The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-10-05

The annual report of Gen. Leonard
Wood, Governor General of Cuba, was
made public at the War Department yes
terday by direction of the Assistant Sec
Rotary of War. Part of General Woods
personal report was published in The
Times yesterday. The document is very
voluminous and contains the reports OF
all the Cuban department commanders
and staff officers. 1t is practically com
piete encyclopedia of Cuba. treating of
every feature of the island $ condition
and development, the civil and military
administration, and outlining proposed
improvements and necessary reforms.
It's principal features are reports on the
Nicely investigation by Colonel and In
spector General Burton; on the Cuban
elections, by General Wilson; on health
conditions and yellow fever, by Major
and Surgeon V. Hazard; on grants and
concessions, by Major and Judge Advocate
Edgar S. Dudley; on reform of the judic-
larry Of Cuba and result of army canteen
system, by Gen. Fitzhugh Lee; on public
works. Notifications, and Dady contract,
by Major w. NJ. Black, Corps of Engineers.
ton says: There was a serious defalca-
tion discovered in the postal branch of the
Cuban service during the latter part OF
April, 1900, in the accounts OF c. F. W.
Neeiy, Chief OF the Bureau Of Finance OF
that branch. 1t should be stated at the
outset that the department of posts in the
Island of Cuba was practically a DEPART
ment Independent of the military govern
ment.
An Unknown Office
Il am not sure that the Military Gov
ernor of Cuba knew of the Office held by
Mr. Nicely, as his name did not appear Of
icially anywhere outside of the Postofice
Department. The inspector general of the
division certainly did not know of the. ex-
istence of such an Office In January of
1900 the division inspector was ordered ~
inspect all the officers disbursing insular
funds in Havana, but Mr.. Neely's name did
not appear as one Of them.
1T was during the inspection OF, more
properly speaking. the auditing, of the
accounts CT the auditor for the depart
ment of posts in the month of April
that / discovered for the first time the
name and functions of Mr.. Nelly. 1t
seems necessary here to go back a step
and state that during an attempt to in
spect the accounts CT the director gen.
eral CT posts in the month of January,
1900, his statements of money account
ability as presented for the inspection
was dated July i, 1893. When asked why
he did not state his account from Janu-
airy. 1899, both the auditor and the di-
rector general of posts replied that the
money accruing for that period, namely,
from January to June 80, 1899, WAS
United States postal funds.
THE latter asked me if / was author
lied to inspect such funds. l answered
in the negative. and proceeded with the
inspection. When 1 attempted to verify
the balance by the bank statement. l
found that it did not agree WITH hat
reported by the director general of
posts. l therefore went to the North
American Trust Company to see if 1
could not reconcile this difference. l
had several consultations with the bank
and with General Rathbone to see if
could get at bank statement covering
the funds fer the period which I was
examining. Finally the bank officials
informed me that it would be impossi-
BILE for them to make a separate state
ment of the funds. l subsequently re-
ported to the Military Governor the sit
uation, and informed him that in CIDER
to get at a true balance / would have
to go back and inspect all the funds
placed to the credit Of the director gem
eral of posts of every description from
the time his Office was initiated TO date.
Inspectors Suspicious Aroused.
'The Military Governor directed me to
proceed as l had recommended, and it was
while was auditing the accounts o. the
Auditor for the Department of Posts, and
holding in view the inspection of the ac-
counts Of General Rathbone from the in
ception of his office, that l discovered in
the Auditors books prior to July l, 1899,
some Irregularities. Following up the ir-
regularities noted, discovered further on
in Mr.. Neely's accounts that he had re-
ceived large credits, approaching in round
numbers S400, 000, for alleged destruction of
surcharged stamps
Colo1el Burton says that with apprehen-
sions of Neely's guilt he went to the
Director General Of Posts and asked him
if he was aware that Mr.. Nelly had left
the island of Cuba. He answered Yes and
No. said that he did not know that he
had left, but that he presumed that he had
gone that day in order to get away from
Cuba before or by the LIST of May, as an
other steamer going directly north would
not leave until after the 1st proxino
Without stopping to compute the differ
ence between the receipts and deposits. |
became suspicious, and felt convinced that
Mr.. Nicely was a defaulter. 1 told General
Rathbone that l would have to take the
ledger and scrutinize it carefully. He asked
Air. Rich If he could spare ii. The latter
said that he had to use it every hour in
the day. / replied to General Rathbone
that Mr. Rich would have to use memo.
randa for a few houIs until / could exam
inc the ledger with more care than | had
been able TO do at that time. ! took it to
the office of the auditor for the department
of posts, and, with my clerk footed up the
receipts and deposits Tor those four months
and from the face Of the book found that
Mr.. Neely was short in round numbers
$4,000 subsequently obtained the amour,
OF receipts for the last half of March ana
all Of April of the Havana postoffice, and
added them to the S36. coo, and found his
entire shortages for that period in round
numbers $4,000.
Il then took the book to General Rath-
bone and told him ii he could explain its
contents to me satisfactorily. and there
by convince me that Mr.. Nicely was not
defaulter the matter would be dropped.
otherwise l must go as early as possible
and report the fact TO the Military
Governor of the Island of Cuba. He
asked for time to examine 1t. and
the next day when he returned It, said
he could not explain it; that it looked
bad, but he believed that Mr.. Nicely was
an honest man, and that II could count
his stamps and strike balance of his
whole account. he thought I would find
1t correct.
Neeiy's Shortage Reported.
81 asked him If Mr.. Nicely was required
to deposit every cent. TO the last farth-
ing Of the postal earnings every month;
he said he was. told him that irrespec-
tive of what the stamps might show. II
was Mr.. Neelys duty to have deposited