The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-01-16
Coneerning the snppIemenlaI Message,

Concerning the supplemental Message
We beg to acknowledge the receipt
through the columns OF our esteemed
contemporary the Register, Of the Governors
supplemental message signed *" The
supplement is rather an aggravation oil the
original ofIense than successful effort to
dig the Democratic party out OF the mire
Of It's financial Irregularities. Our esteem
ed contemporary gives its approval to the
exhibit, the reasoning and the charges
against Republican administration. We
shall, therefore, II agreeable to our neigh
Dor, address ourselves at once to the Regis
Ter and to the writer Of the supplemental
message.
First, let us look at some OF the ground
and lofty tumbling which figures, boldly
manipulated, are constrained to perform.
The Auditors reports are drawn on to
show that there were taken by the Repub-
licans during their administration OF affairs
in this State, from the school funds,
aud never accounted for" sums as follows
For 1866 S5,O9LS4; 1867, S75,2597l;
1868, sGO,7O7 81; 1869, s49,97O %; 1879, $780,
59S 34;which suudry sums are found, by a
simple arithmetical process, to aggregate
the handsome total Of S244,5G0 Al. The
writer asks his Mr.. Editor: "Are these
loose fi2ures?" and his Mr.. Editor thinks
they are nice and tight. The looseness Of
these figures lies on the face OF the returns.
A simple open account between A and b
will illustrate the point During the year
1866 A borrowed from and did not pay
back to B 500. When B balanced his
books for 1866 the 500 stood there as
against A. During the next year A in
creased his Indebtedness to B 500, and
when B came to balance his books for 1867
the amount standing against him was
$500. Unless d were fellow who
tried to live by his wits and,
moreover, thought B an imbecile,
he would not render statement bringing
A in his debt in the sum Of $500. This is
precisely what has been done with the
figures above quoted-the Auditors books
showed what was due to the school fund
when he balanced his books at the end OF
each year-and these amounts have been
added together to force a grand total
II the figures for each year are cor
rect, the amount used Of tho school
fund at the end Of the fiscal year
1870 was S6O,52S "a, and not the
bloated sum Of S344,5BO PA dif-
ference of SlS4,oS9 oS. This mine OF
financial mysteries" might be worked
further-a paying vein all the time-but
we are not disposed to make much Of SO
small matter.
We have before had occasion to refer to
the report OF Auditor Boggess, made to tie
Democratic Legislature in 1871 in response
to resolution offered by Hon. Henry g.
Davis, chairman Of the Senate committee.
Mr.. Boggess reported that the "said sum
OF $6O,52S 81 fall that had been diverted
from the school fund was used to meet
the extraordinary appropriations at the
last session OF the Legislature" including
100000 for the hospital at Weston, and he
added "Said school funds have long since
been reimbursed by subsequent collections
OF revenue" There was majority report
and minority report, supplemental
majority report and supplemental mi
nority report.
The supplemental report Of the minority
exonerated the State administration Of any
wrong Of fact or intention, and found "the
condition Of the State Treasury on the first
Of October 1870, to be sound." By avote
OF ten to six this report was adopted,
and, curiously enough, at the head OF
the yeas stands the name Of the distin.
guished editor Of our esteemed cotemporary
ker(president)." This report gave the
Republican party clean bill OF health
up to October, 1870, the year
with which the startling exhibit in the
supplemental message closes. We submit
with respect that this is something more
to the point than whether the editor OF
the lSrRLLdsNcER came from Foo Chow
or Boorioboorlagah.
We beg to submit further that the people
OF West Virginia are much more inter-
ested in what is taking place now than in
what took place twelve or fifteen years ago.
The Governor admits that the State has
borrowed and now owes a bank $4,000.
1t also owes the school fund Sl27, 900
$267,O in direct violation and defiance
OF law. The State under Democratic
administration began, ofcomparahvely re-.
cent date, to pay interest on the school
fund diverted, and 1t began under Repub-
lican pressure.