rosoln-
tion of instructions to tho CoInmlttee.
Mr. ConklinR asked what the expenses OK the i'm
VestigatiOn had boen.
Mr. Davis became bewlldered by the numerous
questions and did not finish his reply to any Of
them.
Senator Edmunds said that the committee seemed
merely 20 have taken the bark from the tree. The
essential thing h OF the G@iSG s%sSs SSS
belonging TO the public that ought to be In the