The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1886-10-14
"wAsH1neros. September %, 1856.

l
is as follows:
"WAsHINGToN, September %, 1886.
"My Dear Sill have yours of 10Th inst, men.
| tioning that the Democrats of Long Island are
| glOating over the recent disclosures of tn 6
register of the Treasury showing that vast
| can officials.
"I'he Democrats of Long Island take par
t1al view of the case. II the Registers dis
| closures show that vast sums OF money have
been stolen by Republican officials, they also
show SIN that other vast sums have been stolen
THE total sum of the balances due the
United States is given on p 204 of the Regis
ter,s statement at s25 1906, 1884, OF this sum, the
Democratic campaign book for 1886 (p. I4l)
states tha6 $i2,S08,476 accrued since the year
before 1851 so that the Democratic nde-
faulters'' are Proved on this showing. to have
been equally expert with the Republican. But,
pert. The statement of the Registers bal
ances does not include the business of the Post
Treasury Department. 1t is, therefore. incom-
plete Supplying the omissions and including
al the operations of all lhe branches of the
Government of the United States, this is the
net result: OF all the losses both In the re-
ceipt and in the disbursement OF public mon
eys, as asceftained by the Treasury Depart
ment down to June 80, 1883, and officially
printed August IL, 1881, the percentage for the
period prior to June 3d. 1861. was S. q for every
u, 000 and the percentage for the period from
June 80, 1861, to June 80, 1883, was thirty-nfne
cents for every $1,000 During the latter period
$50 767 $751; 73l, and the total losses were $14 49,
1877, or thirty-nine cents per $l,O9o. so that the
rate Of losses prior to 1861, compared with the
which S. 2lbears to thirty nine cents-or over
thirteen times as great. In other words, to use
the current Democratic phrase, Democratic
'defaulters' have been thirteen times as agile
and successful as Republican defauiters.i Or
to put it in another form the Democratic Off
sum total about One-eighth as large, nearly
twice as much as the Republican officials since
.'The claim of loss of SIS s09 I94 In balance is
made on the theory that every balance carried
on the books of the Register is an actual loss
and defalcation. But this is not true. There
are balances OIL the books against the names
of John Adams, President of the United States
John Quincy Adams, Minister to Russia; Dan
lei D. Tompkins, Vice President of the United
States; Andrew g. Curtain, Minister to Russia
Augustus @. Dodge, Minister to Spain; AL
eXander II. Everett, Minister to Spain; Nlnfan
Edwards, Minister to Mexico: Caleb Gushing,
attorney for the United States before the Hud-
toMexico; John othropMo Minister toGreat
Britain; JOS A. Wright, Minister to Russia
]. Sterling Morton, Secretary OF Nebraska Ter
ritory; James w. Nesmith. Marshal of the Ter
ritory of Oregon; General John Arms trong,
Minister to Paris; James A. Bayard, Envoy to
land Francis Leiber. Umpire of the American
and Mexican Commission; Henry Middleton, |
and very many Others of like grade of char
acter. No one believes that these gentlemen |
were or are 'defaulters,' but all are alike pill
1oried in the sweeping denunc1ation of the
Democratic CAMPAIGN Committee. The bal
defa1cations The Acting Secretary of the
Treasury, transmitting the list to the House o f
aad h n Say 1aa ney
due the United States as shown by the books I
of the Register OF the Treasury They are not |
defalcat1OnS, because the accounts are I'M |
settled, and like unsettled accounts in private |
business, there are offsets against them. And |
If we can infer anything from the serious col |
1apses already suffered by the United States |
in suits to collect balances like unto them, |
the offsets constitute much the largest pro- |
Campaign Committee, not content with the /
accurate and official statement both Of the Act
ing Secretary OF the Treasury and OF the Reg I
lister of the Treasury adds to the words used by |
them, and declares that these balances are now |
tions In disbursements and collections This |
is a clear case of Interpolation and of wil1fu1 /
cedent in the practices of Democratic National
Committees. Undoubtedly both before and |
since 1851 there are some cases of actual, flag
majority of cases those balances represent |
merely imperfect vouchers and disputed ques-
lions of fact or law, or both.
An apt Illustration of the value of these |
belaaces' IN showing actual indebtedness is /
supplied by the last report of the Secretary of |
the Treasury. On pages SIG, SIT and SIS of that |
report 1t Will be found that on the 18th of June,
1S9 sne Hoo Panel Mannng OF the
deDtedness' OF S8,O97 by Hon. Henry W. Hof- |
man. man. late y. 8. Depository, baltimore, Md jus
admission that he asked and received from
Judge Hoffman the full amount due from him
TO the United States on this account: If the
proportion, the AIS in balances which
have accrued since 1861, will shrink on a test
OF trial to about SCI ,l6S In cash. Surprising /
that the remaining balances should prove ten [
times as valuable as the HOFFMAN indebted- T
ness did prove to be, what a meager ratio the
resulting million aud half of dollars would
bear to the nearly thirty-seven Thousand mill
lions ofdollars. which were the sum total OF
Government
1858.
cit seems like trtfling with popular intelii-
gence to give more time to these balloon iig-
ures' of the Registers lists of bogus balances.
If. however, you find That the Democrats of I
Lopg island still remain increduIous, and you
will Indicate what additional proof may be re-
CURED TO give them full appreciation of this /
humbug of 'defaifa.ions. Will try |
to have it supplied. am, very specially,
"YOur obedieut servant, /
s.EDWARD MCPHERSON.
ITO Hon. Joseph Nlmmo, jr., Huntington, Ill