The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-02-27
THE ALABAMA CLAIMS.
Important Decision in Test
Case.
THE RULING OF THE COURT IN
DETAIL.

WASHINGTON, Feba26.-The Court of Com
missioners of Alabama Claims this morning
decided the case of Samuel Stevens of Boston
v. the United States. This was brought as a
test case 10 decide several important points
relative 10 the powers of attorney and assign
ments In war premiums and other Cases. The
case was brought to recover claims paid for
war risks. The court holds that the claims
are claims against the United States aud not
against the Geneva award fund which is COW
cred into the Treasury and not different from
any other money in the Treasury. For this
) reason the court decides that the claims come
within the act of 1874, and that any transfer :.
or assignment, or power of attorney, or order
for receiving payment of them made after the
passage OF the act of June 5, 1882, and before
their allowance and the issuing of warrants
for their payment, are absolutely null and
void. The following are the conclusions of
the court IN constituting the act under which
it is oFganized
sion in both houses of Congress. Every clause
was carefully sc, utinized, and as finally
passed 1t expressed without doubt in fitting
words precisely what il was intended to ex-
press. The last clause of section 18 reads as
follows: And all other liens upon or assign
ments, sales, transfers, either absolute or CON
dltIonal, for services rendered or TO be ren.
dered about any Claim or part or parcel there
OF provided for in this bill, heretofore or here
after made or done before such judgment is
r.
he absolutely null and void and of none ef-
fect,' giving to this sentence its only possible
grammatical construction we find in il an ex-
press declaration that all liens upon these
claims before Judgment are ''null and vod.'
But we are not driven to rest our conclusion
upon any construction of the language of the
act OF 1874. Pursuant to the provisions of
that act, and after the judgments and ex-
penses of the court had been paid, the re-
nainder of the fund was covered into the
Treasury of the United States, and from that
day to this it has remained undstinguishabe
from any other moneys in the Treasury On
June B, 1882, in continuance of the same BEN
eicent spirit which characterized the former
act, Congress passed the act re-establishing
this court and providing for the payment of
claims which were not admissible before the
former court, and had not been recognized at
Geneva with the proviso that the whole
amount paid out in satisfaction of these claims
"shal not exceed the amount remaining of
the Geneva award and interest as 1t was when
actually covered into the Treasury" Now
throughout both of these acts the demands to
which they refer are called "claims, ;" and the
parties holding them Claimants. The cases
when filed are entitled cases against the
United States The counsel for the United
States meets every case with general denial.
and the claimant is obliged to substantiate
strict legal evidence, aud if he fails in this,
his claim is rejected. In no essential partic-
ular does the mode of procedure in this court
differ from that in any court where contro-
verted questions of law and fact are tried and
determined, except that. by the terms of the
act, we are made the final judges of fact as
well as law