St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-08-17
Court of Alabama Claims Furnishing Soft
Berths for Prominent Republicans at
Great Expense.
RefOrmers and Politicians Having a Lively
Fight for the Control of the New York
Custom House.
COMMUNICATIVE Chief Burdett SAYS
the G. a. II. VIII Erect n Monu-
ment to Grant.
The Virginia Campaign TO be Opened
at Once by Fitzhugh Lee, Wise
and Malone.
A Grand Fraud.
Special to the Globe.

Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 16.-The court OF
commissioners of Alabama claims will ex-
pire by limitation with this calendar year
unless congress can be induced to pass an
act prolonging the courts existence, which
is probably the thing the commissioners are
working for. 1t is very doubtful if the
business of the court can be finished up in
less than three months and this is all the
time the court has left itself. With an enor-
nous amount of pending business the court
adjourned July 20 until Oct. >.
Congress will not again prolOng the
existence of this court, but the
commissioners will let the claimants suffer
rather than put up with less than ten
weeks vacation. In fact the court would
have adjourned in June but for the vigor-
Gus protests of the attorneys of the claim
ants. For the accommodation of the court
the government hires an old-fashioned pri-
vate residence at 50. 900, when the adjoining
buildings of about the same size rent 10
PRIVATE PARTIES
for 81, 200 or S1.500. The three commits
sionerS get Sc, 600 each, and since they or
ganiZed three years ago they have been oc-
cupied with their judicial duties abouC half
the time. The commissioners are suspected
of being offensive partlsans.
The presiding judge is ex-senator and eX-
Secretary Harlan of Iowa, who acquired his
legal learning as college professor and a
Methodist minister. One of the associate
commissioners is Asa French of MaSSachu-
sets, who is president of the Norfolk
County club of Boston, Republican or
ganizatiOn. and in the latter part of June,
when business was very pressing in the
court, Mr. French abSented himself for a
week TO take part in the reception of Sena-
tor Logan in Boston. He presided at the
dinner given Senator Logan at Young's
hotel. The other associate is Andrew Draper
of Albany. who was last year chairman of
the executive committee of the Republican
state central committee, and superintended
the distribution of
ANTI-CLEVELAND LITERATURE.
These three men constitute the most
unanimous court in the country They
have decided about four thousand cases and
have disagreed only twice. Thus far the
court has cost about $780, 600. of which
$500, 600 was for printing. EX-Postmaster
General CreSSwell is counsel for the United
States at $4,000 year. He is president of
bank here, and has other private business,
so that he has very little time to give to his
court duties. He is seldom at the court
building after court hours, and in court he
is often represented by his associate, Mr..
Blaine's son. Walker, who has never prac-
ticed at the bar sufficiently to distinguish
himself and who gets SO. 500 year for
helping Mr.. CresSwell. Mr.. CreSswell finds
1t necessary to have the son of secretary
of state. or eN-secretary, TO help him.
Before he secured the son of Blaine he had
the help of son of Fish and a son of Freling-
huysen. Ali the members and attaches of
this court are convinced that congress ought
to extend the courts existence for several
years. 1t is terrible TO think that if con-
gress does nothing at all all of these gentle
men will be thrown out of employment i'm
the dead of winter. The court will see Ia
it that there are plenty of claimants still
waiting for decisions of their eases when
the end of the year comes and demanding
that the court shall be kept alive until they
get justice.