Ten years in Washington : Life and scenes in the national capital, as a woman sees them . ariner on His Way—Old Debts Raked Up—Signs of the Times—Under Lincoln—S. P. Chaseas Secretary—The National Currency Act—Enormous Increase of theNational Debt—Facts and Figures—The Credit of the Government Sus-tained—President Grants Rule—George S. Boutwell made Secretary—Great Expectations—Mr. Boutwells Labors, Policy and Success—TheGreat and Growing Prosperity of the Nation. AFTER the Declaration of Independence, the firstthing that the Continental Congress did was toorganize a Treasury Department for th
Ten years in Washington : Life and scenes in the national capital, as a woman sees them . ariner on His Way—Old Debts Raked Up—Signs of the Times—Under Lincoln—S. P. Chaseas Secretary—The National Currency Act—Enormous Increase of theNational Debt—Facts and Figures—The Credit of the Government Sus-tained—President Grants Rule—George S. Boutwell made Secretary—Great Expectations—Mr. Boutwells Labors, Policy and Success—TheGreat and Growing Prosperity of the Nation. AFTER the Declaration of Independence, the firstthing that the Continental Congress did was toorganize a Treasury Department for the new governmentof the colonies. Michael Hilligas and George Clymer were appointedJoint-Treasurers of the United Colonies. They were toreside in Philadelphia, and to receive each a salary of fivehundred dollars the first year, and to give bonds in thesum of one hundred thousand dollars. The second yeartheir salary was raised to eight hundred dollars each. Ina short time George Clymer was sent to Congress as adelegate from Pennsylvania, and Michael Hilhgas re-. M^m^mk THE FIRST TREASURERS OF THE UNITED STATES. 285 mained Treasurer for tlie Colonies to the close of theRevolution. In six months after the resignation of Mr. Clymer, acommittee of five persons was appointed to assist him tosuperintend the small Treasury. Three months after, anoffice was created in which to keep the Treasury office was an itinerant, like Congress, following it towhatever place it assembled. Acts were passed for theestablishment of a National Mint. Alas! the jDoor Con-tinentals had no precious ore to coin, and never struckoff a dollar or cent. An Auditor Generals office wasorganized, and John Gibson appointed, with an annualsalary of one thousand and sixty-six dollars and sixty-seven cents. The office of Comptroller of the Treasury was createdNovember 3,1778, and Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., appointed^with a salary of four thousand dollars. Money was pain-fully scarce
Size: 1307px × 1912px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookidtenyearsinwa, bookyear1876
