Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-10-16
How RADICAL EAST TENNESSEE
ANS MAKE oEOYALTY PAY.

act provided for the appointment of
commissioners in every county in
the State to ascertain and report the
amount Of loss sustained by these
"loyaP' citizens, with the view OF
asking Congress to recompense
them. When the report of the
State commissioner was submitted
to the Legislature, we showed that
in ten out of the way counties in
East Tennessee in which the whole
taxableproperty in 1860, according
to the Comptroller sreport, amount
ed-to $415,S the "loyaP citizens
alone sustained losses amounting to
SS63,5S7, or more than double the
value of all the taxable property in
those counties. This effort to make
1oyalty" pay has so far failed, for
Congress has not yet made an ap~
preparation to recompense these
"loyaT' citizens. 1t is rather re-
markable that this effort to make
'loyalty" pay did not succeed in
part at least. This "loyalty"
dodge was convenient one for
Radical sharpers, and they intro
duced it into general practice and
made it pay handsomely. In the
collection of trumped-up claims it
acted like a charm, except in this
effort of Tennessee ''loyalists" to
get over six millions from the
general government. The New York
Journal of Commerce gives an
illustration of how swindles of this
character were perpetrated. That
paper says: can act of Congress
passed July 4, 1864, deprived the
Court of Claims of Jurisdiction
over claims against the United
States growing out of the destruo-
ton or appropriation of, or damages
to property by the army and navy,
and gave all that to the War De-
partment, by certain officers OF
which the claims were to be exam~
med and by them recommended to
the Third Auditor of the Treasury
for settlement. While some atten-
ton was to be paid to the proofs
of claims, the greatest possible I'M
portance was attached to the 10y
alty' of claimants. They must be
stamped all over like brandy cask
with certifcations of genuiness IN
that Respectively must nave taken
the oath of allegiance. A United
States officer must have certified to
their loyalty They must prodnce
testimony of citizenship from the
clerk of the county where they
reside. And, finally, two persons
must take oath as to each claim
ants identity. Upon this display OF
proofs, and some evidence THOUGH"
ing the actual infection of the dam
ages for which compensation was
sought, it was not difficult to OBJ
tain the payment of claims As an
illustration of how this loyalty
scheme worked, the same journal
| publishes a letter written by a cor
respondent at Washington, from
| which we make the following ex-
| tract;
The firm of Blackburn Il Hanford
| claim agents in town in East Tennes'
see. were largely interested in procuring
payments upon this class Of claims
| Col Blackburn, the senior partner
had previously been and continued t.
act while associated with HanfOrd, as q
volunteer revenue detective, his salary
being the notifies allowed by law to III
formers against Illicit distillers o
whisky He came to Washington il
1865 with claims for Quartermaster'
stores, amounting to $4,000, expecting Il
get them through the departments in
few DAYS, but failed to do it. lie placed
| them in the hands of a claim agent OF
Seventh street. borrowed $1,000 upoI
| them and went back to Tennessee
Thew were presented In the regular wa.
| bv the Washington agent, and have nov
reached the Settlement Bureau, havlnt
passed through all the rest One I'm
morning Hanford (Blackburn's partner,
as well as a large amount of cash de
rived from bounty claims that had gus
been settled was missed, and nelthe
have since been heard from. NOV
blackburn comes to Washington an
renresents that the claims for Quarter
masters stores are all fraudulent; tina
they were made up upon false papers D
his PARTNER without his blackburn S
knowledge. In addition, he aiirms tha
a certain lieutenant, then connected wit
the Quartermaster' department in Eai
Tennessee, now in the regular army, act
ing in the Freedmen's Bureau, was
close friend of Hanford, that from the
| conversation, about the time these claim
were made up he inferred they keI
/ we'll supplied with proofs, forged
blank. lie says he has found sewers
blank certificates of loyalty, ready signe'
ard blank certificates Of citizenship
- bearing the signature Of tho clerk of th
clerk Of the County Court, and the SCI
of the court in Hanford's desk. III
5 mention of the name Of the heutenal
? above alluded to reminded tn officers
the Treasury that he too had been
claim agent, and the record was examlI
. ed From that source and from privat
I inquiry it has been discovered that /
drew several thousand dollars upon
J. batch of claims; that there are no "brl
T. | marks" upon any of the papers shown
the red-tane evidence OF their havlI
E" passed through the tedious departmel
i routine; that no clerk or other persC
y has any record or remembrance OF the
having passed through his hands, cons
G qrently they must have been sprung
# the first start upon the Settlement b
reau. In addition to this, it is certa
1 that in less than two weeks after be pr
h sented the claims they were paid, VIII
o the usual period required to accompl
such business is from one to four yea,
y and, worse than all it is discovered tn
e the papers themselves, the Treasu
, warrant and the Endorsement up