Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1884-02-08
The Tobacco Fund.

Comptroller Turner made out and re-
turned to the Senate on the Both ultimo,
in obedience to the order previously pass
ed by that body, a statement of the pre-
sent condition of the Tobacco Fund on the
books of the treasury. Mr.. Turner takes
as a basis OF his statement the balance
shown by the report of ex-Comptroller
Woolford in 1875 to be then due to the
State, and gives the items of debit and
credit as they appear upon the books of
his Office down to September 30th, 1888.
By these he makes it appear that the ex-
penses of the system from September both,
1875 down to September 30th, 1888, inclu
sive of the balance then due and interest
on loans, insurance, &c, amounted to ST.
032, $3.50 So, while the gross receipts with
in that period only amounted to $500, 13O-
II, leaving a balance due the State Sept
30, 1888, of S226,439 SO.
This statement contains one very re-
markabe error, which goes to illustrate
how very loosely. if not designedly unjust,
this tobacco fund account has been kept
upon the books of the treasury. Though
the statement starts rith a balance Of $G1,-
1873 Oh as due the State Sept. 80, 1875, it
wiU be o6serred that the fund is charged nith
interest on $133,653 81 from that date to
Sept. 80, 1888, thus charging an ercess Of IN
terest to the amount Of S34.S10 40.
At the close of his statement in 1875
W oolford deducted the full
amounts of the three loans then outstand-
ing in behalf of the Tobacco Fund; viz,
loan of 1S43 ch. 80, 10000; loan of 1915,
ch. 81, S77,006 05; and loan of 1916, CHI.
34S, $21, 705 50; and after all these loans
amounting in the aggregate to S12S,7l 81
were deducted, there was on'y balance
of $61, 16S o. due the State, as above stat
ed. Now Comptroller Turner, in his re-
cent statement, while taking the balance
of sci, 16S 04 as a basis, continues to charge
full interest on all Of the aboos loans the tai
amounts Of sohich had already been charged to
the tobacco fund By Comptroller Wooltord,
And more than that, be runs the loan of
1s45 up to $s1 1884 Is, charging as we have
said interest on $113,653 81, while the
fund only owes The State s6l,16s o..
Of course the only proper charge for in
terest that can be made is upon the bal
ance actually due the State. II those loans
are still outstanding and the interest upon
them is to be sill charged to the State,
then instead of taking the balance that
Comptroller Wooliord's statement showed
to be due the State, the present Comp'rol-
Ter must take as a basis for his statement,
a balance due the Tobacco Fund of S67, 543-
SO, which would have been shown by
Comptroller Wooltord's statement if the
principle of the loans in question had not
been charged to the Tobacco Fund by him,
and interest be allow ed the fund upon
such bala..ce.
Whichever method is adopted, the re-
suit will be the same, and the Fund can
only be charged with interest on SOL, 16S-
o.. Interest on this amount for the eight
years over which the recent sta'ement runs
would amount to only $4,000 81, instead
of S64, 171 o. as charged, or difference in
favor of the fund of $34,S1O 40. Ofcourse
the Senate will pass an order requiring
the Comptroller to correct this palpable
error.
10 addition to this, the General Assem-
bly, should also pass an order requiring
the Comptroller to ascertain the amount
of the receipts into the treasury since the
year 1858 from the wharf property appur-
tenant to the warehouses. These revenues
have been through an oversight, diverted
from the fund since that year, although
they of course, properly belong to the fund
having been accredited to it previous 10
that time. When this shall be done. the
balance which Comptroller Turner makes
to appear as due the State from the To-
bacco Fund will be greatly diminished
though there viii probaly S ill be a balance
due the State as large or larger than that
due in 1875.