The tri-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1866-1868, 1867-10-10
EXTRA SOLDIERS BOUNTY.
Letter from Gen. Paine.
MILWAUKEE, Wis, Aug. 10.

81
MILWAUKEE, Wis, Aug. 10.
His Excellency, Luclus Fairchild, Governor
of Wisconsin -
DEAR SIR-I have received numerous let
tiers from soldiers of our State entitled to ex,
ira bounties under the act of July 90, 1866,
which disclose the existence of serious DIS
satisfaction with the progress made IN the
settlement of these bounties, and anxiety TO
ascertain who is responsible for the delay
whether it is unavoidable, and whether any
remedy of the evil is to be expected. find-
ing it difficult to answer at length all IN
qniries on this subject take the nberty
of addressing you pubic letter Ior the III
formation of all concerned.
At the commencement of the last session of
CONGRESS the House of Representatives adop-
ted a resolution directing the Secretaries of
the Treasury and of War to inform that
body whether additional legislation was ne
cessary to expedite the payment OF the ex-
ira bounties The substance of the inform
alton conveyed by their replies and by the
verbal statements of the Second Auditor to
members of the House, was that, in cases OF
claims made by living soldiers, the Paymas-
ter General makes the payment upon certit-
Gates furnished on his application by the
Second Auditor, who has the custody OF the
muster outrolls of the army, and, upon ex-
animation of these rolls, certifes the facts In
each case; that forty-five clerks were en-
ployed in the examination Of the rolls and
preparation of the certificates for the Pay
master General and for the Commissioner OF
Pensions who settles certain claims for pen
sions upon like certificates; that as many
clerks were engaged in this work as could
be safely and proftably employed; that
there had already accumulated in the office
of the Second Auditor 10000 unanswered
applications of the Paymaster General for
such information, and in the Paymaster Gen
erals office about Isl, 900 cases in which APP
plications had not been forN arded to the
Second Auditor; that during the last three
months the Second Auditor had answered
the Paymaster Generals applications at the
rate of A., 633 per month, and hoped event
ually to reach $4,000 per month; that the
settlement Of all the bounties due under
the act could not be effected in less than
years.
This information, if correct, showed that
the delay would be remediless, unless some
plan could he devised by which more clerks
could be assigned to this duty. A joint res
olution prepared by an officer of the Pay
Department, was passed by the House OF
Representatives, providing that photograph
ic copies of the muster out rolls should be
taken for the use of the Paymaster General,
which would furnish him fac simile of
every roll, and so render it possible to in
crease the clerical force employed on extra
bounty claims. We were assured by pho
tographer who had been employed many
years in the Treasury Department and had
copied papers much larger than the largest
of these rolls, that the provisions of the
joint resolution were entirely practicable
But the resolution was defeated in the Sen |
ate.
The photographer referred to thought |
these difficulties could be eaaily surmounted |
but the joint resolution was indefinitely post
poned by the Senate on motion of Senator |
Wilson, who said that :" when we passed the |
Bounty bill it was not supposed the work |
could be completed under three or four |
years."
On his motion the Senate dis posed of the
subject by adopting a resolution calling upon
the Secretaries of the Treasury and of War
for the same information which they had
already furnished in obedience to the order
OF the House of Representatives The infor-
nation that the Second Auditor had in his
office $4,000 muster out rolls for the year
1865, and therefore, probably, $50 900 in all,
led me, and l think many other Representa-
~ |
only forty-five clerks could be employed in
their examination. l coeld not see why
each clerk must have 5000 rolls I could
not see why, with sufficient office room and
labor properly systematized five hundred or
even one thousand clerks might not be en-
ployed In the examination of 10000 rolls.
did not regret that the House resolution
was defeated in the Senate, because thought
L saw prospect of obtaining relief by the
employment of an increased forced upon the
original rolls themselves. The impression
was very extensive in the House that after
all there might be at the bottom of the trou-
BILE some undisclosed reason not originating
in the necessities of the case, and at the close
Of the session a special committee was ap-
pointed to ascertain the cause of the delay,
and suggest remedy, if possible see no
prospect of relief for our soldiers who are
waiting for the additional bounties provided
by law.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant
HALBERT E. PAINE.