The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1857-01-08


claim to whom they had title. They doubt rep
resented that for large per cenage they would procure
the passage OF this bia bill without any merit In justice
without any merit in law, but against both
There s another objection to this bill of most extraor
dnary character. Remember that the Communication was
accepted by the officers In 1928 after the lapse of forty
years from the battle of Yorktown the last import
action of the war, Congress passed law giving the
full pay all the surviving officers This bill stops at
1926 After 1926 the soldier himself received the full pay
and therefore if this stands upon Justice ought
to deduct from the hapay proposed to be allowed to the
heirs the of full pay which the soldier himself got
This bill stops 1896 although the act of 1923 gave PEN
sions commencing in 1926 TO the survivors.
is alleged in this report that the officers compel-
ed to part with the commuation certificates that they
forced by their necessities to sell them This be
but the did exactly what it agreed do. Il
agreed to pay them in money public securities obl
cations bearing interest These the words Of the
resolution. Congress had no money but said to these
men, I'VE will pay you in public secutes The records
of the country yniicate the honor of They
paid every dime principal and interest," at maturity.
The depreciation OF government stock Is no ground
of claim. Within the last nine years have known
stocks for which this government received hundred
cents TO the dollar fall to nineegh in the hands of the
purchasers In the last with Great Britain eeclr
ties fell to forty. Many hard pressed seled
sell his securities at the market price but that was not
owing any want of faith in the government and this
not owing to any want of faith in the government
II these took their five years full pay and sold IT, that
was their fault misfortune because if they had
held it, they would have received the full amount They
wanted present fund in hand they commuted for that
purpose If they had let it on and got their half pay
at the end Of the ten years. even then the credit of the gov
ernment good The new government established
in l7s9 the debt funded in $780, and no such depre
citation would have taken place When the government
has complied with its obligations strictly fairly and hon
oraby the fact that the money market In such con-
diton the necessities of the officer great
compelled TO take less than the face of the cerfcae that
any ground of caim2 When was it conended in any
country in any age that the debtor ought to be liable for
the depreciation TO the creditor2 Gs a
give my promissory note, payable two years hence
though the person to whom give II might have doubt
pf fpvg IN mt ha
in Wall street without paying large
bly, the best could not be sold for less than two per
cent month The necessities Of the party might drive
him pay the two per cent The value Of the money ena
bles the holder to give it but would he be allowed to
the drawer of the note il he discharges his ob
cation meets it promptly at maturity to make the loss
incurred by OF the hardshps poverty the debt
orr comply with my contract; am not bound to pay
until the two years. and II the debtor is hard pressed
for money and money is dear that he realize
seven per cent and has to pay not responsible
In his the government paid its obligation maturity
to the utmost farthng 1t was not in default hour It
discharged its duty it complied strictly literally honora
bly, and honestly with every undertaking that It made in
reference to this class of officers and they were the only
class of men Of the revolution Of whom this be said
assert now that the government merely complied
strictly with her contrachey demanded of her and she
gave them the pound of eshbut they were the only pub
lie creditors Of the revolutionary army to whom she did
full justice What the fate Of the sodiers2 The SOL
der served during the for eighty dollars hold in
my hand of the certificates for eighty dollars 1t has
never until now been out Of the box in which the man
who received placed at his DEATH thirty five years
ago. When this currency issued it at the nom-
nal value of forty to one and it got down four hundred
to and hence many of the old soldiers of the reyou
ton threw il in their desks You pay nothing on this GER
ti6cae claim undenabe right to this and can trace
to the very spot where it was pac It stands in tho
first degree to him who received = from the poyernment
The agreement upon its face is for eighty doarsto be
paid Ia Spanish med dollars Those patriotic people who
furnished supplies, who furnished arms, who furnished
absolute necessities of daily service knew that it was de-
preca,ed. They might have entered the market town
when was ten to one but before they left especially if
ocers came by and put it out in Sheets might be worth
only one hundred TO When Congress passed the
resolution to pay the eighty dollars the soldiers who
served during the whole war the currency stood at
them and sent them to the pay masters of the United
Staesl haveit under the hand of revolutionary soldier
they were eight hundred to one the cae depreciation
The contract with these is overlooked here 1t has
been hardly worth the attention Of claim agents sup
pose to look them up The amount is too small. The
blood OF many OF them was shed in the public service To
get this eighty dollars they had to for the whole
war THESE other men may not have served day in
tua servce they could have served by possibility
three years. but many OF the others served their FIVE and
seven years fully ended and completed and if they took
furough for one month"; and their time lacked that
amount of fully completing the contract the government
Of that day refused to allow it, and subsequent govern
ment has paid it. Here however, these men came
forward and made contract accepted pay under IL
in 1885, and now in 1885, seventy years afterwards gem
tleen say "Le do justice the descendants Of these
peoopleP
The report of my friend from South Carolina admits
that this is not based upon any obligation of law. He
knew that he could not stand upon that ground for mo-
ment His report says:
Gratitude for the service rendered by the officers Of the
revolutionary army may impose the obligation provide
for their descendants that which vas due to their
but the obligation does not extend to coat
erals" VI '0T'
fit the gratitude Of Inc nation why not give Il TO
all Is nothing dae to the soldier who fought for the
whole war, anc got commutatcn2 These men to whom
refer may have served every day. but they got
mutation because they did agree the end of
the war; They did not enlist for that time They may
have served. They may have quit month before the
close OF the Many the most patriotic men, after the
battle of Yorktown when the premnaries of peace were
signed in 1882 retired to their farms and worked for their
wives and children to make living for themselves but
they did not to the end of the and got
mutation. They stayed long their country wanted
hem and they relied upon their exertons for support
Those who stayed when the country did not want them to
the end of the war under contract got the benefit the
contract which they made with the there
fore they the least meriorious of all the men of
the revolution class-I speak of the individual
men, Many Of them, doubtless were among the best and
bravet patriots of the revouton but class they were
the least mertoous of the soldiers OF the revolution Tho
man who fought as long his country needed him. and
quit when the service over when the country had no
further use for him, meritotious than he
who continued in the army for the purpose Of getting his
hafpay for life The class is included the other is
excluded
The honorable chairman of the committee further says
his report:
If these legal deb then they should be paid to
the legal and would be assets 70 deb
and dsributsble to the Of kin bu the legal obga
on discharged by the election to receive the
taton." st
The report tells you that the Ieqa obgaon was dis