The Habit Of Official Neglect

The examination ordered by Secretary Bristow to be made into the Sugg Fort case, a fraudulent claim tor flour, and ;he Witowski can, a frauduleut claim for logs, has rosulted in the conviction of ueglect of duty of Third Auditor Kutherfoid, Second Coniptroller Brodtiead, James F. Allen aud George Doolittle, of the Auditor's office, and Deputy Curtis and John C. Wilsou, of the Cromptroller's office. Some of the persons nauied resignad yesterday, and the rest of them will bo removed to-day. The neglect was in porinittiug these claims to pass through the Auditor's and Comptroller's offices so that they wero approved and paid wheu they ought to have been thrown out. It seems that each officer supposwd that soaie othor officor had atteuded to business which ho should have looked aftur himuftlf The clainiB were not vory large. The first amounting to $215,000 and the second to $20,700- $43,700 in all. Tho report of the examining committee does not charge the officers with any conduct more criminal than negloct of duty. Perhaps the cases are all the more significant because of these features. There was no swindle of great magnitude, and there was no corrupt oollusion tetween persons in the Treasury Department and persons outsido of it who were robbing it. The unpleasant conclusión is that carelessness in the performance of a public trust, and indifference to an official obligation, were in tbe nature of a routine prautice. Suspicion is further thrown upon the service by the fact that one of the removed officers had boen in the departmeiit for forty years, and apparently had acquired the loose habit of the place in respect to the discharge of