The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-10-06
SECRETARY SRnn''
 IN INDIANAPOLIS Tells What a Good Official He
 Has Been HAS COUNTED ALL MONEY Invites a Thorough Investigation of Ills Department at Any Time. Is Greeted By Large
 Crowd.

Indianapolis. October. 5.-Five thousand people crowded Tomlinson hall tonight to hear the Hon. Leslie M. Shaw, secretary of the treasury, and George A. Knight of California. address the delegates at tending the National Republican league convention. MT. Shaw said ih part:
 Executive departments have always welcomed congressional investigations. not because the constitution expressly auth prizes them, but because they are some times wise and as a matter of comity between the branches of government re- ferred to by MT. Jefferson. MT. Jeffer- son evidently considered these branches coordinate and no one subordinate to another. Under the constitution, con gress has sole Jurisdiction In impeach- ment proceedings but infer from the quotation from MT. Jefferson that he would have looked with alarm upon an investigation either of the Judicial or executive department. unless 1t was in some way connected with actual or pros pective impeachments.
 Tt Is hardly necessary to suggest that each branch can investigate its own af- fairs with much more thoroughness than chS Sdll AlNtoNA6alO another
 'The treasury department buys paper for printing money, postage and revenue stamps. etc, under contract, and receives 1t by the carload. A record is kept of the number of sheets received, the num- Der printed, and the number spoiled. Last spring 1 caused the bureau of en- graving and printing to shut down, and put 30 expert counters at work to verify the Thfq haI no for more than fifteen years, during which time the department had consumed over 2000 tons of paper When the count was completed, not a sheet was missing. Tho Internal revenue stamps in the department had not been counted for years, though a record of those printed and and those used had been kept, and since the last verification more than S6000, 900, 900 had been issued. I had them all counted. There were over s50,0O0,000 worth on hand, but not a stamp was missing. I have caused to be counted the major portion of the more than 300 carloads of gold and silver coin stored in the treasury vaults and the government has not lost a dollar.
 The treasury department, and I doubt not every other department Is constantly prosecuting investigations. Within the last three years not only the integrity, but the character of the work, of more than 5000 treasury clerks and officials has been investigated and reports of their conduct filed with the secretary. This not only includes the Washington force of about 50G0, but it includes the clerical force and officials in the custom houses and sub-treasuries in the larger cities The few removals because of these inves- tigations have caused severe criticism in some quarters and very little commenda- tion.
 Government Is Sufferer.
 The government suffers a thousand fold more from inefficiency than from rascality. hut there being nothing spec tacular in the discovery of inefficiency, and since removals for inefficiency are always met by public criticism, I have never known a congressional investiga- ton for the discovery of this more ire quent weaKness so much as suggested. In fact. congressional Investigations are sell dom proposed except immediately pre- ceding national campaign.
 This may in part account for the fact that congressional investigations have seldom discovered delinquencies in exec utive departments. Barring an investiga- ton during the administration of Martin Van Buren, which resulted in unearthing many frauds during his own and that of the previous administration of Andrew J6ChSOHy dilo DHe QuTlnB lHe duDlnlSIfa- tion of James Buchanan and the im- peachment proceedings against Secretary Belknap during the administration of General Grant, I do not recall any con- gressional investigation that resulted in discoveries of malfeasance in adminis- trative departments. After delinquencies have been discovered and the evidence ascertained, congressional investlga- tions-never free from partisan bias have frequently given greater prominence and publicity to known scandals. That there have been frauds committed dur ing republican administrations, and will be frauds committed so long as there are dishonest men in the world, is conceded. I only claim that the republican party has ever been sufficiently alert to both discover and punish the evil doers within it's own party
 Was Executive Investigation.
 "It was an executive investigation that unearthed the Star route rascalities with their ramifications. It was an executive investigation that discovered the recent delinquencies in the postoffice department and in the public land office, and these investigations involved both republican officials and the appointees of MT. Cleve-. land who had been left in office. I doubt very much If a congressional investiga- ton could be more searching or thorough than those already prosecuted. That a congressional investigation instituted by democratic members might be more spec tacular is conceded, but our democratic friends profess opposition to everything spectacular.
 ''It is by no means certain that legis- lative committee would have constitu- tional authority to count the money for which the treasurer Is responsible, with out his consent. Under the strict construc- tion of the constitution contended for by MT. Jefferson, and quoted with apparent approval by the democratic nominee, 1t would have no authority to give directions to administrative officials CT to interfere with the discharge of their respective duties. Congress can amend the laws un- der which the administrative departments operate. but the administrative depart ments have sole authority to operate. fancy it would cause a commotion If the chief executive should send over de- mand for copy of defeated bills in con gress and for the correspondence between congressman and their constituents with reference thereto. implying thereby that