CHAPTER IX. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY.

 1. If the Executive Department that has charge of the public moneys is not highest in nominal¹ rank, it certainly does not hold a less important and interesting place in the estimation of the country and of the world than the Department of State. Every part of the government is dependent on this for its efficiency. It is the heart of the country. The in-and-out-flowing of the tide of money from the central point marks the pulses of the nation’s prosperity. Especially has this been the case since the Civil War, and the immense developments and changes that followed it. The banking³ system, making the Treasury⁴ responsible for the issue of all the hundreds of millions of bank notes used in the business of the country, adds immensely to the importance of the United States Treasury.

2. The management of this Department is committed to[261] the Secretary of the Treasury. He is selected for that office by the President, and when his nomination⁵ is approved by the Senate his appointment takes place. He holds office during a presidential term, unless sooner removed. He is a member of the Cabinet and one of the President’s advisers⁶.

3. The financial policy adopted by the country depends very much on his views on that difficult question, and the interests and wealth of millions on the ability and integrity he possesses. He is therefore chosen on account of his real or supposed qualifications on questions of finance.

He is aided in his duties by an Assistant Secretary, a Comptroller and Second Comptroller, five Auditors⁷, a Treasurer⁸ and his assistant, a Register and his assistant, a Commissioner⁹ of Customs, a Comptroller of the Currency and his deputy, and a Solicitor¹⁰ of the Treasury. All these have their offices in connection with the Treasury Department at Washington. In several of the large cities are sub-treasuries, each presided over by an assistant Treasurer, where public funds are received and disbursed¹¹. The Treasurers¹² of the Mints are also, many of them, Assistant Treasurers of this Department. All these are appointed by the President and Senate in the same manner as the Chief Secretary.

4. The sums of money actually handled, and the accounts of all moneys received and disbursed without passing into the vaults¹³ of the Treasury, amount to many hundreds of millions annually¹⁴, and require the constant service of some hundreds of clerks. These all need to have clean hands and pure hearts, which is, unfortunately, more rare among men of all classes than could be wished. Yet the whole is reduced to so accurate a system that a loss at any point immediately produces a disturbance¹⁵ in the whole machinery¹⁶, and a short examination suffices to reveal the point of difficulty and the person responsible for it. Accordingly, losses and defalcations are seldom experienced in or near the central point of the Department. If they occur, which is sometimes the case, it is usually some officer at a distance who is found to be at fault, whose sphere[262] of operations lies far from the centre and only occasionally passes under scrutiny¹⁷. Each has his separate sphere of duties which no one else interferes¹⁸ with, and assumes his own responsibility; and probably no other institution in the world loses less in proportion to the amount of money involved and the number of persons handling it.

5. Every account must be carefully examined and approved by the proper officer before it can be presented for settlement and the money paid out, and whatever moneys may flow in, none can flow out but according to some law of Congress definitely appropriating it.

All officers having the handling of public funds are required to give security for the faithful discharge of their duties. This must, by the requirement of the law, be done before they can enter their respective places.

SECRETARIES OF THE TREASURY.

 

Alexander Hamilton, N. Y., Sept. 12, 1789.

Oliver Wolcott, Ct., Feb. 4, 1795.

Samuel Dexter, Mass., Dec. 31, 1800.

Albert Gallatin, Pa., May 14, 1801.

George W. Campbell, Tenn., Feb. 9, 1814.

Alexander J. Dallas, Pa., Oct. 6, 1814.

William H. Crawford, Ga., Oct. 22, 1816.

Richard Rush, Pa., Mar². 7, 1825.

Samuel D. Ingham, Pa., Mar. 6, 1829.

Louis McLane, Del., Aug. 8, 1831.

William J. Duane, Pa., May 29, 1833.

Roger B. Taney, Md., Sept. 23, 1833.

Levi Woodbury, N.H., June 27, 1834.

Thomas Ewing, O., Mar. 5, 1841.

Walter Forward, Pa., Sept. 13, 1841.

John C. Spencer, N.Y., Mar. 3, 1843.

George M. Bibb, Ky., June 15, 1844.

Robert J. Walker, Miss., Mar. 5, 1845.

[263]W. M. Meredith, Pa., Mar. 7, 1849.

Thomas Corwin, O., June 20, 1850.

James Guthrie, Ky., Mar. 5, 1853.

Howell Cobb, Ga., Mar. 6, 1857.

Philip F. Thomas, Md., Dec. 10, 1860.

John A. Dix, N.Y., 1861.

Salmon¹⁹ P. Chase, O., Mar. 5, 1861.

William P. Fessenden, Me., July, 1864.

Hugh McCulloch, Ind., 1864.

George S. Boutwell, March 11, 1869.

W. A. Richardson, March 17, 1873.

B. H. Bristow, Ky., June 3, 1874.

1 nominal   

adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的

参考例句：

• The king was only the nominal head of the state. 国王只是这个国家名义上的元首。
• The charge of the box lunch was nominal.午餐盒饭收费很少。

2 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

3 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

4 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

5 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

6 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

7 auditors   

n.审计员，稽核员( auditor的名词复数 )；（大学课程的）旁听生

参考例句：

• The company has been in litigation with its previous auditors for a full year. 那家公司与前任审计员已打了整整一年的官司。
• a meeting to discuss the annual accounts and the auditors' report thereon 讨论年度报表及其审计报告的会议

8 treasurer   

n.司库，财务主管

参考例句：

• Mr. Smith was succeeded by Mrs.Jones as treasurer.琼斯夫人继史密斯先生任会计。
• The treasurer was arrested for trying to manipulate the company's financial records.财务主管由于试图窜改公司财政帐目而被拘留。

9 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

10 solicitor   

n.初级律师，事务律师

参考例句：

• The solicitor's advice gave me food for thought.律师的指点值得我深思。
• The solicitor moved for an adjournment of the case.律师请求将这个案件的诉讼延期。

11 disbursed   

v.支出，付出( disburse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In the 2000—2008 school year, $426.5 million was disbursed to 349085 students. 2000至2008学年，共有349085名学生获发津贴，总额达4.265亿元。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bank has disbursed over $350m for the project. 银行已经为这个项目支付了超过3.5亿美元。 来自辞典例句

12 treasurers   

（团体等的）司库，财务主管( treasurer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At the same time, individuals need to hold their pension fund managers and state treasurers accountable. 同时，个人需要使他们的养老基金管理者和州财务人员变得负有责任。
• Last question, what's your advice for our treasurers to get through the crisis? 最后的问题，对于司库们更好的度过危机，您有什么建议吗？

13 vaults   

n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴

参考例句：

• It was deposited in the vaults of a bank. 它存在一家银行的保险库里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

15 disturbance   

n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调

参考例句：

• He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
• You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。

16 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

17 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

18 interferes   

vi. 妨碍，冲突，干涉

参考例句：

• The noise interferes with my work. 这噪音妨碍我的工作。
• That interferes with my plan. 那干扰了我的计划。

19 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？