The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-10-07
ANOTHER RAID ON THE CLAIM
AGENTS


AGENTS.
NEXT to the whisky ring, there is no class of
men in this country who do more financial
injury to the Government than the claim
AGENTS. It is the study of their lives to add
TO the burthens of the taxpayers, and they
are never so happy as when they discover a
new pretext for mulcting Uncle Sam. Many
of the so-called "honest" cases which they
trump up are founded on a base betrayal of
the confidence of the nation. A clerk, for
instance, entrusted with the secrets of bu-
reau or department, discovers, from Govern
ment records, that a claim may be made by
parties who are probably in blissful ignorance
of the fact that they have the remotest chance
of recovering money from the nation.
But when the clerk turns claim
agent, or the jackal of
claim agent, this secret knowledge is
adroitly used, and by a fragrant violation of
confidence the governmental archives are
made to promote the spoliation of the Trea-
sury There is another class of claim agents
who Systematically trade in their real or sup
posed Influence" with the departments
Acquiring certain position by windy stump
speeches or important political connections,
they resort in turn to fiattery, threats, and
entreaties to induce public officials to indorse
claims of doubtful justice Among the vast
horde of public robbers who are imposing on
the American people the heaviest taxation
known to civilization claim agents are especially
ravenous and dangerous. If they could sue
ceed in all their schemes, and especially in
those involving compensation for alleged
losses during the war, they would
speedily bankrupt the Treasury beyond the
hope of redemption. They are perpetually
lying in wait for an opportunity to pounce
upon the people. If Congress is in liberal
mood, the moment is quickly improved by
the passage of questionable appropriation.
If a Cabinet officer or the head of bureau is
weak or venal, he is instantly besieged with
applications for the endorsement of doubtful
claims If President desires to accomplish
some important object, there is always gal
vanized political patriot, who is in reality a
claim agent in disguise, ready to suggest that
if provision can be made for the payment Of
Shoddys little bill, all difficulties in the way
of the accomplishment of the grand national
undertaking will vanish.
do not hesitate to resort to gross frauds and
crimes to plunder the Government. They
trump up witnesses to swear to any false
statement that may be nece ~sary to gain their
end, and they forge documents with graceful
4 facility. They are usually adroit enough to
escape the meshes of the laws which they con-
tinually seek to pervert, but we see by the
recent action of the Secretary of War, con-
firmed by the opinion of the Attorney-G General
that their operations are likely to be restricte
hereafter. 1t seems that claim agents must
be tolerated as a necessary evil unless
they commit some fragrant act of bad
faith, but the Secretary Of War is never
theless sustained in his Judgment that the
privilege of practising in any department may
be withheld ''on testimony of a less degree
than would be expected in case the party were
indicted and prosecuted criminally." The
Attorney-General also suggests that ''whege
frauds have been or are attempted to be COM
mitted upon the Government by agents, by
means of fictitious claims and other Devices
the statutes enacted for their punishment
should be enforced against them, and that
''where the provision contained in the pen
oiOn anu Dcullty dCIS uSSlSlGu lOI Jue piOJec-
ton of claimants against the cupidity and
oppression of their agents has been violated,
the guilty parties ought to be brought to JUS
tice.' We trust that Government officers and
United States District Attorneys will act
promptly and vigorously on this hint. A
good sharp raid on the claim agents would be
as useful in improving the national finances
as a vigorous prosecution of the Whisky ring
And while the operators on a small scale and
the grosser villains are hunted down, the
lawyers with big regulations, the clustering
politicians, and the ex-statesmen who are but
claim agents in disguise, should also be closely
watched, and when they are found to be trip
ping let them be denounced, and, if possible.
severely punished, They have already cost
the nations hundreds of millions of dollars
and if method for stopping their supplies is
devised it will be more fruitful source OF
financial advantage than dozen new form.
of internal revenue taxation.
MRS. iSTO WE AS An AD VERTLSER.
Mrs. STOWE has at last been heard from, but
with keen eye to business, even herdefense as