The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-08-09
REBEL WAR CLAIMS.
10
Tho Door Opened for a Fifty,
q Million Steal.
A BsIsolsd claln Ordered PAD By esn.
srsts Rebel Bsads PaIdThEss TInss
q Hgeh % LpSsI Roads zIhs liens
slipped Ia 10 cosfsrtnes. Aftss
sslSS EEpassd to comnlttss.

Nsli5aL EspSSlieaA 'ss
Inihs sundry siVil appropriation bin,
which passed daring the last hour. OI tie
I.s ,s,.fon Of Copgrssu, u, the following;
TaHy The uSasaIsr d iAs RIthssoSd 4 Dls-
i1SSI & de- y ~ ~ ssSIs,SIy q WG "a SsIiiSi
by he AeeoaBhhg oEesIS q - hE8S1Ty In ~
uehsnL No IL S7sl E0TSmbSI I, !t1e, Abd tbs Sun
Oi ti.sl7i IS Is bSfs6y lPTEOPhalsd foE that PaF'
This claim bad been considered BY the
House Committee on Appropriations, Of
which Mr.. Atkins wa chsiEnAb, and who
also Wa an GtiRe msmbeFsoi The confer.
snes Committee which agreed 10 inseEt
the item.
[ IISa 4 notorious fact, and within The
knowledge Of the COMMITTEES, that the pay.
ment Of this claim bad been SpecessIuiiy
combAlted BY Hon, J. DtCemeTon, Whsh
Secretary Of War, and BY sscreiATy shsr-
MAD iui the Treasury Department Who
had placed quislus updaii, % far As IL
payment from the TTsmury was con.
cefbed, BY an exposure eisilA character.
The Of The Treasury DepArtmeAI
show that all the papers, relating TO this
claim we're called Tor by The House Com.
mittee on Appropriations, The following
Il Ghistory Of the claim As shown BY thess
records:
The Richmold and DanyiIle Railroad
Company, in 1858, made claim upon the
Government iottrApsporling rebel pris-
oners sent home on parole ia uguae and
Sc eptember, 1855, Of the rate ottW cents
per mile per man, the military rate a.
iablished by the War Department, add
precisely the rate allowed the loyal rail.
road companies for trNporting United
States troops. The claim was for much
larger amount, but ouy such sum was al.
lowed ~ was paid to roads IN ihe NORTH
ern and Western States, tssS 9
Alter this payment the claim was per-
milted 10 resI until l876rwhen It was
again presented; the company charging
ak and hAiEeents per mile per man,
the highest rate for hrst class passenger
fare. This WaEpressnIedie!the Quarter
master. Generals Office when General
InRals WAS Temporarily Ia charge, and
under his direction the whole claim was
allowed, less the two cent? per mile
already paid. This extraotdinAry deci-
sion, entirely atSariAnceaEilh the fOrmAr
decisions Of the Department, was appr3y.
ed by Secretary BelknAp, and sum for
its payment was appropriated by Con
RreEa. 1t became necessary, however,
under the rouIiDe Of the Treasury DepsIi.
ment. before AsfnAl settlement could be
had, that the Secretary ut War should
make u reQuisitiOu upon the Treas
ury for the amount. In the meantime
there had been q change in the officials ol
the War Department, General Meigs had
again assumed charge Of the QuArter-
master Generals office, aud Secretary
Cameron had succeeded BelknAp. Whan
Secretary Cameron WIS applied to for
reuuisition he refused 10 issue 1t, and sIb'
miited the case 10 the Second Comptroller,
with the recommendation that the claim
bv rejected, under section l9l OF The
Revised Statutes, which 10 in these WofdS;
The bAlineSs which may tfoHi. .timS q sln.t b.
stated b. the Iuditor sod rofiihrd g Tie hcAds o.
Dspatlpasnts By the commIs iohey bl Customs OF
tlle Com pltplier Il tie TTIa.uty2 upon The tue
fnet Of putIt Bceohnts shall not De euhi ieeted 10
Ia changed OF noiIded by The heads Of Depart
mants, but shall be conclusive uI1u the executive
branch " the G1yernmsnt, and be subject " Ie-
vision only By CouyIs,s o. ths Prgle[ SotS; n,solr
WITrAnt for ahy balance certified u him ~ the
Comptroller, may, however, submit 70 sllth Comp
trolsr any facts, IN bis judgment, tuteuns ihe
correctnO Of such balance buIihe dteiaion oi the
C0mptrollIe Ih,reon ShAlle be eone!uI'e. @hetein
before provided.
Upon such submission Of facts the
Comptroller rejected the claim, and his
decision was approved BY Secretary sher.
man.
By some means the queslion whether
the Secretary Of War could properly pur'
sue the course be did came before Solici-
tor Raynor, Of the Treasury Department,
who gave lengthy opinion, in effect de-
nying that the Secretary Of War had such
Alright; notwithstanding the plain pro.
visions Of the section (19l). This decis.
ion, II adopted, would have carried the
claim through, but the Secretary Of the
Treasury declined to be governed BY II,
and the claim was again rejected.
With all these facts before them, with
a full knowledge that this was claim for
four and q halt cents per mile per man
more than was allowed roade outside Of
the ConfederAcy, the economical chair:
man Of the "reirenching' committee and
the Hfeform" Democratic House voted to
allow the claim, and the Secretary oil the
Treasuty. VA thus. forced To- open the
door 70 the pigment Of rebel war elainss.
There l. scarcely . road 10 the South thai
cannot come in aud claim like supple.
mental allowance, running up the charges
on the S0s:Sp%sSt e .:S %Ds ooo 0n shi' AoPoqn!'0
itis .,Ii III, fori4ed BY al. precs
dent, Iebsl railroad ring. composed Of
Southern railroad men and Washington
claim agents, has been formed 10 Press
this class OF claims upon Congress with
an I'm niense lobby, supplemented By Dam
ocratio sympathy for the "lost cause, :,