Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-07-10
A Fitch Between Treasury officials
and Librarian Spoford.
NO MONEY PAID THIS QUARTER
Trouble Said to Be Due to Inter-
ference of Politicians.
AN INVESTIGATION GOING ON

the State and other departments, formerly
fifth auditor is now in progress.
The law provides that if these accounts
do not reach the auditor within ten days
after the last day of the quarter for which
they are rendered they shall not be ap-
proved. but shall be referred to the Secre-
tary of the Treasury for his action. In
some cases it is impossible for accounting
officers to make their returns within the
time specified, and an extension has always
been granted readily in such instances
No Money for This Quarter.
Librarian Spofford's accounts for the
quarter ending March 81 should. under the
law, have been in the hands of the auditor
on or before April 10. They have not yet
been received by the auditor. Mr.. Spot
ford's accounts for the quarter ending June
so should, under the law, have been in the
hands of the auditor on or before today.
They have not been rendered. Meanwhile,
the auditor of the treasury having charge
of the lib arinn's accounts has declined to
approve any requisition for money, and
there has been a sort of deadlock Mr..
Spofford relied upon his own resources In
paying the forty-five employees of the IL
brary their monthly salaries since April 10,
for he has been given no money from the
Treasury Department for this purpose.
The employees, however, have received their
salaries with the same regularity as of old.
No ImputatiOn of IrreEulnrity.
Mr.. Spofford has had charge of the Con-
gressional Library for over twenty years.
and has gained reputation as one of the
ablest. the most painstaking and best in
formed librarians of the world. There is
suspicion on the part of the Treasury
Department that Mr.. Spofford's accounts
will be found lacking in any way that
would involve his integrity, for they have
the utmost confidence in him, as has every
one else. But the delay in rendering these
accounts causes some of the department
officials to think that the system in use in
the library is not thoroughly businessGke.
for If the accounts. they say, We're kept
posted up to date the quarterly returns
might be rendered with the utmost prompt
ness. Mr.. Spofford, for his part, has claim
ed that his accounts are kept up to date
at all times, and that every days business
Is closed before the employees of the IL
brary go to their homes.
The accounts of the library are of greater
moment than is generally understood. The
every days mail brings quantities of
checks and money In payment of copyright
fees and the keeping of the accounts in
wolves considerable work. About $4,000
per quarter is spent at the library in pay
Ing the salaries of the forty-fve employees.
The copyright fees and the salary lists are
about all that is included In the system of
bookkeeping In use at the library.
AppointmcD ID ts in the Library.
For many years the Congressional Ii
of Mr.. Spofford and his management has
never been interfered with. He has had
the appointment of the employees of the
library, power to dismiss any one at his
pleasure and has fixed the salaries of
every one under him. There has been no
inclination on the part of any one to In
terfere with his management and he has
always had the fullest approval of his acts
by the committees of both houses of Con-
gress which had control of the appropria-
tions for the library In this way the
management has been little affected by
changes that have gone forward in other
branches of the government. The accounts
rendered by the librarian have always had
the fullest confidence of every one. and no
one has complained If they were not rem
dered promptly as was required of
other bureaus and were not in exactly the
same form that the Treasury Department
had adopted in its own system of accounts.
Suggested by Politicians.
Some people who are well Informed on
the affairs of the library say that the pres
ent Investigation of Mr.. Spofford's ac-
counts was brought about solely by disap-
pointed politicians, who have sought to
install their relatives and constituents in
the library, and who have been unable to
do 50. Also politicians who. after getting
their people appointed to places in the
library. were unable to have them promoted
over the heads Of old and efficient employees.
Mr.. Spofford has adopted the practice of
appointing young men to positions in the
library at salaries OF about $50 per month.
He has sought to have a permanent force,
and believes that By permanency only can
the greatest efficiency be secured. He has
promoted these young men from year to
year and has resisted II Is said the efforts
of influential politicians to have their IA
vorites promoted rapidly to salaries equal
to those of the other departments. In
number of cases Mr.. SDofford has taken on
young men upon the recommendation of
members and Senator's and after Il three
months trial has permitted :hem to re-
sign because he did not believe they were
qualified for the work of the library He
has stood a stone wall against the de-
mands of politicians. and in this way, 1t
Is said. he has inspired many enmities
1t Is these same politicians according to
report, who went TO Secretary Carlisle and
Auditor Thomas Holcomb, and Inspired the
department in Its work of looking into the
accounts of Mr.. Spofrord. These politicians
claimed it Is said. that Mr.. Spofford had
been having his own way about every
thing In the library for too long a time;
that he should be placed under restrictions
In regard to appointments, and that his
affairs generally should be looked after.
A Probable Reorganization.
There will be a general reorganization Of
the force of the library when 1t is moved
into the new library building, and there is
strong sentiment among employees under
Mr.. Spofford In favor of having the civil
service law extended to them. They claim
that the work of the libray is such as to
make permanency of employment especial
1y necessary for the best interests of that
branch of the government. They also say
that only In this way would Mr.. Spofford
be relieved from the immense pressure
brought to bear upon him by the poll
ticians.
Mr.. Spofford was visited by a Star re-
porter today and asked If he would make
any statement in regard to the investiga-
ton of his accounts. He replied that this
investigation now under way, that IL
would probably reach stage within
week when something definite could be
known, and that until that time he could
make no statement in regard to it. He said
that 1t was a clerical investigation sole
y.