Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-02-18
FRAUD.
THE CLAIM AGENCIES-sTAR.
THING REVELATIONS.
Gigantic and EncredIbie swim
dies PeFpetrated on the
Government.
S15, 900, 600 stolen in sndaFOund
Memphis.
How the Agencies work the
Thing.

4HCt kNaL certain HNtstt8hltOGS W0Lt
being conducted by United States Com
missioner Hartman and Mr.. TustiD, @
the Pension Bureau, which it was then
thought would probably bring to light
gigantic scheme and system of frauds on
the Government. Fer reasons obvious
20 every one, nothing further was then
said.
The investigation has since beer
quietly progressing, sad facts have lately
been developed which disclose 3 network
Of fraud and viilGiny ut the extent Of
which the Conn issioners and those who
have become cogniZant Of them, stand
agbast. The figures are absolutely sp.
palliDe, and so extensive are the rsmih.
cations, so bold and unblushing the vii
lainy, so long . time have the practices
been obtaining, that the Investigations,
though having been prosecuted with zeal
and srdor for several days, hav com
parstively but begun. The Commission
ers find at every step taken a new field OF
viilaiRy aud r8scality to explore.
We attended the sitting of the court
yesterday, and though the same reasons
which prevented q fnIl report g few days
agO, still obtain, and prevent US from
making the proceedings public, IN order
TO give our readers some insight into the
manner and magnitude Of Inc sWinGles
brought 70 light, We made the following
memoranda Of how il Is dOIe:"
THE CLAIM AGENCIES
are the great head center to which all
| the deviitry 30 far discovered has been
traced, and in which the machinery and
WE king details fer the whole system of
vi.l1iuy have been connected, perfected
and carried out. The following ia the
T9Oous OperGndi:
Waen 2 claim Is made against the
| Government for sTrears OF pay, bounty
" pension, 3 certain set of papers have
! to be- made cut, In q regularly prescribed
form, and regularly attested by certain
! DESIGNATED officials. Where the party is
sliye, and makes the application in per-
sen, he signs the document himself, pro-
/ ducinr 4 witness or two witnesses to the
TACT Of mis- identity. II the party apply
Ing be a widow, two witnesses must be
produced by her who testify to the fol-
lowing facts: First, to knowing her (;
seC0nu, 20 having witnessed her mar
riaEe with the deceased party fer whom
she claims bounty, detailing time, place,
ETC, Of msrriage); third, 10 having
known the twO as man and wife fourth,
TO having known the man as a soldier,
detailing cOmpsny, service, etc nth,
~ AHhhAAE 1.EA tAaE AEIC1H01 AaG 3 GA4eL
10 the esct that the applicant is still z
widow. FMS Testimony is then duly at
tested and certified by the claim agents,
| notary public or CLERK of some court.
Il would seem, with the above restrio-
tions thrown around the collection OF
claims, fraud ToEid be almost impOtsi-
Die; bat the contrary Is the case. n
deed, this very stringency liz made use of
rs q lever aud mean OF showing through
the,most unElushing and gigantic frauds,
and this Is
H WAY IT IS DONE.
Every claim agent has a copy Of the
rolls Of every company mustered into
the United states service, with the Dame
u esch IaaG, tie time when he was
mustered 10, and killed or mustered out,
and the place where it occurred.
There ara lying around the public
Offices, claim %Sgencies and FreSdmen's
Bureaus always q lot Of Idle negroes, ig-
noraEt TO = certain extent OF moral obi
cations, but 8 arp enough las are all the
race, proveTbislly), in all matters OF
ievIltTy. These negroes have, perhaps,
ogen IL the army anu have gone
though the routine Of getting their OWE
. eSuey and bounty, and ia them the
agent fnGs 1T tools for the proposed
gEindIe. CHANGING over bis rolls, he
saws: Here is Bin Smith, or Tom
Jones. OF Jack Johnson. They have
money coming to them. Don't you
think you can fad them? I WW give
gOU 80 much fer every claim you bring
D,s " Or, Johns6n, or JACK Jones,
ss killed at Fort Pillow, or died In the
hospiGsl-I know the dateF. Don't you
think you can find the widow ,"
$500. zr-1-ala -. .uFAE ErwA Nhnnn0
OF course they can, and as many mere
a. the claim agent chooses to name. The
Rum usually paid these TteaneTs by the
agents is from z dollar snd . half to
four dCllars, according TO tins nature and
amount OF the claim, ghe highest sum,
four dollars, Is paid for WidOWs' claims,
for they have generally in addition to
bounty, q claim Tor srreaTages pay, and
the prospect Of @ pension, a fact which
ingares the sgent a continued fee.
From the fact that flgG sre necessary
20 certify to the documents and fOrGas, as
described sbove, the runners hunt in
| couples. To any ons with any knOWl-
edge Of the character Of the negroes
Iounging around town. or, indeed, OF the
q generally, We need not say that
they have 40 dilculty in finding men
or widows" in any required number,
receiving their pay when the claim is
made Out.
TIE WAY IT PAYS.
The agent IL allowed, legally OF eourse,a
fee for claims, regulated by act ofCopgress
but this is nos the only mode Of deriving
profit from this DefariOus business. Al
though the rgDner is paid when the
claim is preferred, the agent Is very
caary OF advancing sny money to the
claimant until the claim has been
allowed, unless Il be a very good
OF plausible one. After he is
informed from Washington that
the allowance has been made, he adj
vauces small Gums, on the most eXorbi-
tsns and outrageous rates Of interest.
In many instances brought to light in
the present examination IS high ga two
hundred and nifty per cent. per month
have bsen charged, and in some, double
that rate, Often the poor dupe is psyed
in goods az a H1ueGnd per cent. adj
vance. Sometimes the negro is told
that the cheat or rsscality has been dis
covered, and 1t viii be- necessary for
him 70 sign q document %renOunGiDg all
claims on the Governmentand the agent,
or be sent to prison. The paper is
signed, and the agent Of course gets all
the claim. Beaides these there are innu-
mersble ways in rhich the sgents
&" turn an honest penny" and as a gem
eFsl gula they may be safely put down
as getting from one7hGls TO tbree-fourths
Of the whole claim--even when it IL
honest. Some OF these other ways we
viii snow up at the proper time and
place. We must nov proceed TO the
EXTENT OF THE FRAUDS.
When It is considered that there are
several OF these agencies in almost every
city 10 the South, and each of them have
sent in and collected their thous Gnds of
claims, some idea may be CLEANED of the
magnitude Of the field for fraud in this
line. II Is estimated by the commits
sioners now engaged in conducting the
examination here, that the SUM involved
in and around Memphis represented by
Memphis ageucies) amounts to FIFTEEN
MILLIONS ISIS, 900, 000l OF
These figures are startlIng-appalling:
but from the figures shown US, we have
NJ dopbtthat they are under, rather than
over the mark,
AN EXAMPLE,
TO show how the thing foots up. Among
the eight men now under arrest, and
whose examination was progressing YES.
- - L. ~ LNran h H.-l- - 49,