The New York herald., 1876-07-05
BOUNTIES.

BOO N les.
STATEMENT OF BoUNTIEs PAID BY THE uSIrED
sTATEs-Two HUNDRED AND EIGHTY MILL
ION DoLLARs ALREADY TAKEN OUT or THE
TREASURY.
WASHINGTON, July 8, 1915
While the bill equalize bounties is pending in tho
Senate, it will not be of place to lay before the
of the HERALD brief statement in relation to
the unexampled bountics already paid by the United
States in with the promises held out to SOL
ders on their enlistment, and TO bounties since be-
slowed by Congress to which the soldiers had no
claim either in law equity II is fact OF Sig
nlicance tha, paid Of the Treasury for
bounties during the Rebellion has never bcen stated,
either exactly approximately and that It does not
seem practicable to ascertain It. The amount dis
burscd account OF advance bounty TO recruits and
veterans on their enlistment be footed up within
dollar because bounties of this Kind paid
funds specially apart for that purpose and there
fore separately accounted for; but the balances OF
bountes h nded to soldiers the. discharge paid
TO them by instruments during their tc ms OF
were paid from the ppropratlon pay and al
jowances, and no separate record oi them was kept
UNCLE SAM PROMISED.
The government bouncs promised by Presidential
proclamation by acts OF Congress- and by the War De-
partmeni, shown in the following condensed state
mcLt which includes every bounty offered during he
war; varying with the date OF enlistment as follows:
BoUNTIEs VOLUNTEERS
April II, 1861. 10 December "a 1868, 500 for two
and three year
December a 1868, to April l, 1864, $500 recruits
Aprl l. 1864 TO July is, 1864, 500 to cnlistng
for and three years.
July IS 1864 to April So 1865 500 one year men,
$500 TO two year men, and $500 10 thrceycar men.
January l. 1868, 10 April !, 1864, $500 to veteran
volunteers
mea and Their substitutes.
December l, 1864, to January l, 1865 $500 extra
bounty paid In advance to men enllsing Hancocks
corps OF veteran volunteers
BoCNrIEs REGULARS.
July 1851, to June 25 1863, 800 TO recruits enlist
ing tor three and i've years
June 25 1888 January 1864, s4Oo recruits
January 5 1864 to April l. 1864 s4oo recruits en-
listing Tor three years.
April l. 1864 to July 49, 1864 500 to recruits enlist
June 90 1864 TO August l. 1864 $4oO to men serving
on enls,ments made prior TO July % 1862, who re.
july Is, 1864, TO June 81, 1855 $500 TO enlistng
for three years
BorSrIEs TO coLoRED TROOPS
Section OF the act of June Is, 1864 gave colorcd
men who entered the service UP 10 Jly Is, 1864 the
same bounty as white troops, ess horne the rolls
''slaves before April ~, 1861" and section
oil the act gave coored recruits who enIsted be-
tween October II, 1853 aud June 15 1854, tho
bounty white recruits il they were mustered zen
rolled and subject to draft at the time oil enlistment -
Under the act OF July 1864 colored recruits
titled TO the same bounties white recruits
500 year. $500 years $500 three
years Finally the OF March 1878, oblteraed all
distinction between white and Coored troops with
gard to bounty, by placing them the same footing
though they mad not been slaves when enlisted.
ADDITIONAL
The act OF July Is, 1856, which the result of a
compromise between the advocates and opponents of
an equalization Of bounty, gave 500 additional 10
three year men who enlisted between April 49, 1851
and July Is, 1864, and $50 additional to two~year
who enlisted between April a. 1861 and Ju Is, 1864.
! TWO HUNDRED AND EIGnry MILLION DOLLARS FOR
The amount ascertaDed To have been paid
| count of bountes is $l3S 600, 900, follows
Paid TO regulars and volunteers enlist
ment advance bounty $45 000 900
Paid to volunteers, their widows and legal
heirs through the accounting officers of
the Treasury Department ............. 25 OO0, 900
Additional bounty, act July 2S 1866. IS O00 900
| Total. sl3s 600 90
TO tins amount must be added the unuscortained
sums paid by army paymasers The muster rolls and
hnai statements of volunteers ana regulars. The dl
Guilty IN the way of determining the aggregate OF these
sums by any othV method than an actual examination
OF several million vouchers attributable to fact
that tens of thousands OF recruits and
received, in advance s25 OF the $780, and 500 of
$500 and S400, deserted before the unpaid balances
crued; that thousands OF aliens enlisted the
oil the United States and died, leaving entitled
to arrears OF bounty and that hundreds professional
bounty jumpers swnded the government of money
sufficient to to raise and equip several brgades Blu for
these drawbacks the amount bounty reported as hav
| ing been paid IN advance would determine the total
amount paid under tho several classes OF tountics
above specified. careful calculation made on such
data Is within reach. leads to the conclusion that
the bounty handed TO soldiers the pay table does
not fall sncrt C $1I2 600 00O thus making the aggre
gate amount Withdrawn the Treasury $3.50 600
1t should be stated that the United States have al
ready pad about $50 COO 900 than the soldiers
had any equitable right to expect, --s3s 600, 900
additional bounty undnr the oil July 2S 1866 and
about 81 0oO,OC0 to colorcd soldiers under the OF
March 3, 1873.
WHAT EQUALIZATION WILL COST
And now II is sought 10 swell this already immense
gratuty by extra douccur variously estimated at
from $2l 600 900 TO $500 000 600 Ii is instructive TO
note how wide and wild these estimates take.
Mr. Logan that less thau S2l 900 600 will equal
ize matters. other advocates of tho Equazlto bill,
having the soldiers welfare and view, place
the figures at $50 00O, 200. The late Vice President
Wilson, who said he came out of the with the
vcton burned into his heart and brain that the
should do justice to the who entered the war in
ITS early years without bounty or with only bounty
oil 500. asserted that by possibility could more
than 10000 coo $2, 600 900 be required during
Grs two after the passage of the act and tpat it
would not take from the Treasury than the of
1S66-S3S, U00. 600 The estimates of the Adjutant
General Pavmastcr General Second Auditor and second
Comptroller range from 500 000 SAL 600 0OO
while outside coDjeciurcs the $500 900 OOJ
IL is probable that The Adjutan Generals estimate of
slG0 900 900 Is AS nearly accurate any
be, especially the Paymaster General through whose
Office every muster roll containing payment Of
| bounty has passed, puts down the required at
| Sl05, 900 000
|