The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1869-07-01
Daily argus.
Thursday Evening, July /, 1889.
AN IMPORTANT LAW QUESTION,

A suit OF conslderaDie ihNEes' "pu $50
portance was recently brought IN the oir'
emit Court of Allen county, n.y. BY II. b.
Gaines against Samuel Carpenter, who is
now a resident of this state. correspond
ont of the Bowling Green Democrat thus
states the facts and issues in the case
This was suit brought by Mr.. Gaines
for the recovery Of money. The charge be
ing that Carpenter illegally combined with
the military, during the war, to coerce the
money sued for, from the plaintiff, The
facts were these: Carpenter was one Of that
class of Union men, who are disgrace to
any cause, who though being young man,
could not obtain his consent to defend, IN
s,the cause he pretended to espouse-but
followed one regiment and another around
during the war, until he BECAME nuisance
TO them all.
Young Carpenter owned house in Scott
vile. which was burned during the war, and
supposed to have been done by the Confed.
crates. Burbridge was then in command in
Kentucky, and to him Samuel Carpenter
applied for an assessment upon the rebel
sympathisers, to pay for the burning of his
house. The levy was made and $4,000
collected, the house being worth about
$4,000.
Great difficulty was found in obtaining q
jury, as nearly every one had been levi
ed upon in a like manner with the plain
tiff.
However, the case did not go to trial, as
the defendants attorney applied for change
of venue, transferring the case to the United
States court, by virtue of the defendant be-
ing resident of another state, he having,
sfter getting such good pay for his house,
removed TO Illinois.
The conclusion of this suit will be watch
ed with interest, as it will be the test for an
hundred others.
In the result Of this suit is involved the
ill.gotten gains Of thousands Of men through
out the border states, and if decided favor
ably to the plaintiff, it will draw into thu
vortex of expensive and ruinous litigation
hundreds of army officers who fancied them
selves in enviably nice situations in the Dor
der states, playing military tyrant over wo
men and children and unarmed men, while
their less fortunate comrades were at the
front bearing the brunt of the battle. The
extent to which such outrageous levies al
this were made in the border states dur
ing the closing years of the war is probabl
not conceived Of in more Northern commu
mites that never fell into the absolute cor
troll Of military satraps. 1t was the uniforr
custom for the most oppressive and excessiv
levies to be made upon so.called rebel syH
pathizers TO reimburse Union men for lossei
of property throughout the whole extent oil
this border country The process was as
summary as it was simple. fla Union man
sustained loss Of any kind which YVES not
known not to have been iallcted by rebel.
or bushwhackers, he reported bis loss, at hi
own valuation, to the post commander, ant
furnished him list Of the names of promi
nent so called rebel spnpathi2o-a "a Al
ueirbL-.Lvvu, who were supposed not t.
sympathise with him in his loss or agree will
him in political opinion, and the comman,
der would ascertain the valuation of proper
y assessed to the persons constituting thu
list and apportion to each the percentage Q
the Union mans reported loss, and give hir
generally ten days to pay it over in, and
default OF payment he was either assigned
place in prison or his property was seize
and applied to the objects of the levy.
The interest which the parties feel in thi
case and its importance to hundreds Of 9th
era, will probably secure for it more thai
ordinary attention from attorneys and from
courts, and will very likely be finally dis
posed of by the supreme eour. of the United
States.