Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1883-03-31
CURIOUS CASES.
Some Very Peculiar Private Claims in
Congress.

WASHINGTON. March 30.-The House
clerks are engaged in making up list of
the private claims brought before thlt
branch of Congress for several years past.
The work was begun by the last Congress,
and has progressed Suflic' emily far that the
list makes two large-sized volumes, aud ye.
it is only fairly begun. Those presented in
the last Congress alone run away up into
the thousands, and in making up the list
for past Congresses it will become some.
thing appalling. The Senate clerks made
up some time since a list OF the private
claims presented in the Senate from the
Fourteenth to the close C the Forty sixth
Congress. This list numbers about 10000,
though many OF the claims are repeated
over and over again, having, after expiring
with one Congress, been presented iu
and again in those following it.
In the Past Compress the number OF
Private Bills
presented in the House has been about
four or tive times as many as in the Senate,
which would iniiCate that the House list If
extended back so far would run I'D to
about 10000. The clerks who are making
up the list find some curious cases. OF
those introduced, probably one in ten gets
consideration; possibly the rate may run
higher, out the chances are it is lower.
And about half those considered are pass
ed. The record ofmany Of these claims is
quite interesting. For instance, there IS
one of Mrs. Anna NJ. RobaldO, wife OF +.
Robaldo, claim for payment for property
destroyed by American troops in Mexico.
1t was introduced in the Thirty-fifth Con-
gress, first session, thirty-eight years ago.
1t dragged through this Congress without
action, and was introduced in the Thirty.
sixth, which treated IL no better, the Mill
tary Affairs Committee. 10 which it was
referred, not even reporting upon 1t.
He came to the surface again in the
third session of the Thirty.seventh Con-
greSs and presented at that late period in
the career of that Congress got, Of course,
no consideration. Ii
Reappeared Promptly
in the past session of the Thirty-eighth
Congress, and the only action it received
then was to be transferred from the Mill
tary Affairs Committee to the Committee
on Claims, where it ought to have been all
the time.
In the Thirty-ninth it appeared as the
claim of the heirs of Anna Roblas'y Rob-
aldo" poor Anna having yielded up the
ghost IN her long struggle for compensa-
ZION for her lost property. 1t came up
agsin in the Fortieth Congress in the shape
of bill which was referred 10 the Military
Committee and afterwards transferred to
the Claims Committee.
Il rece ived no attention, al least not sut.
fcient to that of any report or action, and
was presented again in the llst, AID, 43t,
44th and 45th Congresses without getting
single report from the committee to which
il was referred, the only action of any kind
in reference to il being to transfer it from
one committee to another, and once to
allow the withdrawal of the petition.
With the close of the 45th Congress, after
having been presented successiyely in
every Congress for twenty-tEo yeIrs with
out sction by single committee in all that
time,
The Chief Claimant
having expired in the meantime, it dissp- !
peared and has not since been heard from.
There are many more Eases OF similar
nature. though the majority are less PEI
,istent than these Mexican claimants were,
md as q ruie, if they find themselves un-
successful after about ten years, drop out
Jt the race. There are some curious claims,
.oe, among these thousands SO Presented.