National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-04-13
THE LOST COUPONS.
SOME SHARP WORDS ABOUT THEM.
Er. Moses Kelly Holds that the District Commits
sioners are Responsibilities Commissioners
Diselsim Ever Having Had the Cou-
pons in Their Custody.

The disappearance of ST., $50 worth of
District sewer coupons, mentioned recently in
THE REPUBLICAN, has been made the subject of
q sharp correspondence between certain officials
and Moses Kelly, esq Under date Of April 1, 1881,
Mr.. Moses Kelly addressed letter to the Hon.
James Gilfllan, United States Treasurer and com
missioner of the sinking fund of the District as
follows
Having referred to the records and files of tine
late commissioners of the sinking fund in your
Office, ask your special attention to the following
amounting in the aggregate to Sl3,5S6.41, which
ought to be in the custody of the Commissioners OF
| the District of Columbia, but which, was in
formed by those officers some days ago, could not
be found.
First-On September %, 1874 ION motion of Mr.
Davis, the treasurer instructed to present TO
the board of audit sewer coupons held by the
sinking fund, being all in excess of the amount
collected and received by that officer to be funded
under act of Congress of June 20 last in ffty-year
bonds"
Second-1n compliance with this order the cou-
pons were carefully scheduled, and on October D,
1874, deposited with the board of audit. memo
randum and receipt being taken therefor as fol-
lows: FILED by commissioners of sinking fund,
coupons, said to amount to $3.50 (detached), for
audit. Receipt TO be given when examined"
Thlrd-After such examination receipt was OBJ
tained dated October Z, 1874 which reads Re-
ceived from sinking fund commissioners the follow
ing described sewer certificates for conversion into
certificates to be issued by this board detached
coupons for sewer certificates filed as per schedule
doubt therefore, that the coupons were actually
delivered TO the board of audit and its records
should show what became of them.
FOurth-When the board of audit was abolished
all its records, accounts, and vouchers directd
by law TO be turned over to the Commissioners of
the District of Columbia, and these coupons should
have been included in the transfer so ordered and
presumed TO have been made.
Flfth-NO certificate of audit having been al
lowed by the board of audit for these coupons,
the commissioners OF the sinking fund, under date
OF March Il. 1877, requested the return Of the
coupons, as appears from the Endorsement upon
the receipt OF October 2, 1874
Sixth-This demand was made through Mr..
Denham, then, as now, clerk in the sinking fund
once Tho states that he made two Or more efforts
to secure the return of the coupons without avail.
If more specific information be desired on this
point 1t can be obtained from him. In view of the
foregoing it is quite apparent that if the coupons
have In reality been lost OF improperly used the
responsibility therefor must rest exclusively with
the late board of audit or the Commissioners of
the District Of Columbia. In case they have been
stolen and funded, however, it would be well for
the Commissioners to know that with the aid of
the complete descriptive list schedule in your
ONCE they may be able to trace back the crime 10 its
author even though in their own office. Without
such aid they are unable to find any elew as to
what disposition was made of the coupons.
This communication was referred to the Com
missioners THE District with request that they
advise Mr.. Gilfllan whether the records of the
board of audit show that the statements made were
correct, and whether any of the coupons referred
the board Of audit for conversion into threesixty
five bonds The Commissioners transmitted their
reply yesterday, and with the report of the Auditor
and Comptroller. They state that they would not
think it necessary to add anything to the report
but for the fact that it seems to be the intent of
Mr.. Keys letter to cast suspicion on the Office in
connection with that list of coupons. They there
fore think it proper to make the following state
ment:
hot
sewer bonds already converted into three-si sixty
five bonds on the certificate of the late board of
audit had been presented to the Court OF Claims,
under the act of June 16, 1880, they Immediately
initiated measures to bring Justice the authors of
the fraud and these measures resulted in the arrest
of the culprit George III. Farnham) by whose con-
fession as well as by the admission of parties who
had purchased the bonds, it clearly appeared that
these bonds stolen from the board of audit by
an employee thereof long before the abolition of
said board and the transfer of its records and pa
pers to the late government In the course of this
investigation the Auditor and Comptroller of the
District among other matters reported to the Com
nj ssioners, on The authority of Mr.. Dcnham, now
a clerk in the sinking fund office, that detached
coupons of sewer bonds. aggregating, s1S,5so,
1874, by Moses Kelly, late treasurer of
the sinking fund, to the board of audit for allow
the transaction could be found in the records of
the board. ThereupOn the Commissioners called
upon Mr. Kelly for any information on the subject
which he might have TO communicate, and, in re-
Spouse to the request he stated verbally and sub
Stantially the facts contained in his letter. 1t ap
pears, therefore that he fully aware that the
Commissioners were making every possible effort
10 account for the disappearance OF the coupons.
The evidence is complete, as Mr.. Kelly must have
known when he addressed Mr. Gilfllan, that these
coupons were never in the custody of the late or
present Commissioners. They were also informed
that these coupons were never presented to the
Court Of Claims.
Auditor Vincent reports that he has examined
the books of the late board of audit, and finds no
record of the bonds and it further appears that
none of the coupons referred to have been included
in any certificate issued by the late board for
version into three sixty-fye bonds.