The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-12-02
Soldiers Home.

AT meeting of the trustees of the Soldiers
Home at Montpelier, last week, Colonel A. S.
Tracy of Middlebury said the statement in
Mr.. Deavitts circular that Vermont had an
agent residing in Washington to prosecute
our " war claim" with an agreement to re-
ceive one-fourth of it for his services, was
too ridiculous to be believed by the people
residing in his section of the state He had
talked with Ex-Governor Stewart, who knew
nothing of it, but wished to know who the
governor was that made the appointment,
as he did not believe that Vermont had ever
had governor who would do such thing.
Captain Frank Kenfield, the representative
from Morristown, who was member of the
committee on military affairs, stated that it
appeared before the committee that the ap-
pointment was made by Governor Fairbanks
and Audtos j. Z. Ladd. He also stated
that the committee were in favor of taking
the claim out of the Washington agents
hands and placing it with Mr.. Deavitt, who
had agreed to prosecute the claim without
pay, provided the sum collected be given to
the Soldiers Home. The auditor of ac-
counts appeared before the committee and
promised it that if the matter was left in
his hands he would make the proposed
change of agents himself, and an act was
passed in accordance with his wishes, leav-
ing the matter with the auditor Il. j. Deav-
lit, Esq, was invited to state what he knew
of this matter. He said that after the adj
journment of the legislature last year Mr..
Powell the auditor of accounts, came to his
Office and informed him of the arrangement
he had made with the committee, substan-
TALLY as stated by Captain Kenteld. In
March he saw the auditor again, who in
formed him that he had had an interview
with the agent at Washington and that the
agent, while he did not question the state s
authority to revoke his appointment begged
not to be removed, and gave as a reason that
he thought he might be more successful after
the change of department officers under the
new administration; and besides he was OF
the opinion that congress would pass law
soon that would give Vermont something
on the war claims. The auditor returned
home without taking any action, leaving the
claim in the agents hands In answer to
an inquiry by Colonel Stearns of Bradford
if the Washington agent had collected any
thing on the war claim, Mr.. Deavitt said he
was informed that he had, soon after his APP
pointment, to the amount of $1,000; that in
an old report of the auditor of accounts he
found where the general government had
paid our state $4,000, but did not find that
over 81 800 of it had reached the state treas
ury. He was then informed that there was
an agent who received percentage, and he
supposed it was fifty per cent, until he
learned from an auditor that the agents
commission was only twenty-five per cent
He had not discovered where the other
twenty-five per cent was. Mr.. Deavitt said
he heard it stated before the committee on
military affairs that the sum of $1,000 had
been allowed to the state before the agent
was appointed and that the money was
waiting to be called for by the state.