Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1864-06-16
Important TO Friends of Dscsa-
sed Soldiers.

IL
4 To the Editor of the Washington Chronicle
1 have in asking permission to gi,
+ through your columns, which hay
always been open for the benefit (
our brave dead, an object which ma
I prove advaEtag eous to claimants :
The proper way is to make applic,
ton to the office of the Second Auc
itor, who has always been .desirou
OF extending every facility and er
couragement to the poor widows, nc
thers and orphans, of applying direct
lly to the office, so that they may saw
the large per centage which some ar
daily paying to attorneys and agents
to whom the Second Auditofgiyes N
encouragement Whatsoever
The application must be made Il
the Hon. E. B. French, Second Aud
itor, Washington, DC, and In all ca
ses postpaid, and he will, on reeeiv
ing a letter from the claimant, SEND
the necessary blanks end instruction:
how to fill them up, &c, and such is
his determination to assist those who
give the required evidence Of ther re-
lationship (which entities his atten-
tion) to receive the claim But to
agents be will not give any blanks.
In order that Mr. French may de-
eide who is the proper person, the let
ter must give the nearest survivor-in-
law, and he, she, or they, should make
the application as: First widow ;
second, children collectively (if mi
nors, by guardians); third, father (if
a mt person, but if drunken or other
wise worthy of trust, then mother in
his stead }; fourth, mother;, fifth, bro
theirs and sisters collectively ; sixth,
next nearest relatives or heirs, by ex-
ecutors or administrators. The boun.
ty will not be paid to any representa-
tive below the second grade( (children
unless resident of the United States.
Neither will bounty be paid on the
will of the deceased. i,r tH. s...
If the applicant is not the proper
person the auditor will send word to
that effect. and at the same time IN
dicating which of the relatives named
by the applicant is. On the return of
blanks before mentioned, Z they are
filed away in their regular order with
those of the same State, and settle
ment will be made in ordepof date of
death. f
Much has been said abdbt the de-
lay and the complicated routine which
a person has to 60 through IN order
to accomplish the desired end. Let
us examine in detail.
Soldiers are intended to be paid
every two months. Ifliving they are
paid promptly, and. in many instanc-
es, he is overpaid. The government
holds the paymaster responsible; and
he looks to the soldier, if living. when
he goes to pay him again; if dead, he
orders so much stopped against his
representatives
This is noted upon the payroll,
and it has to he examined into before
such applications are replied to. with
necessary blanks and instructions,
which cause delay. Then very often
death occurs in some military hospi-
tai, when it becomes the duty of the
surgeon to notify the regiment he be-
longs to. This is put upon the mus
ter roll, and if it is delayed it goes
over until the next two months, which
causes delay.
Then, again, the paymaster has
allowed to him two months to make
up his pay roll, month to report the
to the paymaster generals Office,
one month is allowed in that office,
so 1t takes from six (6l to eight (S)
months before they reach the Second
Auditors office, which is absolutely
necessary. .t .. t- .
But many say that it is from QUE
to two years before they are attended
to, and l reply to that, in the begin
ing of the rebellion every depart
ment was inadequate to discharge
its natural functions, which. of
course, left the accumulation ofwork
on hand. Room was not sufficient,
clerks were not sufficiently skilled,
and were under many such disadvan-
tages. Mr.. French has, at ast, met
the natural increase of work with q
skilful and competent force, and is
gradually alleviating the trouble
which he was compelled to meet in
a state of chaos, and has, at last,
assigned each one his duty, and
made one of the hest branches un-
der Secretary Chase.
have heard some say that there
was considerable favoritism towards
some claimants to the disadvantage
of others, and l am authorized to
state that since Mr.. French took his
place as chief.of the Second Audit
ors Of the Treasury Department,
there has never q single instance of
the kind transpired in the Office
Wait patiently your turn, and ! am
sure Mr.. French will avail himself
of every benefit subject to his con-
troll foryour advantage. aT<
Very respectfully, yours,
B.