Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1863-1866, 1864-01-11
Washington Letters.

WASHINGTON, Cry, Jan. 2, 1864,
Editors Journal:
Among the many arduous and respors
sibls duties assigned the Second Audit
or of the Treasury, is that of auditing
and settling the claims and liens for the
back pay and bounty of deceased and
discharged soldiers. Perhaps no bust
ness in the entire public service is so
heavily taxed with labor, and, at the
same time, is the subject of SO much I'M
deserved censure and complaint.
A recent investigation of the cause Of
delay in the settlement of the class of
claims referred to, by committee of
Congress, fully exonerates the able and
efficient head of this bureau, Mr.. French,
from any censure, and shows that in no
department in the entire public service
have the clerks behaved more industri-
ously and striven harder to meet the de-
mands made upon them. Difficulties of
which the public are totally ignorant, be.
set Mr. French from the very commence
ment of his administration as Second
Auditor, and it is not going too far to
say that but few public officials have la
bored as hard and were as conscientious
in the discharge of their duties as Mr..
French. Comprehending from the very
outset the magnitude of the labor to be
aI I
endeavored to inspire the clerks under
him with the same conscientious regard
for the necessities of claimants that he
himself has; and the example of untir-
ing industry placed before them in him.
self, seems to have had the desired eff
feet.
in answer to his long-continued and
oft-repeated demands for additional room
to accommodate larger clerical force,
Mr.. French is about to succeed, and SO
one great difficulty under which he has
had to labor up to the present time is
about to be removed.
Being also recently dependent upon
the Paymaster and Adjutant Generals
Office for much official Information upon
which to base settlements, he has, in
many instances, had to delay settlements
on this account; and again, the indispen-
sable data and information which alone
could enable him to settle accounts of
claimants, was often not accessible until
months after the claim had been filed.
Many Of the causes, however, which OF
Grated to delay settlement of claims filed
for arrears of pay and bounty due sol.
diers deceased and discharged in 1861
and 1863, are now removed, and in fu-
ture claimants may expect an entire set
Element of their claims.
It is due the Second Auditor, Mr.
French, to say that he has spared neither
labor nor pains to meet the demands upon
his Office, and if there has been any
seeming delay it is attributable, not to
his neglect or iRattention, but to circum-
stances over which he had no control.
and his inability to obtain the necessary
information for the settlement of claims.
If honesty, integrity and intense appli-
cation, united with sound experience,
business qualifications of the highest
order, and untiring industry, can avail
anything, then, indeed, may the country
rejoice that such a man as Ezra r
French is placed at the head of such j
responsible bureau.
The State of Maine has no worthie,
representative in the National Capital
and certainly no one of whom she hs.
more reason to be proud. Polite, accom-
modating, ever ready and willing to an