The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1869-11-12

creased, and the business of this branch
viii be more expeditiousiY executed than
heretofore.
The number OF accounts On hand, July l,
1865, in the ordnance, medical and miscelia-
neous division. which attends to the auditing
Of accounts for purchases of ordnance and
medical use1 in the army, for medical ser
vices, &c, and those arising under aPProPri-
D. coming s1cies Of ;aa army, secret
service, special acts of relief, and various
other ways, was 3,2I2, the number received
during the year Cos, and the number set
tied $50. involving IS i598, ,7O6O4, leaving
unsettled June 80, 1862 937.
The expenditure on account Of the Isdian
Bureau during the year was AIS, ,O39 As
arising from the settlement of 1863 accounts.
There we're on hand unsettled June 80, 1869,
277.
The number Of recruiting accounts on hand
July /, 1865, was PISS, the number received
during the year 67s. aud the number settled
l.l7s, involving 1854, ,O79 80 and the num-
Der unsettled June 30. 1868, ], 1886.
The reduction of the number Of claims for
bounty and arrears of pay has been lsrge,ahd
shows that the. interests of country s surviv-
iag defenders and the heirs of the fallen
heroes have not been neglected, fox which,
al the commencement of the year, there
were on hand sc, ,663 claims, and the number
receiving during the year was 54593. At
the close only 69,l97 remained unsettled,
consequently the number disposed Of was
s. 2ss. These numbers, aud the immense
correspondence Of the division in charge,
nearly 10000 letters having been sent out
from it, makes it apparent thss so vast
number Of persons throughout the country
are interested that the auditor dsvOtes con-
siderable space in detailing with great ex-
ac.ness the condition of tais branch of his
business. The amount involved in the GER
nficstes issued Is SIS. .3556ls, %. He asserts
that the payment of valid claims is much re-
tarded by the great number of those recelv-
6om partics not entitled, bnt who imag-
me or hope, under some Of the numerous
acts. resolutions and decisions existing,
something may become 70 them, aud this is
proyed by the fact that, out OF the "a 5'5
claims received, 26 526 or nearly On-half,
were returned. These all have TO be examin-
ed and. not specifying under what particu-
lar act or resolutions the claims Is made
through investigation Of the soldiers entire
military history has frequently to be made
,,vol,,ing much more time and labor than
are requisite where the claims are SPECIFIC.
A,o,hsr serious enhancement to the progress
of rhe VOL k is the extensive presentation Of
fraudulent claims in case ofcolored soldiers.
IN some cases parties falsely Pefsonate SOL
di,rs whose discharges they hive somehow
lae,,me possessed of, but more generally the
f,,rd is in pretending TO be heirs ofdeceased
soIdisrs In some cases as many as iVe aP-
,l;capts havs claimed to be widow of the
enc soldier. and fnstauess three and four
ara very frequent, each presenting perhaps
equally strong evidence Of marriage. The
babits and manner ofhfe of the colOred peo-
,,,s IN the South have been such that in many
nftbe.e cases there may be no fraudulent
,ntent or uutruthful statement but the
d;f;cultv Of ascertaining whether a claim is
fraudulent or no, and deciding who among
she claimants are the rightful ones, necessar-
ilv makes the examination tedious.
On the lst Of October there was an actual
.o.opnt of the claims for bounty on file, and
tbe nu,uber was found to be g, 1913, of which
n s52 had been examined, leaving pnexsm-
med 1916, of which number about 500 were
.waitino the decision of the Attorney Gener-
al uDon points submitted, leaving the exam
ming branch only about , 600 cases behind,
or in point of time two weeks. OF the 81
$50 examined, 1916 were suspended for
defects. leaving I4l36 correct Of which
number 1858 are held for information from
o,her bureaus, etc leaving the settling
branch 1888 cases behind the examining
branch, or in point of time about SIX weeks.
s;Dcs the organization Of the division for
Investigation Of frauds, about $4,000 have
basp secured, over S23.OOO of which haze
been received during he last fiscal year.
The Auditor complains of the want Of funds
to nav detectives or the expenses of clerks
,,bo could be detailed for Investigation, and |
rsnews bis RECOMMENDATION OF last year that
slO 600 be appropriated for that p1rPose.
The archives of the Office are very xten-
sive occupying all the available space of
twenty-five largerOons, and contain records
accounting for the disbursement OF more
than $500 ,OO0. OOO in money and property.
These are now being rs-arranged for better
preservation and more convenient reference.
The rec ommeudation is made that Con-
,ress urovide for at once closing the prop
ertv accounts of volunteers and officers who
have been out Of service many years, IN
view of the slight probability that they can
ever be adjusted, or that the government
can ever realiz. any pecuniary advantage
from further attempts 10 adjust them. As
all these officers have been paid for their |
military services, it is almost impossible to |
,escb those whose accounts have not already |
been settled. Such provision will enable
the bureau TO reduce its folce, and reduce
the expenses Of the cfiice about twenty !
thousand dollars per anpum-
The discharge Of clerks since the com
nepcement of the fiscal year has already re-
dueed the annual expenses some $225, 600.
The auditor closes his reports with
handsome compliment to his clerks, saying
a., tho condition of the office has never
been more satisfactory, and the duties never
more cheerfdlly or faithfully performed, and
links their clm 9ensatiOa inadequate
A Practical Flying Machine.
A member Of one Of the oldest and
,osr successful business establishments