Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-01-08

them off with his surplus deposit. That
is what a business man would have done,
and that is what a business Administra-
ton would have done; and we would have
had S59.0OO,OOO less of interest-bearing
bonds in circulation to-day if the Presi-
dent had followed the way blazed for him
by the Republican party
The Republican National Conven-
ton, assembled soon afterward and Mr..
Mckinley, as chairman of the Commit
tee on Resolutions. saw to it that
special denunciation was written into
the platform of 'the Democratic policy
of loaning the Governments money
without interest to pet banks"
Yet Mr. Cleveland's Secretary of the
Treasury had but $59,00O,O0O in various
national banks, while Mr.. Mckinley
will have $120,000,000 therein when the
present distribution is complete and
proposes to turn over the entire $780,,
100000 internal revenue receipts to
ONE bank as the governments deposit
tory and agent in the distribution!
This is but another of the many in
stances of Mr. McKinley's remarkable
agility in reversing himself and getting
on all sides of important questions.
But there are other and still more
serious counts in the indictment of the
administration which the forecast of
Mr.. Cages explanation" is silent upon
and which will probably be carefully
avoided by the Secretary, one of which
is that he transgressed the law in con-
nection with the sale of the Custom
House in New York to the Standard
Oil Bank. Passing over the fact that
this most valuable government prop
erty was sold to this bank for ridicu-
lousy low sums, 265, 000-not pen
ny of this sum was ever covered into
the Treasury as directed by law, but
was allowed to remain in the posses
sion and use of the Standard Oil Bank.
In this Secretary Gage violated the fol-
lowing statute of the United States:
1. Section 1918, which provides that
"all proceeds of SALES of old material,
condemned stores, supplies or OTHER
PROPERTY OF ANY KIND shall be
DEPOSITED AND c OVERED INTO
THE TREASURY as miscellaneous re-
ceipts and SHALL NOT BE
WITHDRAWN OR APPLIED Elk
CEPT IN CONSEQUENCE OF A SUB
SEQUENT APPROPRIATION MADE
BY LAW"
2. Chapter 337 of the statutes enact
ed by the Fifty-fifth Congress-vthe law
providing for the sale of the New York
Custom Hou5e-says that
''The Secretary of the Treasury is
hereby = DIRECTED = TO DE-
POST the proceeds of the sale IN
THE UNITED STATES TREASURY
as miscellaneous receipts"
Section 3,617 of the Revised Statutes
says the proceeds of such sales shall
be paid by the officer or agent receiv-
ing the same into the Treasury at as
early date as possible"
Mr.. Gage cannot claim that as a
Treasury depository his action in al
lowing the City National Bank to re-
tain and use this money was the same
as depositing it in the Treasury. The
United States Supreme Court has clear
ly decided this point. Chief Justice
Waite laid down the law in 1879 In
voicing a decision of the Court he said:
'"The position assumed is to our minds
wholly untenable. The designated de-
positories are intended as places for the
deposit of the public moneys of the
United States. *Although deposited
with a bank that was a designated de-
pository, it is not paid into the Treas
ury."
This decision has never been disput-
ed. Only last October the Supreme
Court, in an opinion handed down by
Associate Justice McKenna, formerly
Acknowledgement of the United States,
re-affirmed the decision of Chief JUS
tice Waite and settled the status of the
national bank and the relationship Of
the national bank depository to the
Treasury of the United States.
Justice McKenna declares THAT
THE GOVERNMENT CANNOT BE
HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
MONEY, BECAUSE, ALTHOUGH IT
HAD BEEN PLACED IN A REGU-
LARLY DESIGNATED DEPOSITORY,
1T COULD NOT BE HELD TO HAVE
BEEN COVERED INTO THE UNIT
ED STATES TREASURY"
There is no question of Mr. Cages
guilt under this law, for he admits that
the money was deposited not in the
Treasury, but the City National Bank
of New York.
Under section 5.490 of the Revised
Statutes Secretary Gage is guilty of