Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-05-03
Response to Resolution of
the Senate.
PHILIPPINE EXPENSES
DIFFICULTY IN OBTAINING DE-
SIRED INFORMATION.
Many Accounts Have to Be Scrutiniz-
ed and Many Books
Examined.

Secretary Root today addressed a letter
TO the President pro tenn. of the Senate in
answer to the resolution of April II calling
generally for a detailed statement of the
expenses incurred by the government in
the Philippines. The text follows:
Il beg to call attention to the following
resolution of the Senate. dated April II,
1.sr2:
Resolved that the Secretary of War
be. and he is ,.ereby directed to send to
the Senate the following:
I. A statement of the amount of money
paid by the United States for or on account
of the Philippine commission to the date
when such expenses were paid out of the
Philippine treasury.
y. statement of the amount of money
paid by the United States for or on account
of railway transportation for troops to and
from the Philippine Islands since the ratifi-
cation of the treaty of peace between the
United States and SPAIN and the several
railway companies to which it was paid and
the sums paid each of them
- A statement of the amount of money
expended. and the amount. as far as he is
able to state the same. for which the gov
eminent of the United States is liable. re-
naming unpaid, for equipment supplies
and military operations in the Philippine
Islands each year from May 1. 1898, to the
present time, and to transmit memoranda
from the quartermaster general, the sur
geon general and the chief of the signal
corps. showing the difficulties involved in
securing the information sought by the
resolution. making it Impossible to comply
with the resolution for several weeks to
come.
The Difficulty in the Matter.
The difficulty arises from the fact that
the answer to the question: what parts of
the different classes of expenditure for the
support of the army are properly assign
able to the conduct of operations In the
Philippines, depends upon a great number
of facts which are not matters of account
but which have to be ascertained from
other records than the books of account
Thus the quartermaster, commiSsary and
medical departments purchase supplies
which go into store, and are from time to
time issued to troops upon vast number
of separate acquisitions. The books show
what was paid and what was received for
the money.
Every dollar is accounted for and report
ed 10 Congress under its appropriate head.
and when the st ores are issued the property
accounts Of the officers fix in detail the re-
Sponsibility for every article until it is used
up. and an examination of the many thou
sand individual returns the files of the
auditor for the War Department would
show in detail what has become of every
article; but it has never been deemed use
full TO carry these details into the books of
account. In order 10 ascertain such facts
II is necessary to learn, outside of those
books. where the troops were from time to
time when they used the articles.
Accounts of the Department.
The accounts of the War Department
never have been kept with reference to
geographical lines. or arranged to show in
what particular place the supplies of the
army .are expended after they are issued
The pay of the army is rigidiy accounted
for and reported to Congress- but there has
been continuous stream of troops passing
To and fro between the United States and
the Philippines during the past four years
Many troops have been paid in the United
States TO- services rendered in the Philip
pines before they returned, and many have
cen paid in the Philippines for services
rendered in the United States and we must
go out OF the books of account to ascertain
what part OF the money paid to the army is
properly assignabie to one place and what
part To another Large quantities of sup
pie ana equipment have been sent to the
fnil1ppines and thence to China and pOr-
Tons OF them returned to the Philippines
Large quantities originally sent to China
Were sent from there to the Philippines
Where the different parts of these supplies
were expended the books do not show and
cannot show. Much time and painstakiny
labor WILL therefore, be required to answer
the resolution, and at the best the answer
can be bat an approximation.
The work is being done with as great
rapldlty and care as is practicable and at
TIE earliest possible day the results will he
transmitted to the Senate"