Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1870-03-03
For the DAILY JOURNAL.
For the DAILY JOURNAL.
Review Of a Portion Of the
Report of the Commissioners
on the Equalization Of Mu-
nicipal War Debts.

on the Equalization Of Mu-
nicipal War Debts.
Tho Report of the Commissioners on the Equali-
zation of the Municipal War Debts, just published,
is, in many respects, document so extraordinary
to demand brief exposure of its numerous
errors Of statement, and denial Of its many seri
Gus charges and inuendoes against official as we'll
private character.
The topic upon which the Commissioners have
expended the greater portion of their indignation,
viruence and denuncaton, relates to the allowance
by U. 5. officials, and the distribution by individ-
ual citizens, Of the fet0 hundred of " names" all
told, to which they choose to apply the exclusive
designation Of paper credits" And it is to that
portion Of the Report alone that this review will be
confined.
Passing over the predatory remarks of the Com.
n'issioners, in which they seek to intensity and give
sort of dramatic effect to the observations which
follow very much in the style Of the commence
ment of James Novels, in which the &c solitary
borsemsn" makes his inevitable appearance -
PREDATORY remarks, in which they describe the
Army Of the Potomac, at a particular juncture, as
lying painting and exhausted in front of Peters
burg; whereas in point of fact, it lay securely
entreuched around Richmond, strong in numbers
and confident in its strength, awaiting Shermans
cooperative movement to the South, which finally
hemmed in and compelled the surrender of Lees
army, and led to the speedy explosion Of the
ment is represented frantcally calling for fresh
recruits and new regiments, and the men in the
field, in still more frantic tones as seconding this
call for help whereas in point Of fact the ranks Of
our army, thinned by the fighting from the Rapi-
dan to the Appomattox, had already been made
good, and such frantic cry went up from any
quarter-for the Government possessed abundant
means of supplying all needed re-inforcemeuts.
whenever wherever wanted ;-prefstory remarks
in which " crisis" in the war is described ex-
isting, rendering the replenshment of the army
question of life and death )" whereas, in point of
fact, such crisis existed, at least that few
hundred additional recruits could have allayed or
overcome ;-prefatory remarks in which it is more
than intnated that if these few hundred " names"
had been newly enlisted men, the army of tho
Potomac, instead Of inactiyely lying "panting in
its entertainments, would have been SO far stength-
ened by this fresh addition to its numbers, to
have made practicable immediate successful for
ward movement upon the enemy's works whereas
in point of fact, few of the recruits enlisted at that
period reached the front, but nearly all of
them remained inactive in homo camps, and were
finally discharged without much firing
gun passing over, we repeat, without further
comment, this lugubrious background to the picture
drawn by the Commissioners with the view of
heightening its effect, and without presenting the
orsground that really belongs to the picture show
ing, as such foreground would, how grateful were
these credits to the delinquent towns over which
the dreaded draft was impending, and how oppor-
tunely they to the relief Of the State Treasury
then depleted to point SO low as to necesstate
reduction by the Governor of the bountes to three
years enlisted men from $500 to Sl00, without law
and against law without enarging upon the
saving to the State of $500 per man on each and
all of these much derided so-calied 'paper credits
without, in fine, dwelling upon any of these col
lateral matters, let us proceed at once to an anay-
sis (sentence by sentence) Of the more substantive
sverments and deductions that follow this highly
dramatic preface.
The Report says AN individual made his ap-
pearance at the State Capital claiming to have
from Washington, and bringing in his pocket
long list Of names, many Of them quaint and unpro
nounceabIe by American tongue, and others uery
common as to be remarkable"
How did the Commissioners know that many of
the names were "quaint and gnpronounceable by
american tongue, and others " SO uery as to
be REMAREABLEp
They never saw the list, and don't pretend
that they ever did What, then, was their
object in thus characterizing the names borne
upon it? Was it not to insinuate that they
were fictitious, and the " list" fabricated one?
And what foundation had they for this sweeping
insnuaton? None whatever, as will be shown
hereafter
The Report continues --'' All of which he as
serted to be the names of men who had enlisted
in the service of the United States at some time
since the commencement of the war, and who had not
been credited to the quota of any State or muni-
cipality."
This language conveys, and was no doubt
intended to convey, the impression that the
individual alluded to presented naked list Of
names, and sought to establish, by his unsup-
ported assertion the fact that those names were the
names of men who had enlisted in the service of
the United States at some time since the commence
ment Of the war, and who had not been credited to
the quota of any State or municipality. Had the
Commissioners seen the - list" they so loosely
a..fp hauA all Al
essential requisites Of enlistment papers, certified
to by the proper certifying officers of the U 5 -
they would have found not only the names, but the
date Of enlistment and nature and duration of service
OF each man given with the minuteness common to
enlistment papers-they would also have found the
further TACT certified to, that all these men were
regularly enlisted into the U. S. service, and con-
sequently were properly quotable under the act of
Congress (of February, 1861 that they had not
been quotaed to any other State district and
that they rightfully quotabe to any district
or sub-district in the State of Maine.
The Report goes on -" And these names
offered to the officers aud recruiting agents of
municipalities who were looking for to fill
their quotas aud re-enforce the depleted army, and
Offering large bo unties for such Before quotas
could be cancelled by the use Of these the
approval Of the proper U. 5. officials must be
secured"
These names were never offered to the
officers and recruiting agents Of municipalities,
prior to their approval by the proper u s. officials,
aud the statement contained in the Report to that
effect is simply untrue.
The report proceeds
''The office of A. A. Provost Marshal General fer
Maine was then filled by honorable gentleman of
Maine and an officer of the regular army. To him
this remarkable roll was shown and his approval of
it solicited. That approval denied, and proba-
bly, with some expressions of honest indignation.
Not very long afterward this officer was ordered to
another field Of duty and his place supplied by an
officer from Western State. Then again appeared
at the State Capital the man ,oth me once rejected
list Of names. And hsncefoytoard ii seems there was
no official ueto upon the filing Of quotas Of cities and
towns pah these Thus far our statement in
relation to these ''paper credits" is founded upon
the best information We have been able to obtain
from inquiries and the collation. of many statements
made to us by persons having more or
less means Of knowing the facts as they occurred
For the absolute correctness Of the statement do not
pouch"
If the foregoing paragraph has any significance
whatever, it means to insnuate that Maj. Gardiner
was got out Of the way because Of his alleged re-
lection of the 'list' in question, and ian officer
from Western State," (Maj Litter) sent here to
fill his place. with the expectation that he would
and fba ,f