The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-10-25
TREASURY TROUBLES.
The Investigation Made Re.
veal Some Matters.

Washington, 24-On May 5th last,
J. F. Moline, John Walker and H
Hills, were appointed committee
to examine the disbursements, and
contingent expenses account Of the.
treasury department. On June 14th,
the secretary called for report OF;
the investigation, UP to and in
Guiding that date. This report was
called for by the resolution offered
in the Senate by Senator Sherman,
which was adopted On the 21st OF
June. The report was to-day sub
mitted to the Senate. The commit
tee say that, owing to the state
ments made to them by the
chief clerk they have not made
the examination the accounts
fer stationary, but have confined
their inquiries to the accounts and
expenditures under appropriations
for other contingent expenses. The
attention Of the secretary is called
to the various sections Of the Re-
vised Statutes prescribing the
powers and duties of certain officers
of the department in relation to the
accounts under examination, all of
which are quoted in detail. The
organization OF the department,
officers and salaries are noted, and
the report then takes up the case OF
the custodian as not warranted
by law. The investigation of Pitney's
crooked transactions are then
detailed. He is found to have
twice paid for certain bills of car
pentering out of different funds; to
have mixed up the accounts by pay
ing for certain work out of the
other funds. The custodian refuses
to explain the matter. Department
clerks we're supplied with eVsyr
thing, and their bills paid for, as Or
billiard cloth to cover desks, which
were paid for out of the furniture
appropriation; fifty-three gallons of
bay rum were purchased as deOdor-
lied alcohol, which was used for
toilet purposes. For three years,
ending Nav 31st, the waste paper
of the department was sold for
S5,092, and no deposit was made IN
the treasury on that account, eX-
cept after the committee suggested
it should be done, and then only
S2.176 was deposited. While not
willing to make any recommends
lions, the committee says they think
"the system in vogue is very loose
and liable to great abuse, and in our
opinion it should be materially
chang, d."
To Aaline's reported was APP
peade Aiihits showing prices paid
for art "a, =. Excess OF their value
in tht open market. Lamphere's
United Stat government was
bought for So a volume, the regular
price being $3.50 each, with 20 per
cent. discount.
Assistant Secretary Upton and
the chief clerk submitted communi-
cations, referring in detail to vari-
Gus statements, maintaining that
their administrations were not in
They declare the depart
ment made purchases economically,
on the whole. Upton holds that the
Office is legal, and authorized. Secre
tary WINDOWS letter, transmitting
the report, shows that as soon as he
assumed the secretaryShip and
learned of the irregularities. he dis
the custodian. He continues:
sit was my intention, as soon as
my more pressing public duties
would permit, to have pursued this
rigid policy in other branches of the
treasury by the appointment Of COM
petent committees to collect the
necessary data on which to base
proper action to secure economy
and promote the best interests of
the public service, but the assassi
nation of the President suspended
further action in that direction"