The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1905-10-26
IS THE SURPLUS REAL?
Significant Inquiry of Newspaper
Correspondent.
There Is a Growing Impression That
the Boasted Balance Is Largely
Made Up of |. o. US and
Other Evidences Of Debt.

The Harrisburg correspondent OF
the Pittsburg Dispatch, an independ-
ent and conservative Republican news
paper, writes as follows:
Is the $40, 10000 cash balance" of
the commonwealth OF Pennsylvania
real money, or eats and dogs?"
Has the state a vast surplus of act
ual money available for emergencies,
as SO glibly alleged in the literature"
of the Republican state machine. or is
this surplus" made up, in part at
least, of the "paper'of irresponsible or
dead politicians?
These startling questions are likely
to figure very prominently in the cam
paign for state treasurer during the
remaining six weeks before election
The managers of the anti-graft cam
paign profess to be convinced that IL
once an untrammeled state treasurer
could get his hands on the innermoSt
records of the finances of the common
wealth, he could uncover such a state
of affairs as would tremendously shock
the people of Pennsylvania, accustomed
as they are to revelations of misman-
agement in public office.
Keeping Things Quiet.
This phase of the anti-graft cam
paign has been held back apparently
until such time as its presentation to
the people will permit of its being
kept fresh in the public thought right
up to the casting of the November
ballots. Prior to this publication only
the slightest hint of it has been given
That was in the address of Charles
Heber Clark, the distinguished Mont
gamery county author and authority
on civic affairs, before the meeting at
which the Lincoln party was organized
several weeks ago.
How far the anti-grafters will be able
to go toward convincing the people
that the very welfare of the common
wealth demands a thorough scrutiny
of the public assets, remains to be seen.
The men who are directing this cam
paign evidently have taken leaf out
of the lessons of the reform move
ments of the past which have destroyed
their effectiveness by shooting off their
best ammunition too early in the cam
paign Therefore, they are keeping
| their own counsel as to the surprises"
they are going to spring later on.
One thing is fairly certain They
should experience little difficulty in
proving the significant fact that nearly
all the state treasurers of recent years,
no matter how tightly bound up to the
machine, have held off for weeks before
accepting the conditions found in the
| office and assuming responsibility
| therefor
Is the Surplus Real?
When it is considered that the state
| treasury has been absolutely in the
| hands of the organization" for well on
| to half century, it is not surprising
| that actual evidence for or against the
| substantially of the "$10,000,000 sur
| plus" or of anything else concerning
| the treasury, for that matter, is decid-
| edly scarce.
From the elder Cameron's time, all
| down through the Cameron and Quay
| "dynasties," there has been greater
| care exercised by the bosses in the Sc
| lection of candidates for state treas
| urer than for any other state Office, the
| governorship not excepted.
| AS result of this, and also by rea-
| son of complicated system of cross
| accounts between the treasurer and the
| auditor general the record of the treas
ury has been virtually sealed book to
| the people who pay the money They
have been told every month that there
| were so many dollars to the credit of
| the commonwealth in the various IA
| vored banks. For the past three years
the total given has not gone below
| $10,000000 except two or three times.
But they haven't any other assurance
than the bare published report that the
millions" represent real dollars rather
than political Il o US"
| And the business of the anti-graft
| campaigners will be to make them see
that they never will have other assur-
ance until they defeat machine-made
| candidate and elect a state treasurer
free enough and brave enough to run
his hand down to the very bottom of
the states strong box and find out ex-
actly what is there.
| Castle Paving tho Way.
The revelations made this week by
| Homer l.. Castle, of Pittsburg, appar-
| emily are designed as paving the way
In the public mind for the still graver
| statements that are expected to follow
concerning the management OF the pub
lie funds. Mr.. Castle has shattered the
ong-established theory of the gentle
| men who deal in state deposits, that
there need be no fear of publicity where
| only the parties directly involved in
the deal are In a position to give any
information concerning it.
On the same basis the millions Of
state appropriations to public and pri-
| vate charities and educational institu-
tions were for years bartered off at a
| 10 per cent. rake-off rate until finally,
| Professor Davis, In the Clarion State
| Normal School case, had the courage
to tell what was going on
| Notwithstanding some of the hurried
denlals, Mr. Castle has presented facts
enough to convince most men who do
not prefer to believe otherwise, that
many of the states millions are regu-
larly dealt out to banks that are will
ing In return to finance the precarious
fortunes of select few of the political
| insiders"
The anti-grafters are highly elated
over the turn affairs have taken, and
are more than over convinced OF the
wisdom of their decision early in the