Evening star., 1947-01-22
Justice Aides
.StudyShortage
In House Bank
Reopening Set for
Tomorrow; Limit
Put on Withdrawals
SERGEANT AT ARMS runs mil
lion-dollar bank. Story on page
Az.
By Robert K. Welsh

The Justice Department an
nounced today that Attorney
General Clark had turned over
to the criminal and claims di-
visions an audit showing a $125,-
563.73 shortage in the congress
sional "bank."
In announcing Mr.. Clark's action
Of submitting the audit to Assistant
Attorney General T. Lamar Caudle,
head of the criminal division, and
Assistant Attorney General John
F. Sonnet, head of the claims di-
vision, the department said only
that they would study the findings.
Meanwhile, House Republican
leaders moved to recover as much
as possible of the shortage in the
sergeant at arms banking Office, and
to prepare immediate orders and
future legislation to guard against
similar occurrences.
The banking department, in
which some 300 members had
81 ,204, 1864 on deposit during the
last Congress, will open at 9 am.
tomorrow, for the first time since
it was shut down January 6 for a
General Accounting Office audit
But to prevent "a run on the bank"
Speaker Martin decreed no de-
positor can withdraw more than
rs per cent of his current balance
Bulk Between 1928-38.
The bulk of the shortages, accord
ing to the audit report submitted
to the Speaker by Controller Cen
eral Lindsay C. Warren, occurred
from 1928 through 1888, while Ken
meth Romney, Montana Democrat,
was sergeant at arms. He also served
as cashier under Joseph G, Rodgers,
Pennsylvania Republican, from 1917
to 1881.
The overall total shortage may
have been as high as $143,863 in
June, 1945, the auditors believe.
A total of $3,582.51 in the $685.
563.73 shortage represented over
drafts by members still serving in
Congress. These can and will be
made good at once and apparently
resulted by accident or carelessness
of members who overdrew on their
balances, Speaker Martin indicated
The main shortage of $121 ,981 "a
was made up of 81 miscellaneous
checks or orders dated between
January 27, 1928, and November IA,
1888, the report said. Three of these
were signed by Mr.. Romney and 20
by former Representative John H.
Smithwick, Democrat, of Florida,
now resident of Georgia, according
to the report.
Carried as "Cash on Hand"
Checks or orders signed by Mr..
Romney, Mr.. Smithwick and others
were carried in the books as "cash
on hand" but in most cases the
checks for payments by the Office
were not presented to banks. They
were held in Mr.. Romney's desk, the
report states. A few of the checks
were presented to banks, out
bounced" the audit adds.
Checks made out by Mr.. Romney
on the National Bank of Washing
ton totaled $22,965, the report said.
They were listed as payable to
cash" but mot indorsed" They in
cluded a $500 check dated Septem-
ber 2, 1880; a $7,465 check dated
December 7, 1881, and an $4,000
check dated January l, 1882, the
report said.
Checks made out by Mr. Smith
wick, payable to himself or to Mr..
Romney, and either never cashed
or returned as uncollectable, totaled
$64, ,573.12, the report said. These
checks, ranging from $3.50 to $40, 900,
according to the report, were car
ried in the Office as "cash on hand"
the report added.
Ex-employe Involved.
Another 5,o66.48 was attributed
to Frank J. Mahoney of New York
City, a bookkeeper who worked in
the sergeant at arms Office in 1888.
The report contains a photostatic
COPY of a reported confession in
which Mahoney was quoted as
having admitted he took that sum
from the Office funds. Mahoney's S
whereabouts are not known at the
Capitol.
The other amounts in the short
age, according to the audit report,
included total of $4,000 in two
checks, neither indorsed nor banked,
but drawn by H. A. Mckenzie, listed
as former employe of the sergeant
at arms Office in 1880, and a total
of 81, ,376.62 in five "orders" signed
by Champ Pickens and drawn on
the sergeant at arms office during
February, 1888. These were indorsed
by John Foscue, former secretary to
former Representative McDufty,
now Judge in Alabama, the re-
port said.
No explanation was Forthcoming,
(See SHORTAGE, Page A-4)