Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1882-02-23
The Stealings at the Mint.

The stealings at the Mint.
Some years back Senator Davis.
of West Virginia, made himself
prominent by persistently directing
attention to the different statements
put out by the Treasury Department
about the public debt, bonds issued,
&c, &c.
The discrepancies amounted to ma
ny millions of dollars. The answer
to the Senator's structures was inva-
riably that it was a mere matter of
bookkeeping, and that nobody except
the Treasury officials could under
stand the Treasury bookkeeping.
s'But it was all right" That was as
far as any one could get. If the diff
ferences, discrepancies and forced
balances indicated that anything was
rotten in Denmark, the absolute truth
could never be known, because the
Treasury ring is never changed. The
same old set remain, who have been
on the inside ever since tue wac. No
satisfactory explanation, however,
has ever been vouchsafed the public.
Similar to Mr.. Davis effort to unrav-
ell that mystery has been the COM
mendable zeal Of the New York Jour
ma! Of Commerce, in reference to the
operations Of the United States mint
in tue coinoge of silver. The reports
of the mint director do not agree with
each other. His figures won't bal
ance, and the special reports he makes
to explain them leave him in just as
bad fix as before.
Taking the figures from the Jour
nal Of Commerce, it appears that on
July l, 1873, the mint had on hand
7.1l1,O59 sounces of silver. Up to
June 80, 1871, the director had pur-
chased 81, 1878 ounces, making a
total supply for that time Of 74,s44,.
796 ounces. OF this, 91,172,5l1 oun-
ces were coined, turning out 80, ,82O,,
2S6 dollar pieces, and 60,291 ounces
were worked in the coinage, making
total consumption of 1892, 1902
ounces of silver. There should then
lave remained at the mint residue
of 3,611, 1898 ounces of silver.
Ga December 10, 1881. however,
he put out new statement stating
that the wastage for the three years,
instead of heing 6O,281 ounces, was
12O,562 ounces aud that insteud of
having on hand 3,611,993 ounces Of
silver unused, he had only 3,145,117
ounces. Allowing this increased
wastage, as claimed, there would be
a deficit eff 4O6, sos ounces wholly un.
accounted for, which represents
S473, 140. Now, what has become o
that?
Again, in the directors report he
states that he had on hand as selgp-
forage, July 1st, 1878, s424,725. The
seignioragn for the three years ending
June 80, 1881. he states, was 50,
992, ,754. The total gross profit up to
that date would then be. according
to the directors figures, $40, ,47,479
But there was wastage of $7O,157
and the cost of distribution is stated
to have been S249,2S7, making a to-
tai expense of S319,444, SO ther'
was net profit in buying the silvel
and coming it of s10,O9s, ,735. Th'
director says that he has on hand 81. :.
1O1, ,645, and that he has deposited
with the Treasury of the Unltet
States $S,774,375, thus accountin.
for $9,S76,O19 and leaving s222,71t
entirely unaccounted for. But NOR
than that, the Journal Of Comnaerc
some months ago allowed so clearl,
that the gross profits ought to hav
been more than $1O,417,479 on tn
silver coined that Mr.. Burchard, tn
director, made special report t.
that paper admitting that there wa
still further profit amounting t.
$l82,O10. So that it appears th
deficit is $4O4,72G. These figures ar
merely additions and subtractions Q
the figures given by the director him
J self in his annual reports.
, Again, in these figures credit
| given, according to the director
claim. that for the year ending Jun
J.. so, 1879, he paid into the Treasur
| S2,954,454. But the Register of th
a Treasury acknowledges receiving th.
, year only $2,844.454, making a dill
ference Of $4,000.
The Journal Of Commerce says
= eve do not suppose the Registe
y was allowed to pocket this $4,000
and we ther efore infer that Mr.. Bu
chard did not pay over the sum clair
s ed in his official report, and is lie
: banging on the hook of statemer
: which the facts do not sustain. Bt
: what has become of the nearly
i quarter of million dollars that al
] pears to have dropped out of the a.
It count altogether? By what juggler
g is this account made to appear as a
o. honest statement of actual prof
= when the Secretary Of the Treasu1
70 has the means of exposing it on Il
=. pages of the official report placed
) his hands?
4 sThere has been a mint ring in e
. istence for nearly fifteen years. "
IL commenced the exposure of its met
l. dds of filling its rockets by shown