Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1871-12-20
GOVERNMENT CLAIMS.
Letter from Senator BrOwnlow.
UNITED STATES SENATE CHAMBER

UNITED O1ATESS fOENAIE y DAMBEk,
WASHINGTON, Dec. IL, 1871.
EDITORS CHRONICLE: take occasion
through the columns of your paper to make
n few plain statements to those having
claims against the Government of the Uni
ted States, some of whom have written
me, during the brief period l have been
here, urging the payment of their claims
by special act of Congress. That many
others are preparing to present their claims
for payment by having bills introduced, l
have learned through different sources.
Now | have this to say That l am not
Il claim agent and will not attempt to pre-
sent any mans claim, as | am often asked
to do, before the departments. There is
and for years has been "A law of the United
States prohibiting members of Congress
prosecuting claims against the Govern
ment, and imposing penalties under GER
tain conditions for so doing. This law is
wholesome and proper and l, for one,
don't intend to try to evade or violate 1t.
All the nonsense and falsehood given ut
terance to by demagogues and bar-room
politicians that Brownlow" or May
pardn or any one else, " is no account, " is
making no effort to have your claims paid
or it would be done,n will have no effect
upon me. | will not turn from the course
1 chose to pursue in this matter because of
any clamor that may be made. Already
there has been so many claims fraudulent
fy gotten through here, and some of them
of the most disloyal parties in the State
whose loyalty has been endorsed by eX-
Federal officers and other Union men that
the credit of our State is damaged and the
just claims of loyal men prejudiced.
From different parts of the State / am
called upon to endorse the loyalty of par
ties having claims of whose course during
the war L personally know nothing. |
am asked to do this because such parties
have their loyalty endorsed by ex-Federal
officers of high character and include men
from differsnt Northern States as well as
Tennessee.
1 have q rule on this subject from which
L have not departed since the war ended
and which | shall adhere to in the future.
1t is not to endorse any mans loyalty UNI
less personally know him to have been
consistently an enemy of the rebellion
from its beginning to its ending.
So far as the passage of special acts
by Congress for the payment of claims is
concerned, Congress will proceed cautious
ly.The general feeling is strong against the
passage of such bills, because of the frauds
which have already been perpetrated upon
the Treasury by the passage of these spec
ial acts.
At the last session, Congress, to be re-
ieved of all this special legislation, passed
n bill establishing commission, whose
headquarters are in this city, to audit and
report upon these Southern claims. This
commission has appointed sub-commis-
sions in all the eleven States lately in re-
bellion.
These sub-commissioners take testimony
upon the loyalty and business of claims,
and forward the record with their own re-
port on the same, in all cases, to the COM
missioners here, whose duty it is to report
the same to Congress.
We have our sub-commissioners at Mem
pills. Nashville and Knoxville, and to
these commissioners LET Tennessee claim
ants apply instead of to members of Con-
gress to introduce special bills.
have no doubt Congress will pay all
claims which are favorably reported by
this commission. Very respectfully,
w. q. BRowNLOW.