Arizona weekly citizen., 1886-05-08
REPUBLICAN, RAsCALTTY.
lSan Jose Mnrcury.l


 The Cleveland administration nas en, desvored to keep its pledges. IL prom ised to unearth the rascality of Repub- lican administrations and it has tired to do SO. If it has not met with conspicu. ous success 1t IS because there were nc rsscali,ies to unearth. During the cam. psign of 1881 the United States Treas ury was represented by Democratic stump orators to be a den of thieves and the administration confided to the first aud second comptrellers the duty of hunting up the proofs of Republican misru!e. Undeterred by the result of counting the money and finding 1t only two cents short and undismayed by the fate of Commissioner of Pensions Black who made charges against the Repub- lican predecessors which recoilsd and struck himselt-the cOmptrollers of the treasury have been on still hunt for corruption, and have made a volumin- ous report winch is fall of funny state ments going to show the minuteness and poor results of the search for proofs tof Republican raseality.
 The New York Sun, which claims to >be good Democratic authority, pub fishes very long synopsis of the re port In which Se find the following evidences of the enormous guilt of six successive Republican administrations:
 Clayton McAlichRel. United States Marshal for the District of Columbia, charges the government fifty cents for ''six. bundles of tooth picks" Disal- lowed as an unlawful extrayagance.
 Joshua B. Hill, United States Mar sbal for North Carolina, wanted the gov ernment to pay $40 for dictionary holder"
 W. c. Aiming, 8 clerk iu the Rssayer's office at Helena, Montana, charged S206 for extra work as stenogrspher. after office hours. winch the comptroller re- fused to allow, on the ground that the government was entitled to the entire time of NIT. Aiming, ana that the eight hour law only applied to laborers and mechanics.
 The laundry bills of the Utah Con- m ;ssion, amounting 10 S54 3S ir 1883, sl0f .36 in 1881 and S3L60 Tn 1885, are disallowed as personal expenses not chsrgeeble to the government.
 The charge of SIP D for cleansing the pictures a. the capitol was disallow- ed, on the ground that if Congress wanted the pictures cleaned it could make 8 special appropriation for the purpose.
 Nearly all the accounts of the various legations and consulstes for contingent expenses are disalloved because of the failure of Congress 10 appropriate money for that purpose. Bret Harte, late consul at Glasgow, suffers to the extent of S2l3 on this account; James Russell Lowell S9460 and Minister Phelps Sl5S40.
 Minister Phelps is docked S4s.0S, the amount of one days salary, because of a mIscslculation on his part.
 An army officer is called to account for aniimperiec; voucher for money paid to Robert Roberts, and is instructed by the treasury officials to obtain a new one. He reports that it is impossible, as Roberts is dead. The comptroller en- dorses this report as mot satisfactory" which means that new voucher must be forthcoming from Roberts, whether or not. Another officer purchased a coffin and charged it in his accounts but the expenditure Is disallowed by the comptroller on the ground that it was a purchase in the open market, without advertising for proposals or making a contract. The officer replies: This coffin was needed at once. 1t was very hot weather, and had no time to ad- vertise for proposals or make contracts. As this was the cheapest coffin l could find in Newport, Sl5. asked that it be allowed to pass" This appeal is labeled, Not yet considered" Still another officer is charged with twenty five cents, being the value of one ration issued to a soldier on furlOugb; and, rather than have d fuss about it he refunded the money to the government.
 There are four hundred and fifty pages of such searching inquiry into the remissness of former administrations and instances of proofs that the present is Gn era of economy and reform" In some cases the government has repudi- ated the purchase of box of matches, and the fact has been developed tha. if their Republican predecessors in office were no. wholesale robbers, the present are adopts in the art of say ins at the spiggot and wasting at the bunghole-thac cost of making and print ing the report being many times greater than the alleged saving of the public