Evening star., 1923-03-02
ASKS $4,000 FOR
BUREAU SHORTAGE
President Sends Estimate to
Cover Discrepancies Exist
ing April 8, 1922.
$54,632 LOSS so FAR
Further Amounts May Be Shown,
But Exact Amount Cannot Be
Fixed Now, Is Claim.

The President has sent to the Sen
ate a supplemental estimate Of $780,
900 "to permit Of the adjustment OF
any discrepancies in the paper ac-
counts between the office Of the Sec
retary of the Treasury and the bureau
of engraving and printing existing
on April 8, 1922, and the adjustment
OF any actual losses which may be
shown to have occurred to the gov
ernment on account Of such discrep-
ancies'
The discharge of Director Wilmeth
and other employees Of the bureau OF
engraving took place last April 1
Seven days later, on April 8, the bu-
reau was closed down for an inven-
tory. 8eyond this fact there is moth
ing to connect President Harding s
request with the dismissal Of the bureau
employees, officials declining to explain
the Presidents request.
1t was proposed to put this item in
the third deficiency appropr iation bill
but the estimate reached the Senate
appropriations committee too late, II
was said, today, for action, and the
deficiency bill has been passed by the
Senate without reference to the mat
ter.
Letter Is Forwarded.
The President accompanied the es-
innate with a letter from the director
Of the budget bureau. This letter
quotes from a letter of the Secretary
of the Treasury. dated February 27
as follows:
81 am transmitting herewith. in or
n Fr,S
adjusted, summary of the reports
on the distinctive paper accounts
made by the committees appointed to
verify the paper accounts of the bu-
reau OF engraving and printing, in
cluding the first Treasury committee
the two subsequent committees, one
from the Department of Justice and
the other from the Treasury, which
both verified the accounts as of April
g.. 1922. one reporting on August A.
1922, and the other on May II, 1922.
LAS appears from the summary
these two reports are in substantial
agreement with respect to the diff
, ferences found. After allowing for
offsetting items. and aggregatine
of paper, there appear to be short
ages, according to the report of the
Treasury committee, amounting tc
636 sheets of United States currency
paper, five sheets of Philippine Is
land currency paper. 212A sheets OF
sheets of miscellaneous bond paper
a total of S60Z sheets of distinc.
tive paper. In this connection it is
proper to state that during the perioC
covered by the report. from March
81. 1917, to April s. 1922. there were
l.056,794,721 sheets of distinctive pa
per issued to the bureau of engraving
and printing, against which there ap-
pears to be a net shortage of S60sa
sheets.
"It Is impossible to determine def
,itely whether these differences in
! yolve loss to the government. or, i
so, in what amount. Some of the diff
ferences, it is known, are accounted
| for by petty thievery. and in many
cases the guilty parties have been ap
pretended. AS to the differences gen
port contains the following comment
Attention may be called to tn,
fact that In handling 97,9S1,320 sheet!
of liberty loan bond paper, covering
a period of three years, and during
which the plant was in continuou:
operation, with the corridors stacked
with sheets, there is proven loss o.
but 1l3A sheets, and no more.
with respect to the differences. i
is impossible TO say what proportion
| Of the differences is due to theft ant
what to error. In any case, they
should not be allowed to run indef
nitely, but should be promptly cleared
off the records by, proper adjustment.
with the chief Of the division Of pa
per custody, after which the uncan'
celed pay checks should be properly
DISPOSED Of.
"Following its report of May II
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