Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-12-25
THOSE COUPONS.
CITY TREASURER GERBER MAKES
A STATEMENT.
Ex-City Treasurer j. N. Porter Also
Talks-Judge Beatty Returns
to the Charge.

Inc interview Win JuOge ID. ". Beatty,
of the Funded Debt Commission, pub
lished in the RECORD UNION yesterday,
morning, caused decided sensation and
was the talk OF the city. When the Board
of City Trustees met, Judge Beatty ap-
peared and asked them TO pass resolu-
ton instructing the City Treasurer not TO
pay the outstanding coupons payable prior
to and including 1873, as they were barred
by the statute Of limitations, and there was
strong circumstantial evidence that many
of them had been paid already, although
the coupons were not TO be found in the
coupon books in the possession of the City
Treasurer.
]. n. Porter, ex-City Treasurer, was
present, and produced the coupon books to
show that all of the coupons had been can
celled by having holes punched in them
with small check punch. He called
Judge Beattys attention to these punch
marks, and declared that they were a
proper cancellation Of the coupons.
Judge Beatty, after taking the books to
the window to get q strong light upon
them, admitted that each of the coupons
had one or more holes punched through
cancellation. He thought they should be
plainly cancelled with red ink stamp
which should show the date of payment.
He said that at the time he was interviewed
on the subject he laid no particular stress
upon the recommendation of the coupons
as he had not examined them critically.
He did not think they were cancelled, as
he had not noticed the small holes made
by the punch, and if he had he would not
have known that they were intended TO in
dictate cancellation. His examination of
the subject had been to ascertain how many
coupons were missing and he found they
amounted to So, 166 of the coupons of
1861 and various small amounts of subse-
quent years. AS to the coupons of years
subsequent to 1861 he thought they had
been lost, but he still believed the So. IS6
of coupons of 1861 had been purposely ex-
tracted.
The City Auditor explained that at the
end of the month the Treasurer presented
the coupons during paid the month and
he cancelled them by putting punch
mark on each side of the number and re-
turned them to the Treasurer to be placed
in the coupon book. If the Treasurer
should present coupon that had already
been punched he certainly would not give
him credit for it. The Board declined
to pass the resolution requested, holding
that the present system of cancellation was
all that was necessary, and that if the
Treasurer paid coupon a second time ne
was responsible for it on his bond.
TREASURER GERBER SPEAKS.
William E. Gerber, City Treasurer, had
his attention called by reporter to the
statements of Judge Beatty, and in reply to
inquiries said:
When l assumed the duties of City
Treasurer l received from James N Porter,
my predecessor, a list of coupons outstand-
ing. This list was claimed by Judge Beatty
to be incorrect, and at his request l sub
mltted all the books in my possession to
him for an investigation. He employed A.
]. Hopper, the city expert, and was also
assisted by Mr.. Porter, who went through
the entire matter under consideration, and
submitted to me list, which did not mate
rally differ from the one l had received
from Mr.. Porter, and which shows coupons
1865, 1924; 1866, $500; 1867, S342; 1865
$40; 1869, 1886; 1870, 1884; 1871, $780,
1872, SOC; 1878, 81 ne; 1874, So, 156; 1879
S3,0S4. These are all the outstanding
coupons that cut any figure in this discus
sion, and they amount to $12,9l8."
AS City Treasurer are you going to pay
these outstanding coupons if they are pre-
sented without evidence of previous pay
ment ?" was asked.
Mr.. Gerber replied: 81 cannot assume,
rs Treasurer, that these coupons are out
lawed, and to be safe in the matter l am
holding about $4,000 of this money to
meet coupons of 1873 and since that time,
so that in case they are presented and it is
decided that they are not outlawed, will
have the money TO meet them"
In regard 10 the coupons of 1861 1 have
this to say. In looking over the coupons
paid and pasted in the coupon books fail
TO discover single coupon uncancelled,
commencing with the year 1860, down to
the present time, and from this l conclude
that these coupons of 1861 must have been
cancelled in like manner, and were prob
ably mislaid before these books, INTO which
the coupons are now pasted, came in use
For this reason would not pay coupons of
1861 even if presented uncancelled, as
there is sufficient evidence to convince any
one that they were paid, and for that rea-
son also | am not holding any money to
meet these coupons of 1861.
am exceedingly sorry that so many
mistatements and misrepresentation have
been made in regard 10 our city debt, as it
cannot help but iDjure the credit and stad-
ing Of the city. The books show that it has
been universal custom to punch holes
through the coupons after payment, and l
cannot see how the city has paid any of
these coupons twice.
" All the coupons paid by me are, at the
end of each mouth, taken to the Auditor.
counted. computed and rcceipted for by
him. Holes are punched through them BY
the Auditor large enough for anyone to
see that they are cancelled coupons. These
coupons are then pasted in the coupon
book by me IN their proper place. These
books are at the end of the term examined
by the expert, and it does seem to me that
the city is well protected and has all the
necessary checks and safeguards thrown
around the payment of these coupons. In
addition to this, l have cancelled every
coupon paid by me with a red rubber
stamp, as follows: Paid. w. f. Gerber,
City Treasurer.
MR.. PoRTER's STATEMENT.
J. n Porter, ex-City Treasurer, on being
asked for his views on the subject, said:
Prior to 1876, or about 1876, the Treas
urer paid the coupons and cancelled them,
turned them over to the Auditor and he
credited the Treasurer with the amount
paid and kept the coupons in an old tin
box. In 1876, when l was elected Treas
urer, having a great many inquiries in
regard to whether such and such coupons
were paid, and not being able to tell from
the books, suggested to the City Trustees
| that they have books made similar to those in
the State Treasurer's Office. They had
them made and hired Mr.. Hickman, the
Auditor at that time, to paste all the con-
pons on hand in the Auditors office in these
books. After that the Treasurer has paid
| the coupons, presented them to the Auditor
| monthly, who receipted for and cancelled
them, and the Treasurer then returned
them to his Office and pasted them in the
coupon books in the regular order of the
years. If there were any coupons lost or
mislaid the Treasurer could not get credit
| for them unless he presented them to the
| Auditor and the Auditor credited him with
| them. They were cancelled by the Auditor
and the Treasurer would not pay an old
cancelled coupon, nor would the Auditor
| receipt for an old cancelled coupon.
THE fact is there is nothing to warrant
| the supposition that any coupon of 1881
has been paid twice They may have been
lost or destroyed, because when Mr.. Hick-
man pasted these coupons in the books he
used a star punch for the coupons, and the
| few coupons on hand now that are marked
paid in 1861 are punched with the star
punch, the same as in 1860, and they are
also crossed with a cross in black ink, the
same as 1860, 1861 and 1862.
These coupons, prior to 1876, when