The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1876-10-05
Who has Profited by the Claims?
Cincinnati Enquirer.

The Cincinnati Commercial, in CON-
mon with other unfair Republican
organs, is trying to make party capital
by falsely representing the position of
the Democratic party on the Southern
claims question. 1t would be interesting
to us to be shown how many rebels have
received dollar on any claim presented
by them to Congress or the Claims Com
mission since the war. Not one, unless
Republican Congress passed the same.
The Commercial prints the bill of particu-
lars of what it calls Gone of the modest
little claims" presented to Congress by
Annie Whitmore, alias the Widow Wal
lingford, who processes to have been
resident of Whitefeld County, Georgia,
during the war. Her claim foots up
$S40, ,493. The woman, we are assured,
is as much of fraud as the claim she
has duped some foolish Congressman to
present. We saw an expose of this piece
of business published in several news
papers many months ago. Miss Whit
more, or the Widow Wallingford, or
whatever her name may be, claims to have
become possessed of vast amount of
property, which she said she inherited
from her father, uncle, or somebody else,
during the war, which she says was de-
stroyed by the Federal forces. She pro-
fessed to be truly loyal during the war.
One who knew her and her family con-
nections, wrote to Leavenworth,
Kansas, paper six months ago something
about the gentle Annie. He first charged
that he had been resident during the
war of Whitefeld County, Georgia, and
knew her and her father, uncles, ETC.,
that they were all in poor circumstances,
and that Annie had very bad name
for truth and veracity. She is accused
of loving some of the Federal officers
better than she did her husband, and was
so infatuated with one of them that she
travelled way out to Leavenworth with
him and there behaved so badly that he
had to shake her off. She went to Wash
ipgton for time and was artful enough
to dupe some credulous Congressman
into the belief that she had been rich, and
loyal, and virtuous, during the war, and
worried him into presenting her claim to
Congress. A person who professed to be
acquainted with the facts has asserted
that, so far from Annie's relatives leav-
ing her such an immense fortune, they
were almost too poor to afford to keep
mule to pillow in their corn
patch. Several fraudulent claims have
been allowed by the Republican Office
holders in Washington since the rebel
lion. Republican worthless have put
through by perjury, bribery and fraud
not only fraudulent pension and bounty
claims, but many of larger magnitude.
A Claim Bureau was established by the
Republican Congress to oattend especially
to the claims presented by the favorite
lobbyists who have swamped Washing
ton and defled the Capitol and various
Government Departments since the war
Only short time ago the Brooklyn Courts
were trying to bring to punishment a
man, professedly from Arkansas, who Sc
cured, it is asserted, by fraudulent means,
the settlement of cotton claim amount
ing to some 100000. Of this 100000
a good sum went to pay the lobby, law
yers and Radical officials who helped en-
gineer the claim through. The Fort
Sugg claim and numerous others might
be cited in this connection.
We have not the slightest doubt that
Annie Whitmore's, or the widow Wal
lingford's claim, is false and fraudulent
one. There have been similar ones pre-
sented to Congress. Members do not at
all times scrutinize these claims and bills
as closely as they should, but present
them and let them take their usual course
be referred to the proper Committees
for investigation. One of the latest
claim swindles we have heard of was
that enacted by the Republican Senate,
which, at the instance of Morton, Of
Indiana, deliberately appropriated over
$4,000 of the peoples money to pay
Pinchback, an asI irant for a seat in the
United States Senate, which seat it was
clearly shown he had never been elected
to. But this act was simply in keeping
with the "liberal" policy of the Re
publican party. Any citizen of the
United States had as much right to de
mand money of the Senate as Pinchbacl
had in this instance. If the Republican
party would punish its members wht
have profted by fraudulent bounty
pension and war claims since the war,
considerable army of thieves would b,
detected and some of our State Peniten
tiaries would be doing better business