Daily inter mountain., 1899-01-28
ROBBED the
TREASURY
The Spanish Officials in Porto
Rico.
TOOK VERY MUCH MONEY
10 Spain With Them Which Was Not
a Part of the Crown Fund.-
Deposit0rs Kicking.
TOOK VERY MUCH MONEY

San Juan de Porto Rico, Jan. 2O-(Cor-
respondence of the Associated Press) -
The secretary of the Porto Rican treas
ury estimates that the Spanish authori-
ties made away with 100000 or 100000
pesos of trust funds that were deposited
III the treasury here. These funds con-
sisted of deposits made by foreign life
insurance companies, contractors and
officers, litiSants, city officials and others.
Senor Coll Toste, the present secretary
OF finance, appointed by Gen. Brooke on
November 16, makes the following state
ment:
Nhen L took charge of the Porto Rico
treasury | found that deposits and bonds
consigned in specie in the time of the
spanish domination had not been.delyer-
ed over to me. Of these funds all | re-
celNed was 20 centaVOS and one Nenez-
uela gold piece worth three pesos and so
centavos, the balance of judicial de-
poslt. The Spanish system of accounting
allowed such moneys to be mingled with
other funds and applied to the payment
of government expenses, but the penal
code punished him who should dispose
OF such deposits l at once instituted
proceedings to investigate the matter.
Formerly the treasury of Porto Rico was
Independent of the Spanish treasury but
Gen. Macias, upon taking his departure
from here, carried with him to Madrid
$1,000 pesos and Gen. Nallerino took 46Q00
pesos from these funds, claiming them
improperly by an Overplus to Spain. This
money belonged to the Porto Rican treas
ury. The war and navy department of
Spain in Porto Rico drew without reserve
upon the local treasury. That money
should return to Porto Rico as well as the
money which the island advanced to the
treasury of Spain for the expense of the
Cuban war in order that all arrears
might be liquidated."
Gen. MaciaS was an ingenious officer
and complacently regarded this spoila-
ton Of the local treasury, until the
foreign insurance companies and other
depOsitorS began to deluge the local
treasury with their demands. The foreign
companies have made their demands the
subject of negotiations with Spain and
Washington. BY records of the treasury
department it appears that on October
l., 1898, Gen. Macias ordered the secre-
tary of finance to publish notice in the
Official Gazette notifying all parties hav-
ing claims against the treasury to pre-
sent the same by October II, thus giving
five days for the disposition of this most
important matter. OF course the foreign
companies had no knowledge of such
proceedings. After the expiration of the
five days which was the last day of the
Spanish rule in the islands, Gen. Macias
took snap judgment and held that, as no
claimants had appeared, the deposits be-
longed to his sovereign. He carried the
money to Spain to present to his general
master as an evidence OF the economy
and thrift OF his administration of Porto
Rico. While the American companies
are looking after their interests through
diplomatic channels, the private people
whose funds are gone, are thrown into
CONSERVATION at the prospect Of thciI
losses. "Will America pay these peOple?'
is the question asked by those in author
ity.