Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-08-12
PerGuiSiteS of once.

proied down deep i'll the well,
Secretary Sherman will be shown to
be, t. say the least, very, very
careless officer. The Contingent
Fund for the Treasury for the fiscal
wear ending June Both, 1850, aGGre-
gated sl32.7lG 10, of which amount
there was expended S132, Go2.3G, be-
ing the entire appropriation, with
the exception of $353e3. \ few ex-
tracts from q recen! report made b.!
a Congressional Committee Will
show the nature of some very unusu-
al charges against the public Treas
ury.
1st. comes the subscription piice of
all the leading daily newspapers and
periodicals, in some cases hall doz-
en- copies being taken, doubtless for
the heads of bureaus. What the
Treasury Department should want
of the literary periodicals to aid in
the discharge of its official duties is
not apparent to the ordinary intel
lect, even if there may be glimmer
of reason discovered for the use OF
commercial papers.
Under the item of travelling ex-
penses there are some queer charges.
It was a rare occurrence, when Sec
retary Sherman left Washington on
! political pilgrimage, if he did not
take with him his private secretary,
Mr.. E. J. Babcock, to report his
speeches. Did Sherman pay Bah
cocks expenses? 1t would seem not
from the following item: October
18th, E. J. Babcock, travelling ex-
penses, s72.75; March 9th, E. j..
Babcock, travelling expenses, SS5. %;
April 9th, E. ]. Babcock, tras cling
expenses, $3.50; April Both, E. j.
Babcock, travelling expenses, $780,
IS; May 18th, E. J. Babcock, travel
ing expenses, s127.23; June 3Otb,
E. J. Babcock, travelling expenses,
$73.25.
The Secretary, while reducing the
public debt and maintaining resump-
ton, spent $4,000, charged up as
freight and kilograms. For tele-
grams alone be spent 81, 1897, the
larger amount appearing in the
month OF June. tits alleged that Re-
publican Convention was held in
this month at Chicago. Included in
the items of freight is a charge of
$140.87 for electric bills.
The horse department of the
Treasury was an expensive one. 1t
cost $4,000 in round numbers. A
charge is made of $240 for repairing
and painting q carriage. Another
carriage was reprinted and repaired
ut cost Of 500; another at $1O7. 90;
another at $87. 25-all within a year.
As these carriages run over o con-
crete pavement, there seems to be
something unreasonable in the
charges. For four dozen horse
brushes $50 was paid. Under the
item, treatment of horses" there
was expended sl52, and nearly $50
for horse medicine. Under the item
of ice.buckets, file-holders, hook
rests and repairs of clocks there
was spent in single year $500.
For the matter of ice alone it cost
81 ,677.53 10 run the Treasury one
year. For fuel it cost SIS, $50.
For gas and gas fixtures, SIT 500.
For carpets $1,000 was expended,
and for furniture $31, 964.59.
Some of the miscellaneous items
are unique, SO to speak. For in
stance, there is change of $lO5.1
for 31S pounds of camphor, s24 for
six dozen salt sacks, $3.50 for three
photographs of the Electoral Com
mission; S22.75 for one toilet set;
$27 for one gross of buttons and
$35 for dye for same; $31.25 for
palm leaf fans; $3.50 for cleaning a
drivers coat; S30.I7 for Day & Mar
tins backing; 213 dozen monogram
towels, 81 ,3S4.50; four and a half
dozen thermometers, $9O.25; two
dozen cuspadors, decorated, $40;
four aud half gallons deordoiized
alcohol, bay rum, $3.50; so gross
matches. $40; one barrel of flour,
50; 100 gross assorted toilet soaps,
$I,95l.15; ten boxes CASTLE soap,
$155; twenty-four dozen chamois
skins, $129.6O; fifty dozen whisk
brooms, S127.50. For these and
sundry other items there was spent
$25. 900.
The supplemented citizen who
humbly pays his taxes as an ade.
quate recompense for the inestima.
BILE privileges he enjoys, is inclined
right here to put on his thinking
cap, and try to discover by what
principle of right any officer can ap-
propriate public money to pay for
fash literature or political travelling
expenses, and his mental energies
are severely taxed in the effort to
discover the use of some of the ar.
ticles denominated miscellaneous. .