The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1886-10-07
FoRAKER's FIGURES.
He Falsifies a Correct Abstract Furufshe'
by q Competent Hand.

COLUMBUS, O., Sept. 26.-An inspec-
ton of the official figures as shown by
the books of the penitentiary disclose
the fact that in making up his keynote
speech Governor Foraker was quite as
economical of the truth as he was in his
| now exploded cane story. Had he been
content with using the figures as fur
nished him from the books of the insti-
tuition, and as they appear in the official
reports OH file in the State House, q very
| different state of things would have
been shown, and his tremendous can
nonading would have been mere rattle
of musketry.
The official records show for the two
years of Governor Hoadly's administra-
ton the following facts:
Total expenditures ........ .$639, 029 70
Total receipts. ................ 4lo, ll5 ~
Dfference. ............ ZZo,SAO %
Less permanent improve
mentS. ,LUO w
Actual loss la. .715 81
By a juggle of the figures, and by
adding figures that are nowhere to be
found in The books of the institution,
Governor Foraker makes the loss foot
up S2O5, ,061.32. He might as easily
have made it foot up half million by
the same process of give and take that
he resorted to for the purpose OF making
the losses appear $76, 900 greater than
they really were.
He resorts to very complicated
method of forcing his adverse conclu-
sions against the Democratic manage
ment. He assumes, for instance, that
the losses annually were $102, 600, and
to this adds still further loss of $53, 600.
or the alleged profits of the former
, years administration, thus adding q
loss of SlO6, 900 which is not to be found
in the fiscal accounts, and which has no
existence save in his own imagination.
Not content with this sort of jugglery.
he resorts to another method of swell
ing the losses, quite as flagitious, un-
principled and unbusiness-like. As, for
, instance, he sets down as loss on the
l part of the penitentiary managers the
sum of S25, 639.56, '.for money credited
! but not collected"
l This sum was earned by the peniten-
tiary, and was due from contractors
whose contracts came over from the
Foster Administration, and the amounts
5 were certified to the Auditor of State.
+ and by him turned over as the law di-
rected 10 the Attorney General for
u collection. Owing to the insolvency of
these Foster contractors the State failed
to collect the money, but that failure
was in nowise due to the penitentiary
e managers. The whole thing passed
q beyond their power and control as soon
. as the sums due were certified to the
u proper State officers. This $25, ,6S9 Sc
y is, therefore, wrongfully charged up as
Z loss to the late management. There
u was nothing in the accounts OF the PEN
l. itentiary to warrant it in being so charg-
l. ed, and Governor Foraker knew when
IL he so manipulated it that he was doing
n violence to the truth--in short, was
L willfully making false charge against
Il the management.
Then he says, land to the expendi-
E lures should be added loss on State
a account not carried above $34, 706 "a. !"
IL This is even more iagtltious than the
le previous item. This latter sum is to
- cover the losses on the broom shop,
wooden mill, etc.
But when Governor Foraker made
this addition with a view of compelling
the figures to tell falsehood, he knew
y very well that every dollar of this alleg-
n ed loss has been included in the expen-
We ditures above. In other words, this
to $34, 900 has already been included in
g the expenditures and charged in the
9 accounts against the institution, and he
- concluded to do little ''double entry,
,d and charged it again so as to swell the
lie losses by that amount.
10 Another of the Governors lunacies is
,m the way in which he figures out a loss
30 20 of S311 ,O61.32, apparently forgetting
ne ne that he had stopped on S205, 200 few
- minutes before. He does this by as
~ suming that under Warden Peetrey the
"a annual loss was 100000 and undeI
Warden Thomas the profit was S53, 600
ar Adding these together, he makes the
- annual loss S155, ZOO, and for the two
wears $311, ZOO. A man who would if
~ ~ the first place cook his figures so as tt
~ make them state falsehood, and ther
ed draw upon his imagination for 800, 00(
~. of additional losses that the State coul(
-, not sustain under any circumstances
.! is capable of any demagogical perform
- ance.
,e Governor Foraker's methods of figur-
ing up the losses were varied and il
III some respects amusing. In addition t.
81 t;a those l have shown above, one method
i was to charge up to the Democratic
II management the time of all the convict
VI at seventy-five cents day, the highes
-, price at which his Administration il
81.
the present price according to his owl
. ideas. upon the permanent improve
ments made two years ago, and set tn,
difference down as s.loss." The 1926,
900 Water-works he decided shoul.
10 only have cost 1000, and in this wa,
figured out 500 loss there. Thes
VI works were built by Republican firm
"a. But the statement of the actual re
nd ceipts, expenditures and improvement
nd given above, and which are takel
ey from the official accounts, whicl
en- Governor Foraker can find in tn
IN State House, with his additions and falsi
fications, prevarications and misstate
her ments, show just how reliable he is a
,ot ot Il statistician, and that his figures ar
no. no more to be relied on than his stor
lad about skinning Irishmen and negroes
es: which was so dramatically set forth t
fool some one.
not not But really, when one sees how tn
the Governor made the official figures lie
by adding what was nowhere shown O
iay rey limited at in the books, he can not but b
the impressed with his moderation, consiC
hat hat ering the dreadful case of ground-ho
and f. ON which the gang is now suffering
He might have coined twice as big
IN IN Munchausenism with scarcely any add
we tional effort
full, The above statement is made upo
the the the figures furnished by Clerk Lang,
less Democrat retained by Republican az
q ministration.
Governor Foraker in his speech r,
Gently del vered states that his figure
were furnished him by Clerk Lang
,o Mr.. Lang is an honorable man and
~" square Democrat and is now ready
make affidavit that Governor Forake
oo1o n ob,nro of 256 O0O in tho fiuurs