Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-10-10

cover itself. Here a man presenting q
claim on the government is well known
and the fact becomes public property. If
there be any wrong in 1t some one Is bound
to call attention to the fraud. The single
system might probably work well in such
a case. But with the whole country putting
IN claims, where the people are unknown
and the citizens Of the place from which the
claims come do not know of their presenta-
ton. the chances for fraud are vastly in
creased. The single system Of accounting
was tried once in New York, and resulted
in the most gigantic frauds ever perpetrat-
ed upon community. devised and carried
out to almost complete success by Boss
Tweed. The system really covered up the
frauds instead Of exposing them.
Dangerous System.
Il believe that the new organization of
the department is the most dangerous and
disastrous system that could possibly be
adopted. II there chances to be one rascally
clerk in the office of one of the auditors
there will be fraud. 1 had such a clerk in
my office, who entered into collision with
consul to defraud the government. The
claim passed the auditor in proper shape,
but was to be fixed up In my Office by this
clerk so as to cheat the treasury out Of
large sum. The clerk hung up the account
for several weeks. Meantime. had reason
for watching that division and let the thing
go on. The auditor came to me and told
me that that particular case ought to be
SCTutlnlLcu. AL tne ripe moment L sent IOr
the clerk and confronted him with certain
facts. He tainted, and a little later he left
the service. Had IL not been for the auditor
that claim might have passed as doctored.
50 that the auditor acts as a check upon
the controller as well as the controller upon
the auditor. Each watches the other. The
auditor has pride, naturally in his work,
and does not like to see his rulings upset.
Il do not believe that six months will
roll by before the government will be
robbed of thousands upon thousands Of
dollars. 1t will probably take some time
FOR the evil-intentioned to observe the new
law sufficiently to see where they can
work crevice into the system. but they
are bound to do it, and there seems to be
no help for Il now
Judge Lawrence concluded with a review
of the many and intricate questions of law
that are presented to the controller for
decision He said that the President wAld
nave to appoint a very different class of
men for auditors than heretofore if they
were to be competent TO watch the legal
interests of the government. In answer
10 question the judge said that the fiXity
of methods unQuestionably aids the would
be defrauder. but such fixity is necessary
and bound to be a part of any system that
nay be inaugurated. The same fixity will
prevail under the new system as well as
under the old.
The association voted to request Judge
Lawrence to put his remarks, which were
delivered extempore, in writing, so that
they might be presented to Congress.
Fisheries Bulletin.
Prof. Smile then made q few remarks
TO show that the fisheries bulletin of the
census office, soon to be issued, will be
valueless. He quoted the figures from the
preliminary issues of the office to show
that there is an apparent absurdity on the
race or the returns. which. he declared,
have been most incomplete In ten years
the numser OF people engaged in the in
dustries has been diminished by a half,
Whlie the capital involved and the output
have doubled. Mr.. Smile said that he had
called the attention of Commissioner
Wright to the matter and showed that the
schedules were wholly incomplete The
work, he said. had been stopped short in
an instant by Geographic orders from Su-
perlntendent Porter. and all the men in the
held had been called in. The SEIZED Iles
were In most chaotic condition, but they
had been sent to Mr.. Chas. F. Pigeon,
chlef clerk of the Massachusetts bureau
OF labor, and he had spent many months
ana some SGO,oO in collating them. But
suddenly, said Mr. Smile, Mr.. Pigeon in
Cured the displeasure of Mr. Porter and
the unfinished work was taken from him
ana gwen to some one else, and finally
turned into the bureau without having
peen entirely put together. Now the pres
ent commissioner proposed 20 issue the in
complete schedules, although in a letter
to the speaker he had acknowledged that in
tnelr present condition they were value
be almost, If not quite, impossible" There
mad been some correspondence between
Col. wright and MIR. Smile to the end that
the 1ormci promised that he would make
a frank statement OF the ineompleteness of
the returns in his letter Of transmittal to
the Secretary of the Interior. Mr. Smile
said that there Is now sufficient data ON
hand in the office, in the form of oorre-
spcndencc carried on as preliminary to the
nam fleld work, to give almost a complete
census or the industry. He believed that
the omissions could very nearly be sup
pleo, and he had presented the facts to
the association in the hope that some ap-
propriate action might be TAX N.
Upon motion by Or. Nimmo it was voted
that Mr.. Smile should prepare a concise
statement or the case, to be pres to
the association at it's next meeting and
II was agreed that then the association
would take formal action in the direction
OF bringing the matter directly before the
attention of the Secretary of the Interior
to the end that the omissions might be
supplied and the bulletin reprinted.