, 1888-01-15
sAMsrpEBT.
which Have Been
Pending Many Years.

Henry Clay said: 1T is a precious
right Of the people to think as well Of
congress as the truth respecting it al
lows" To some of our people who have
just claims against.th government which
would have been paid long ago but for
the failure of congress to provide the
means, "the,truth respecting it allows
no pleasant thoughts.
The writer was forcibly reminded of
this state of things recently, when in the
company of several old timers
the conversation turned to the
subject of claims against the
government which have been pending be-
fore congress for many years. A large
number Of our old settlers have rightful
claims against the United States, amount
ing in some cases to hundreds and in
many cases to thousands of dollars. In
dian depredations are generally the cause
of a majority of these claims. while in
some instances they are based upon sup
plies furnished the government or for
property destroyed during the war. An
other case, and one of peculiar hardship
to the claimant, is that of one of our
citizens, who claims over $4,000 from
the government for moneys expended
for clerk hire in the Cheyenne
post office from 1873 to 1880. The post
Office department during these eight years
allowed only 5000 per annum for clerk
hire in the Cheyenne Office. This barely
paid the salary of one clerk, while it was
i'm possible to conduct the business of the
Office with less than two assistants, who
often during the busy times of the Black
Hills excitement had to work day and
night in order to dispose of accumulated
mail matter and the increased registry and
money order business. The salary of the
chief clerk of the Cheyenne post Office
$l, 800 per annum), unproVided for
by the department at Washington,
was paid during these years by the
postmaster, who repeatedly appealed to
the authorities for relief, but meeting
with nothing but promises of an increased
allowance, which were never kept. For
more than seven years this official paid
from his private. funds 81, 500.".annually to
his chief clerk, making a total of 1000,
for which he has never been reimbursed
by the government. He has the state
ment of the late postmaster general, ex-
Senator T. o. Howe, that his claim is
proper and Just and should be paid, but
he is referred to congress for a deficiency
appropriation. He has, through his
Baltimore and Washington attorneys,
appealed to every congress since
1880, but has thus far failed to
receive any encouragement, with the sin
gle exception that in 1884 the senate pro-
vided for the deficiency, but the house
disagreed with the other end of the CAPT
toll. After the adjournment of the last
congress, he received the encouraging in
formation from his Washington attorney
that his children stood a fair chance of
getting 1.-THE money claimed provided
they live long enough"
The official referred to is the
n who was removed from Office on a
certain Sunday afternoon in 1880 for the
reason that a few hundred dollars, the
proceeds of sales of stamps, were not in
the Offices safe where the regula-
tons required the money should
be kept; the official who had Nd
vauced $ll 900 to the government
in order to properly transact its business;
who during hat time paid q per cent in
terest on money borrowed on his real
estate, and who expended this money in
paying the salaries of such men as Frank
NJ. Allen NOW postmaster at Lead City,
Dak.,( Capt. N. j. O'Brien, D. D.Dare,
VIM. NJ. Mast, w. f. Hosford, j. D.
Corey, J. B. Pollard, all of whom are
well known to have rendered most valua-
Bile and faithful services to the post office
department and the Cheyenne people as
post Office clerks.
We submit that the claim of this Off
cial is one that should long age have re-
ceived favorable consideration at the
hands of congress. To prove the Justice
of this assertion we need only to state
that soon after this postmaster retired
from Office the allowance for clerk hire in
the Cheyenne post Office was increased to
SO, 200 per annum. Further comments
would be superfuous.