New-York tribune., 1900-05-22
MR.. MEIKLEJOHN'S EXPLANATION.
AND SOME POINTS WHICH THE ASSISTANT
SECRETARY HAS LEFT UNEXPLAINED.

MIX. MElhLEJOHNS EXPLANATION.
AND SOME POINTS WHICH THE ASSISTANT
SECRETARY HAS LEFT UNEXPLAINED.
Secretary of War, Mr.. Meklejohn, to-day made
public a long explanation of the partial report
Cuban receipts and expenditures sent to the Senate
by the Secretary of War last week. He said that
the report contained 'itemized statements showing
specifically and In detail all expenditures. etc.
How specifically and in detai' these 'itemzed
statements is indicated by such items as 're-
pairs, $5373O l6 property. s126oS1 81 and real
estate s3S.51O' all of which appear among other
items under the general heading sanitation.
covering a total expenditure amounting 10 S6sS.-
422 81 for period of six months.
Further in the statement Of the Assistant
Secretary these remarkable and suggestive pas
sages found:
The expenditures for the first six months tbs Sf OF
Military Governor. but such report is nearly com
Iotted by the Military Governor and paid BY the
Treasurer of Cuba to the disbursing officers the
of $50 7ss 10 for the expenditures outside of
onhs Of @ m audited The and fo such
purposes the expenditures sS77.O2O 56. There
cannot exceed the slIotted thus making
the total possible expenditures in Cuba. sl25le'-
In the first letter of the Secretary Of War. under
date of February 15 1900 in response to said reso
luton, the amount reported as disbursements was
sl4GS5.S05 80. This the amount dsbursed by the
Treasurer to disbursing officers OF Cuba for the
alotments made by the Military Governor for the
various purposes therein specified The balances re-
naming in the hands of dsbursing officers for the
first six months OF 1899 cannot be ascertained until
the vouchers for all of the expenditures of such
dsbursing officers filed and duly audited. 1t is
not believed however. that the actual expenditures
for purposes outside the Executive department.. for
the first six months of the calendar year. when
reported by the Auditor, will exceed the amount
IN ~ h. Ioet he
which was O25 Sc. If this hypothesis be true
the probable total expenditures for these purposes
for the will be S. 041 ~ which. including the
expenditures of the Military Governor civil depart
ments and postofices. sS04i.s99 O5. will make the
probable total expenditures for 1899 for all pur-
poses at 81. 79S. .74O Il.
QUESTIONS FOR THE CUBAN AUDITOR.
The fact that the Auditor in Cuba furnished
prior to May 16 statement of disbursements on
account of public works. ports, harbors, barracks
and quarters, rural guards. hospitals and charities
quarantine, sanitation. etc. from July 1, 1899 to
December 81. 1899 and was not then able to fur
nish statement of expenditures for the same
objects for the six onths from January 1. 1892 to
June 30, 1890. fairly justihes the inference that
When the instructions of the Secretary of War to
furnish the Information required by the Senate
resolution were received by the Auditor In Cuba
last January they found him utterly unprepared to
do so. and that he obliged 10 collect data for
that purpose. Why he did not begin the be-
ginning of the period instead of at the end of IT. If
such was not the fact, Is question easier asked
than answered, but answer Will probably be re-
qu.Ted by Congress Another question which
ar answer will be necessary Is why the Auditor
could not give in January, could not have given
months before that time, a statement of the bal
ances in the hands of the disbursing officers on
June 30 1899. AS matter OF fact II could have
been given. unless the regulations promulgated by
the Secretary of War a year ago had been ignored
On May %. 1899. Assistant Secretary Meikle1ohn
addressed letter to the Secretary of the Treasury
giving the reason why the system of auditing
accounts Of receiving and disbqrsing officers in the
law, in which he said that it (the system then put
into operat!onJ took the place OF one which 1T
was felt would be an almost insuperable hindrance
was also one OF the explanations offered by him in
February. 1860, TO the House sub-committee on
and Means Committee The system seems to have
the N r fae test to wh
wSs py no means one Of unusual or extraordinary
almost year after the end Of the first six months
leiod. is 20 declare that the expenditures during
aoteG s hSs NJ akng M the M tot2 26e possible
the ba<ed on "a an o hTnothsss that the
probable total Of expenditures for 1899 for an puI-
for belief based on hypothesis" as TO what
the possible or Rroha be exP1nathhpe4 mo h but
The Assistant Secretary explains the heavy eH-
penditures for labor by saying:
seems large is not surprising when one Of the oh
jects sought to be accomplished by this Govern
relief Of starving people through their employment
upon public works 1t our well defined policy
TO feed, gratuIously the ely helpless and
starving inha bitants, and to reduce far pos
sble such gratuitous relief. This was accomplished
by furnishing employment the able bodied, there
by making them self-supporting, and relieving the
throughout the island by the proper and legitimate
use of the revenues upon pubic improvements
necessary and permanent in their character. and
which Will inuTe to the benefit of the people OF
Cuba.
The expenditures on this account during the six
months ended December 81. 1922 amounted to ST.
3S2, 197 81, of which the of $780, 99 79 was eN-
pended for sanitation" II the men who did the
work destitute unemployed and unskilled It
IS not possible that they received more than 81
(gold) each for days work. and at that rate 1t
would have required STA men working all day and
every day except Sundays during that period 70
earn SSS21S 81, and 1t would have taken 5571 men
working all day and every day except Sundays
from the morning of January to the night OF De-
cember 81 tc earn the sum of $SS0779 charged to
labor under the head Of sanitation"
FOR EXTRADITION OF NEELY.
Washington Nav T.-Iate this afternoon Mr..