Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1885-08-13

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WASHINGTON, d. c., August 2, 1885.
REGARDING PENSIONS.
On Saturday afternoon General John
G. Black, Commissioner of Pensions,
received the following letter:
CIRCLEvILLE, OHIO, July 30, 1885.
GENERAL JOHN C. BLACK, Commits
sioner of Pensions, Washington, d. c.
M Dear General: A soldiers widow,
and friend of mine, has handed me
the inclosed postal card from A. Il.
Wikoff, United States Pension Agent at
Columbus, Ohio. What does this
mean? Please advise me promptly.
SAMUEL w. CoURTRIGET,
attorney at law"
To this was attached a postal card adj
dressed to Elizabeth Sweyer, Circleville,
Pickaway County, Ohio, which was as
follows:
UNITED STATES PENSION AGENCY,
COLUMBUS, OHIO, July Is, 1885. !
"MADAM: Your voucher has been
received. 1t is impossible for me to
pay your pensions, as the Honorable
Commissioner of Pensions has failed to
furnish funds for that purpose.
Very Respectfully,
"a. II. WIKoFF. U. S. Pension Agent"
General Black was asked to explain
the troubles touching the payment of
pensions. He said good deal of bad
feeling exists at this time because of an
alleged delay in the payment ofpension
moneys to claimants who had pensions
granted to them during the last month
of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1885,
and very much of the blame for the
failure to pay promptly has been sought
to be thrown upon the Commissioner of
Pensions. The facts in the case and the
law are as follows:
The law requires that all agents of
the Government shall at the end of
each fiscal year cover into the Treasury
all balances remaining in their hands
from all sources, and failure on the part
of such officers to make such returns to
the Treasury is an open violation of
law, and subjects the offenders to severe
penalties. It is undoubtedly true that
q custom or fashion had prevailed by
which such fiscal agents, including PEN
sion Agents, instead of covering their
balances in, carried them forward into
the next year and used the money on
hand for the various purposes of their
offices, and then when the new appro-
priation was paid over to them they
would make good the deficit caused by
their failure to comply with the law and
then subsequently overdrawing. What
ever excuse may be given for this
course, it is unquestionably an open
and fragrant violation of the statutes
upon this subject, and nothing but the
most extreme necessity could palliate
such departure from the peremptory
commands of the law and the sworn OBJ
legation of the officers to observe.
In addition to the reckless disregard
of the law such action opened the way
to grave abuse, for when an officer uses
the new appropriation to make good
the overdrafts from the old it is evident
that there is not sufficient check upon
impostions upon the Treasury. Sup
pose, for instance, that in case of a PEN
sion Agent at Columbus, San Francisco,
or anywhere else, such Pension Agent
had for his own purpose misappropria-
ted the public moneys, let us say to the
extent of 100000 Following the old
bad fashion the defaulter would await
the arrival of the new appropriation,
generally very large one, say 500, 900,
when he received he would cover into
the Treasury enough from the amount
just received to apparently make good
the first defalcatiOn.
The duty of the Secretary of the
Treasury, under Democratic Admins
tration at beginning of the first fiscal
year under Democratic control, cearly
was and is to right all possible abuses
by which the Government might be
wronged. Hence the Secretary of the
Treasury directed the Treasurer of the
United States to withhold the appropri-
alton until the various agents through
out the United States had covered the
balances which were due from them at
midnight on June 30th into the Treas
ury. This was his imperative duty.
How could he tell otherwise whether
a defalcation, if any existed, would not
be continued under his administration?
AS soon as these facts were brought
to their attention steps were taken by
the Secretary of the Treasury to reme-
dy this evil. But the Pension Agents,
instead OF covering their balances into
the Treasury on the 1st day of July,
continued to use the moneys that were
on hand, and did not, except in one or
two instances, cover them into the
Treasury until on the 18th day of July,
when they were called upon by the Pen
sion Commissioner to deposit all
balances on hand June 30th in the
Treasury, and were informed that i'm
mediately after they should have COW
cred their balances into the Treasury,
and had given notice thereof to the
Commissioner of Pensions, the new ap-
preparation provided for by law would
be at once available for the payment of
pensions during the current year.