The National tribune., 1886-09-16
WASHINGTON GOSSIP.
The Weeks DOingS at the Ma
liOnal Capital
THE ALABAMA CLAIMS.

1913 Inc amount, SlOr0Ooioul' Nae piphhP'9
paid in gold coin by the British Government
II was immediately invested i'm United States
bonds. by the interest on which the iund Noale
ie augmented, The Court Of Alabama Claims
was created To adiudicate the multitude oi
claims presented During all these years the
court has been al work and the Treasury math-
enaticiaus have been figuring out percentages
aud paying the claims in full or in part, pur-
suant 10 the various DEGREES of the court, A
short time ago the tribunal passed out OF exist.
cuce after two or three new leases OF hle had
been granted il from time TO time by aci OF
Congress 10 enable il 10 complete its work Inc
court room in which the exploits OF haphael
Semmes were so often recOunted has been
given up aud the furniture sold under The
hammer of the auctionoer Within the past
few davs the warrants for the final oistTlbu-
ton 9l76 in number. have been drawn and
signed, and they being paid as fast as pre-
scented at the tellers window in the Treasury
building.
The claims were of two kinds, designated as
irst-class aud second-class or direct and indi-
rect The direct claims were for actual losses
by the depredations of the Alabama and other
Confederate cruisers--the capture and destruc-
ton Of vessels aud cargoes. The indirect
claims were for the largely increased premiums
paid TO underwriters Tor insurance during that
period. War risks came high while Scmmes
was securing the seas making his very name a
terror TO the merchantmen and whaiers. -Four
years were occupied by the court in deternin-
ing the iirsl-class claims. These were about
1900 in number, and were paid IN fuil. Oi
course, the amounts presented were rarely al
lowed, but when the court had determined the
sums Justly due they were paid without redue-
tiOn. PAYMENT of the direct claims was begun
In 1876. aud finished during the following year.
The whole amount paid during these two years
was $93l5, 753.l9. Enough bonds were con-
verted into cash 20 pay these claims, the bal
ance remaining invested pending the adjudca-
tiOn Of the secOnd-claSs claims.
The whole amount added TO the award by
WAY of interest was So, sos. 55S.l5, making the
total sum available SI9405 55S.l5. The ex-
penses of the court for the l3 years were
$3.50, 1850 leaving for the holders of indirect
or second class claims $9.3S9.0lO.33. The ag-
gregate of these claims after their determine
tiOn by the court was nearly S27,OO0.O0O. The
amount available was ordered TO be distributed
pro rata. The rate was a trlfe more than
IS 2-IO per cent. To be as exact as possible the
reckOners carried the decimal 20 ten figures
the precise per cent. ON which all the claims
were settled being .35221605i9. Many OF the
claims filed OF this class were ruled out, but
9l76 were allowed After diligent applica'
ti0n of the rules Of arithmetic on the basis OF
the percentage given above, involving an enor'
NOUS amount OF figuring, the sum TO be paid on
each was arrived at and the warrants were
filed out Assistant Register Fish had 10 sign
his name twice for each warTant-mOre than
$4,000 times in all. de says he is profoundly
thankful that his name is a short one. III II
were Gnggenhausen or Schwartzenheimer he
would have been IN the insane asylum before
he got through the sob. As il was it took hin
several days Of almost constant work. The
Alabama claims have been fat" as printers
would say for the lawyers, scores Of Them haV
ing had large pickings. Probably two-thirdi
Of the money has been paid 20 New England
a. -. ILL.,
New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland, and 1
few from the Pacific coast.
PENSION FRAUDS.
ain the annual distribution Of S63 900 y00l
among $4,000 people there must necessarily b,
some cases of fraud by people receiving money
that does not belong TO then" said a Pension
Office official the other day, but there is mo-
as much fraud attempted one would think
There is such a system of red tape regarding
witnesses aud afiidavits in the procuring of |
pension that a man who attempts fraud il
likely 10 be tripped upin the attempt. Then
there is such complete set of war records, hos
pital reports aud company rosters that it is
most difficult thing 10 procure fraudulent
pension common way OF getting snch pen
sion Is Tor man 10 persOnate a dead soldie
whom he knows 10 have hospital record clea
and authentic that would entitle him 10 pen
sion IL alive, and by getting people TO swea
that he is the man, run a pension through
But il is q risky business The most frequent
cases OF frauds, some OF them unintentional. ar
committed by women who have drawn pension
as widows aud have remarked.
under the law the pension then ceases. bu
frequently these women 20 right ahead draw
ing their pensions until they are discovered
There is no doubt la the world that there i
some petty fraud in the procuring Of pensions
That is. q man with some weak points in hi
case will have them strengthened by conrad
swearing falsely, he returning the favor in turn
But we pretty sure TO catch trRudulen
pensiOner sooner or later, and we are recovering
money all the time Last year we rec0yere
and turned into the Treasury between $1,000
aud $4,000 which the Office had been deiraude
Of Ia order to protect the Office and detect al
tempts al fraud we have stationed al difieren
points over the country about $50 agents VIII
are known Special Examiners. These me
have their headquarters i'm a city and froI
that point will make trips into the countr
around 10 look up witnesses, see if there an
such persons, and see ii they are reliable peOpl,
BY the efforts of these Special Examiners W
detect and prevent frauds in the Pensio
Bureau"
NE SHOWED FIGHT.
The army of claimants who annually marc
into Washington while Congress is i'm sessio
will have at least one new recruit next White
A n. Wilson, who was recently removed frOl
the P0StnasteHhip Of Savannah, Ga, becaus
he was an offensive partisan. lie refused
eyacuatc the Office, and the Department agen
hustled HIM cut at the point Of the bayonet an
Installed las successor The latter is Cap
Lamar brother OF the Secretary of the lat,
rOr, who prominent ia the attack on Fo
Sumter in April, lsGl. Wilson denies the nj
tbOrity OF the President 10 remove him. al
announces his Intention 10 take his case ini
the Court Of Claims. lie bases his claim on Il
Constitution OF the United States and intcn,
10 sue the Government lur salary, which wi
not be due until the latter part of Januar
1sSS. TIC date OF the expiration of his cOmmi
sion had lac been permitted TO remain midi
tnrbed in Office. dc states that he is now mai
ing arrangements 10 contest the question Ia a
Court OF Claims, hut fears that the Judges ma
decide against him because II has been the ca
tom SO long TO remove officials az the discrcliC
OF the President. III he should lose his case
the lower court, he is undecided about appea
ing 90 the supreme Court as he may not
willing 20 bear the expense. He expects
create revolution among lhe Federal Offices
he carries his point aud he will have gain,
the distinction Of being one Of the first e
officials 30 enter into contest with the Go
ernmcut Tor being tnrDed ont Of Office.
KEEPING BoARDERs"
The boarding house women Of Washingt,
are numbered by the hundreds. There arc &,
classes OF these. The first merely rent rool
aud the Second give board as well IL is gre
business in Washington Tor women 10 take lar
houses, paying from SO 10 $500 per mouth 1
them, aud then sub-iet the rooms 20 sing
gentlemen or 10 families as tho case may
They receive, a rule as much for Tie