100 million in each of the latter years. Notwithstanding these large differences between the statements of the Secretary and Register in the official reports of 1870 the Finance Report of 1871 as made to Congress is found to contain agreeing statements from the Secretary and the Register by the Register changing and increasing his amounts so as to correspond with those of the Secretary, and these changes and increases still exist. It is a fact well established that all official reports to Congress made previous to 1870 by the Secretary and Register substantially agree and were many millions less than as now reported in the Finance Reports. FINANCE REPORTS OF 1870 AND 1871. Assistant Register Titcomb's testimony contains the following (see testimony pp. 18 and 19): By the CHAIRMAN : Q. I hand you the Finance Reports of 1870 and 1871, and call your attention to the tabulated statements made by the Register. Be kind enough to look at them both.— A. I see them. Q. These are the tabulated statements made by the Register for 1870 and 1871 ?—A. They are. Q. Do they agree in figures?—A. I see that for the year 1870 they do not agree. Q. What difference is there?-A. Some $96,000,000 difference. Q. Are there any other years for which they do not agree?—A. They do not agree for 1869. Q. What is the difference there, in round numbers ?-A. One hundred million dollars. Q. Follow it on further.-A. For 1868 there appears to be a difference of about $25,000,000. Q. State which is the largest in amount, the 1870 or 1871 statement ?-A. The 1871 statement. Q. You have stated three years; one amounting to $90,000,000, another to nearly $100,000,000, another to nearly $25,000,000. Are there not other years where the amounts do not agree in these two reports?-A. Yes, sir; the years immediately preceding those years. Q. How far back do the tables in the two reports differ?—A. Without examining each item, I see that a difference occurs in 1833. That is apparently the first year. Q. And there are more or less differences from 1833 down to 1870, according to these reports?-A. Yes, sir. Q. Then I understand you that neither the report of 1870, the report of 1871, nor the pamphlet, all issued by the Register, agree in the amounts as to the total of the public debt-A. So it appears. By Mr. BECK: Q. Had not all the annual reports of the various Registers of the Treasury made prior to the report of 1871 agreed substantially with each other as to the public debt of the United States for each year?-A. Yes, sir. Q. Since 1871-72 does not each annual report substantially adopt the previous report for all except the year with which it deals -A. I believe so. Q. So that in fact the material changes, whether they were the system or what not, that occurred, occurred between 1869 and 1871 ?-A. I think they occurred in 1871 exclusively, with the exception of a blunder in this tabulated statement which was made by Mr. Nevin-he did not know how to make it—the blunder of deducting the cash in the Treasury. By Mr. ALLISON : Q. In answer to Senator Beck you say that the reports for 1870, and prior years, from the Register's office, substantially agree as to the public debt; you also say that the reports of 1871, and subsequent years, substantially agree?-A. Yes, sir. Q. Now, will you state briefly whether or not the mode of stating the debt in the Register's office was the same for 1870 and prior years, as for 1871 and subsequent years, and, if not, state the difference?-A The mode of stating it was different. There was a change in the mode of stating the debt. Q. When?-A. After 1870. This shows clearly that there are many and large differences in the official reports of 1870-1871, and previous years, ranging from a few dollars to nearly a hundred million dollars in the statements for the respective years, and that the changes made in 1871 went back to 1833, and that the report of 1870, the report of 1871, and the pamphlet, all issued by the Register, differ as to the amount of the public debt. The official Finance Reports to Congress previous to 1870 and since 1871 substantially agree, showing that the changes were made between 1870 and 1871. The official Finance Report made in 1871 differs widely from all previous reports to Congress. After 1870 there was a change in the mode of stating the debt which caused many changes in amounts, increasing the apparent amount of the public debt in some years nearly a hundred million dollars. The committee also call attention to the following extract from the testimony of Mr. Titcomb (see testimony, pp. 20 and 21): By the CHAIRMAN: * Q. The changes as made then changed the statements that had been furnished by numerous Secretaries and Registers who had preceded?-A. They made a different statement for the same period. Q. And those statements changed the figures, as you have them before you, in the reports of 1870 and 1871?-A. Yes, sir. By Mr. ALLISON: Q. That is, changed the tabulated statements?-A. Yes, sir. By the CHAIRMAN: Q Mr. Beck has asked you whether your report made to the Secretary and by the Secretary to Congress ought not to be an exact transcript of your books at all times?A. I should call them a compilation from the books. It is bringing together various items. Q. And should be a true statement, and intended to be a true statement, from the books?-A. Undoubtedly. In 1871 the official statement that had been made to Congress by numerous Secretaries and Registers was made to show different amounts for the same period, though the statement as originally made was, when made, intended to be a true transcript of the books. One of the witnesses examined by the committee was William Guilford, who, for fifteen years prior to his examination, had been employed in the Register's office and who had charge of making up the Receipts and Expenditures of the government. He also made up from the Reg. ister's books several statements for the use of the committee. Attention is called to the following extract from his testimony (see testimony, pp. 25 and 26): * Q. Did you prepare that statement for the committee in the Register's office (handing to witness statement marked "Statement No. 2," being a "statement of the Receipts, Expenditures, and outstanding principal of the Public Debt, interest, and premium paid from 1860 to 1877, inclusive, compiled from the books in the Register's office"?-A. Yes, sir; I believe I prepared that with my own hands. Q. I see in a column headed "Amounts to be added to receipts," marked “b," $2,019,776.10; and another one marked “c," $1,000,000.00; and then one marked “d," $3,274,051.69, making a total of $6,293,827.79, which you say is "to be added to receipts." What is meant by that-A. That is in accordance with the Secretary's Report of 1871. Those amounts do not appear upon our books. They are added in accordance with the Secretary's order, in order to harmonize the two, as is shown in the report of 1871. Q. I understand that these three items amounting to between six and seven million dollars do not appear upon your books?-A. They do not. Q. But are added here by order of the Secretary?-A. So I understand. Q. How did you state the debt for 1870 and previously?-A. I did not state it myself, but it was stated by the Issues and Redemptions. Q. How has it been stated since?-A. It has been stated since by Receipts and Expenditures, and the table has been revised in accordance. Q. In the revision you speak of, you changed the amounts as they had previously been reported from your office, commencing with 1833?-A. Yes, sir. By Mr. ALLISON: Q. Do I understand that you have charge of the books in the Register's office showing the Receipts and Expenditures of the government?-A. No, sir; I compile from the books the Receipts and Expenditures. Q. It is a part of your duty, then, to make up a tabulated statement annually of the Receipts and Expenditures from the books of the Register?-A. Yes, sir. The statement here referred to by Mr. Guilford is as follows (see testimony, pp. 28 and 29): STATEMENT No. 2.-Statement of the receipts, expenditures, and outstanding principal of the public debt, interest and premium paid, from 1860 to 1877, inclusive, compiled from the books in the Register's office. Year. Received from loans during year. Paid on account loans during the year. Amounts to be added to receipts. Principal of debt at close of year. Net increase. Net decrease. Interest paid. Premiums paid. 1859. a$58, 496, 837 88 20, 776, 800 00 41, 861, 709 74 529, 692, 460 50 776, 682, 361 57 1, 128, 834, 245 97 1865. 1, 472, 224, 740 85 $14, 431, 350 00 607, 361, 241 68 Total 8, 893, 471, 481 06 6, 694, 464, 166 75 6, 293, 827 79 2,680, 647, 869 74 2, 773, 236, 173 69 2,678, 126, 103 87 2, 611, 687, 851 19 588, 452, 213 94 480, 672, 427 81 353, 211, 332 32 253, 251, 078 78 234, 482, 743 20 2, 251, 690, 218 43 2, 232, 284, 281 95 2, 180, 394, 817 15 2, 205, 301, 142 10 2, 205, 301, 142 10 696, 012, 231 94 864, 863, 499 17 92, 588, 303 95 17, 207, 475 23 $35, 110, 069 82 66,438, 252 68 23, 235, 637 25 107, 779, 786 13 127, 461, 095 49 99, 960, 253 54 18, 768, 335 58 19, 405,936 48 51,889, 464 80 24, 906, 324 95 2,815, 349, 973 87 610, 048, 831 77 a Outstanding debt July 1, 1859. b Discount on bonds, act February 8, 1861. c Navy pension fund. $3, 177, 314 62 4,000, 173 76 13. 190, 324 45 24, 729, 846 61 53,685, 421 69 77, 397, 712 00 133,067, 741 69 143, 781, 591 91 140, 424, 045 71 130, 694, 242 80 129, 235, 498 00 125, 576, 565 93 117, 357, 839 72 104, 750, 688 44 107, 119, 815 21 103, 093, 544 57 100, 243, 271 23 97, 124, 511 58 1,608, 650, 149 92 $58,476 51 10, 813, 349 38 7,001, 151 04 d Difference (see Finance Report, 1871, p. 11). 58,020,267 62 This statement was prepared by Mr. Guilford, as he states. The amounts stated as the public debt for the respective years do not agree with the amounts officially presented to Congress in the Finance Reports between 1860 and 1870, but they agree with the Report of 1871 as changed under the instruction of the Secretary of the Treasury to the Register. This statement proves the fact of the changes in the Finance Reports; it also shows that three items, one of $2,019,776.10, one of $1,000,000, and one of $3,274,051.69, aggregating $6,293,827.79, are not upon the debt books, but were added, as Mr. Guilford testifies, in accordance with an order of the Secretary "in order to harmonize the two." The committee call special attention to what he testifies on this point (see testimony, p. 26): Those amounts do not appear upon our books. They are added in accordance with the Secretary's order, in order to harmonize the two, as is shown in the Report of 1871. Q. I understand that these three items amounting to between six and seven million dollars do not appear upon your books?-A. They do not. Q. But are added here by order of the Secretary?-A. So I understand. This is the evidence of the Treasury clerk who had charge of making up the statements of Public Receipts and Expenditures. Thus between six and seven million dollars were added in the Register's office to make the respective statements of the public debt issued by the Secretary and Register correspond although the items added did not appear regularly upon the public-debt books. The same witness further testified (see testimony, p. 30): * By Mr. BECK: Q. Your large experience in the office of the Register enables you to speak pretty fully of the duties of that office, and therefore I want you now, as briefly as you can, to tell us what you understand by the first subdivision of section 313 of the Revised Statutes, which provides that "it shall be the duty of the Register to keep the accounts of the receipts and expenditures of public money, and of all debts due to or from the United States."-A. That the Register's office shall be the bookkeepers of the government, to put it as condensed as possible. Q. And every dollar that comes into the Treasury and every dollar that goes out of the Treasury must appear on the books of the Register?-A. Yes, sir. Q. And his annual published reports import absolute verity as to those facts?—A. They are supposed to do so. Q. That is the object of them?-A. Yes, sir. Q. He has, from the beginning of the government, or from a very early period of it, made these annual reports to Congress and the country, has he not ?-A. Yes, sir. Q. And up to 1870 the annual report so furnished was all that the country had to rely upon as to the truth of the condition of the Treasury-A. Yes, sir. Q. Now you say that in 1871 it was ascertained that all those statements had been false from the beginning of the government?-A. No, sir. Q. What do you propose to tell us?-A. Not that they were false, but that they were not stated correctly; that they were not stated on a correct basis as far as the public debt was concerned. They stated the amount that the government proposed to owe, but not the amount it did actually owe; the difference was that it stated the amount the government proposed to owe from year to year, and not what it did actually owe. And again (testimony, p. 33): Q. When did the Secretary first begin making up his public-debt statement, do you remember?-A. I think it was in the year 1870. Q. Up to that time nothing had ever come from the Secretary's office; I believe he had no organized bureau required by law to do that work ?—A. No, sir. Q. The Register alone did it ?-A. Yes, sir. Here, again, is proof that the Register is the official bookkeeper of the government, and has been so from the organization of the Treasury |