The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-10-04
GREAT Is RED TAPE.
How Mr.. CIeveland's Account with
Uncle Sam Was Settled.

New York Journal.
The smallest warrant draft ever issued
by the United States Treasury Department,
probably the smallest ever issued py any
government was for / cent, and was Drawn
as a balance due for salary to Grover Cleve-
land then President of the United states
To go to the trouble of drawing sucn y
warrant seems, on the race OF II, q Wa =. III "a
time and clerical labor. But great IS REQ
tape and great the desire OF the government
bookkeepers to have their accounts balance
to a cent And each official clerk and mes.
senger who had to do with that warrant
handled it as gingerly as if ii carried the
entire amount of the gold reserve;
To those who do not understand now tne
President of the United States receives his
salary it should be explained that the SoV-
600 is not paid him each year III iul mp
of 81 1866 2-3 To get rid of the bothersome
fraction the bookkeepers in the Treasury
Department figure out that some montns ne
shall receive 66 cents other months 81 cents,
and then the four days of March must pc
taken into consideration 1t generally nap
pens that these figures work out evenly
Without leaving a balance on account.
In May 1885, President Cleveland re-
ceived his usual allowance OF dollars ano %
cents; in June 66 cents. AS June closes t the
fiscal year the experts who went over the
books few days after the warrant mao
been drawn for that montns san4r us
credit of Mr.. Cleveland. 1t would not 90
to carry that cent forward on the sccount
for JULY and 1t was not considered proper
to send a messenger across to the White
House with copper cent ana note IroIn
the treasurer, as practcal BUSINESS HlslA
would have done. 49,
Instead, Acting Secretary Of the Treas
ury Scott Wike drew out his warrant BOOK
and filed out "Order No. g., on W. r.
Mackennan. chief of the division OF book
keeping and warrants, for warrant 70 pc
issued in favor of Grover Cleveland PreSi-
dent of the United States, for the sum or
/ cent with which he was to be heid ac-
countable -
A clerk made note Of this ord order eo, and
auditor for the state and other depart
ments The auditor approved it, signed his
name and had a clerk take note or IT,
then a messenger carried it to Chief Mac
KEENAN, of the division of bookkeeping ana
warrants to draw the warrant. enter II on
the books and charge it against the appro-
priation for the executives salary. In TINS
division the warrant passed through the
hands of the copyist, the bookkeeper VINO
registered it, the clerk who indexed IL ana
the chief who examined it.
Another messenger earned the WarIaMt
back to the acting secretary, VINO slgneu IL
1t was then sent to the controller OF the
treasury who counterSigned 1T and entered
it upon his books. Here the paper was nam
died by two or three clerks. 1t went next
to the office of the treasurer, where the
clerk designated on its face washington
as the place of payment The treasurer
signed the warrant and sent 1t over TO the
White House by special messenger. That
is the last that ever has been seen OF the
warrant draft by treasury officials.
President Cleveland did not cash 1t, ana
it is understood that he has had ii framed.
as he regards the paper a great curiosity.