Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-03-02
finance, but is practice of long stand.
ing in the District of Columbia"
Care for the Insane.

Care for the Insane.
The amount which the report claims
is due the United States from the Dis
| trict of Columbia on account of sup
| port Of INDECENT insane from this city
at the Government Hospital for the IN
sane is s4s6.524.27, of which s282,754.2e
is for board and lodging and actual
support and S203.770.O1 for interest at
? per cent on the amounts which tne
District has owed the United states 1or
hospital account at different times ne
report is extremely technical, oelhs :"
complete audit of the accounts petMee. q.
Columbia since 1876. 1t also lhcluues
an audit of every individual aceou''
with every entry of every patent sh'ee
that year, and declares that lnere 81
almost unbelievable mistakes IN ~
bookkeeping which kept track or tne
money owed the United States for .ne
support of INDECENT insane from ~
District of Columbia at the government
hospital.
One error amounts to $ao,ooo, a1o D
caused, the report alleges, ny . ene The
ping of twenty-five names 1roih ri,o
ledger account for nine years
accountant declares this error " az ''' To-
by n failure to copy the haihes S' fror
page and this mistake coltfiueu 49,
1890 to 1899 The clerks having onIe
fsi1e,, to cony the names one month. a,
lowed the error to run nlne Seais 90
tho natients thus carried without chatse
to the District were all IN tne
tion nearly all of the nine years.
Further Errors Charged.
The report states that errors III car
culation occur in nearly every one Vi ''o
accounts previous to 1906. and that 'ne.
was no apparent effort made TO ascei 'a'''
the correct amount to he cnarseu .,o
District of Columbia. The errors III '''e
accounts between 1876 and 1913 are given
in great detail i'll the report III sun"
ming up these errors the report STATES
that during those years the Id" s''.
that one-half the amount shoulo ne pau
from the revenues derived o! Lis'l'e'
taxation and the other half by the money
appropriated by Congress on the hail-
and-hais plan. This plan was not 'oi-
lowed. according to the District colii'il'-
tee accountant Instead. the District PAID
only one-half the full amount whereas
it is stated, it should have paid three
fourths.
Accounts from 1873 to 1880 are given
in great detail also, as 1t IS Salo III INC
report that they abound IN erroneous
credits and charges, and the repor, also
charges that for one year the account
was not paid at all. Following TINS, thc
report takes each year and points Out
keeping errors and giving in minute
ness the method whereby the accountant
figured the Districts Indebtedness OIL the
items of support.
Interest Owed by District.
The matter of interest owed by the
District to the United States is based on
three paragraphs i'll the District ap-
preparation bill of March 3. 1908. which
are quoted. "It is the evident purpose
of the act to charge the District OF
Columbia with interest at per cent upon
the amounts due from the District OF
Columbia to the United States" The re-
port assumes that all amounts due there
fore must be charged for at per cent,
and sets forth the various amounts which
the District has owed the United States
for the support of patients at the govern
ment hospital at various times, the sum
being $203,I70.01.