Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1866-12-27

We have bc,ols dc t. ihr aiif~ii'ies
thrown in The way e.. L payment Of "eS
ira boun,'es To soldiers. uaaa his act
passed 1t the last session o. CougTess end
vaioh We conssderei TO indicate that she
resi- inter ION was TO surround the "stpa'
ito" IN 50 many ,cchnioa, objection IS
T. prevent tho SO diets deriving any beaeis
.soa, tie law Nol 50, hs9>ver, Wal! c
cider" enacting the ezra" pay to the
Congressman. No technicalitics, no di'li>
cuities there. Those amounts were collect
cd almost before the ink that authorized
them dried. But the poor needy soldier
must be kept waiting 1t the door until the
red tape Is exhausted, when, II he is able 70
submit all the necessary proofs, his claim
will 10 considered. I, 10 gratifying to know
in this connection that the War Department
is at length ready 1, commence the payment
of bount,es. But TO retard the liquidation
Of these Just claims rule has been adopted
which reflects the highest credit upon She
Inventive faculty Of the person who
suggested il. No individual claim will be
considered and no soldier can 10 AIRY man
mr. be benefited by the act until the nppi'
cation Of ercry member Of has regiment mas
ben dled. The peculiar excellence OF this
rui. il read " .rr..~"' Suppose 10"
Il zen members Il each company composing
= regiment to have died, having first lost
their papers, and leaving no heirs to present
their claims. Jndcr the ruling OF the De-
pvr,,pcnt. the names ofthcsc mea not being
forwarded. with notifieation Of death in each
case. Of course the applications OF the living
members are labeled and pigeon olcd' N
the order in which they arc received, and
remain ION file" indctna,edly. The rule
being thus uncomplied with, the Depart
ment falls back upon its red tape, and tho
men suffer in consequence. All this should
be rcmedicd a. once. The applications
should bc entertained as received, and il the
claimant can subs,nntiatc his title to the cx-
ira bounty he should u" p.'a =. .''ev '-'
GARD ess of who or where his former asso-
ci.,e. NAV be. Supposc these men. whea
the Union was imperilled and called for aid,
had adopted che rule Of the Department and
determined to hold:back until an entire reg
imet stood ready to volunteer
before offering their services A? VIVA,
would have become Of the nation then !
As the Department considered it unneccs
sary to sickle At that time, and accepted
these men slngy, We do not Gee why il
should refuse to pay them in the same man
usr. Certainly these soldiers are entitled
to tho money. Of that no one pretends e
make question. lii equally certain thai
thc ma,ori'y of hem are in actual need .
the money. The scarcity Of labor, owing L
tho general depression Of business in al
sections. pr cssss heavily upon them. the.
belonging, il most instance to the workin;
classes. II they arc thrown ont of em 10y
msnt now, as many Of them already arc
their yr, spec, Of obtaining other situation
are n, til. junc,ure IS far from encouraging
Probably most Of them will be compelled t
remain idle during the entire winter This
particularly if they have families dcpcndcn
upon them. is contingency they are it'll,
prep .red to meet. Ii these boun,ies are t,
be paid at all they should be paid at oncc
There should be no delay in ascc,tainin
the truth of soldiers claim, and the a,nonn
should he forwarded Immediately. Tn
convenience of the clerks OF officers Of tn
Department should be the last consideration
20 have weight in the matter. Instead
however, il appears to be the first an,
weight,est. This course is maniiestly in
different TO the welfare Of the soldiers; mn,
NO opposed to all justice it becomes the dut,
Of every citizen who believes the claims o
the s"lnic,s should be recognized to lift NJ
his voice against the unfair treatment thcy
arc receiving Either pay the soldiers o
plainly tel them they are undeserving, AN,
that their claims must DO ignored altogether
But do MT make a charity, or worse,
farce, Of justice.