Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-05-30
THEG0VERNMENTROBBED
Discussing CLERK BURNSIDE
EMBEZZLES $4,000.


went to the office Of the disbursing officer
this morning to receive their months SAL
airy they found the doors closed and paw
notices removed. 1t was soon learned
that the Post Office Inspectors were exam
lining the accounts of j. o. P. Burnside.
Superintendent of the Post Office Build
ing and Dsbursing Clerk, and within
few hours it was announced that a shOft-
age of $4,000 had been discovered. The
Postmaster General thereupon issued an
order removing superintendent Burnside
| from office. The following Official explain
alton Of the action was furnished:
By direction of the Postmaster General
a committee, consisting Of A. G. Sharp,
Chief Post Office Inspector; g. w. Wells,
Chief Of the Division Of Finance, and
James I. Smith, Chief the Bookkeeping
Division of the Sixth Auditors office, ex-
amined the accounts Of Col. j. o. p. Burn
| side, Superintendent and Disbursing Off
Ger for the Post Office Department. The
| result of this examination showed a short
! age of about $4,000. His accounts have
not been fully audited by the Treasury
| Department since the Both of June, 1881,
and it is probable that misrepresentation
has occurred from time to time since that
date.
ARRESTED FOR ENIBEZZLEMENT.
The Postmaster General dismissed him
i from office and caused him to be arrested
and proceedings to be instituted for en-
! bezZlement. 1t has been stated that Mr..
! Burnside was a frequent investor in the
oil syndicate conducted by Broker Lewis,
who recently abscOnded, and that he lost
! heavily in such ventures. His salary was
! only S2,lOO per annum, and he was said
to maintain an extensive private estab-
lishment. This might have eXcIted sus-
Afnin I,rrff
was in receipt Of large private income.
The amount of his bond is 800, 600, and
his spreties are said to be respOn-
| slhle. A curious fact shown by
the records is that Mr.. Burnside's
immediate predecessors, Edwin Olmstead
and Frank McCortney, were removed for
| embezzlement.
THE BOND AND LAST ADJUSTMENT.
Col. Burnside's bond to secure the gov
ernment is in the sum of $4,000 and bears
date Of 1870. The sureties are N. l.. jeff
reys, Ii. NJ. Hutchinson, E. c. Ingersoll
of Washington, b. Williams, John Cough
| Ian and William Rutherford. Two of
these bOndsmen, viz: Messrs. Ingersoll,
a brother of Col. Ingersoll, and Mr.. Hutch
insOn are dead, but the government Off
GERS have no doubt of the sufficiency of
the bond. 1t is said at the Treasury De-
partment that the last adjustment Of Col.
Burnside's accounts by the First Auditor
! was for the quarter ended December 81,
| 1888. The balance HnaccOunted for at
| that time was $4,000.
This sum Col. Burnside reported as on
hand, but no examination seems to have
! been made for. the purpose of verifying his
statement. His account for the quarter
ending March 1, 1884, which should have
| been sent to the First Auditor by the
middle Of April, has not been received.
! Yesterday the Auditor sent a clerk to the
Post Office Department to hasten their
| transmission. He was informed that they
were all ready to beaudited, that the let
| ter of tranSmlssal had been written, and
that they would be submitted at once, but
they have not reached the Treasury De-
| partment.
The First Comptroller SAYS that the
warrant for $780, 900, issued to Col. Burn
side on May 6 for the salaries of the cur
rent month, shows that his accounts were
regarded as correct up to that time. The
amount placed to his credit was largely
in excess Of his bond, but only that part
Of it which was needed to make the semi
monthly payment at oneo available.
DRAWING OUT THE MONEY.
On the 14th of May Col. Burnside drew
out by check about $25, 900 of this amount
and disbursed it to the employees. On the
| 2Sth inst he drew a check for $50, 1862,
which was intended for disbursement to-
] e
At the request of the Postmaster General,
the Secretary of the Treasury this after
noon authorized the United States Treas
ury to pay the salaries Of the Post Office
| Department employees for the last half of
| the month, pending further action in Col.
! Burnside's case.
| The accounts of the disbursiug officer
are audited at the Treasury Department,
and it is said by post office officials that
| any irregularity that exists should have
| been discovered in that department. 1t
would appear, however, that under the
present system of bookkeeping the de-
| ticiency may have existed for a long time
without discovery. Col. Burnside's
! books were not falsfied, and the shortage
would have been evident if the entries
| had been compared with the cash on
hand. Col. Burnside told the experts,
who were directed by Postmaster General
! Gresham to examine his accounts, that
there were credits due him which would
| considerably reduce the deficiency. He
said to the Postmaster General that he
| had lost about $4,000 in his oil ventures,
| but Gen. Gresham believes that he was
also invoved in Wall street speculations.
HIS POSSIBLE PUNISHMENT.
The statute under which Col. Burnside's
| alleged Otfense comes is section 54SS of the
Revised Statutes, which provides that any
disbursing officer of the United States
| who converts public funds to his own use,
loaning them out with or withoutinterest,
or disposes of them in any manner not
authorized by law, shall be punished by
Imprisonment, with hard labor,
for not less than one or more
! ten years, or by a fine of not
more than the amount embezZled or less
than 500, or both Imprisonment and fine.
! Col. Burnside's appointment paper shows
that his application was indorsed by SEN
| afp / Ir1rr 81. FrrlI
| ton, Yates, Williams. Edmunds and
others. He is native of Indiana, and
| enlisted in 1861 as a private in the Fif-
| teenth Illinois Infantry, rising rapidly in
rank until he attained the grade of Lieu
( tenant Colonel. After serving through
the late war he settled in Baltimore as a
claim agent, but soon came to Washing
ton, where he obtained a position as a
clerk in the Treasury Department. In
1869 he was appointed third-class clerk in
the Post Office Department, and i'm 1875
was made Disbursing Clerk, in which ca
! pacity he disbursed about $3.50, 900 per
/ annum.
A PROMINENT SOCIAL POSITION.
Col, Burnside has occupied prominent
social position in Washington. He was
| one of the founders of the Columbia Rifle
| Club, and was accounted one of the best
rifle shots in the American International
| Team. When the National Rifles were
reOrganized, about four years ago, he
was elected commanding officer, and, as a
! special compliment to him, the company
| intended to visit his old home, Freepo~t Ill.
during their trip to the West next month.
He had, it is said, greater social influence
than any other officer of the Post Office
| Department
This afternoon Col. Burnside was
/ brought into the Police Court for ex-
| animation. After a short consultation
! between his counsel, Jere Wilson and the
District Attorney, the latter stated that
| the defendant would waive examination
and give bail for his appearance before
the Criminal Court, and that the govern
ment would ask that the bail be fixed at
] $4,000, the amount of the defalcatiOn.
Mr.. Wilson cOntended that the bail de-
manded was excessive, but after some
| argument the court decided to require the
amount named by the District Attorney.
| and said that the counsel could petition
the Criminal Court for an abatement.
! In reply to an inquiry, Col. Burnside
| said to a reporter that he did not wish to
make any statement for publication at
| present He then lett the court room in
custody of a deputy marshal and went
in search of bondsmen.
Col. Burnside was unable to furnish the
requisite bail tonight, but expects to be
| able to get it tomorrow. Tonight he is
at his home in custody of a Deputy
United States Marshal, and has arranged
with Judge Smell to meet the latter at his
court with bondsmen at 8 O'Clock to-
morrow morning.