St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-07-26
Some Survivors Of the Sa-
moan Disaster Are Verita-
BILE Joe Mutations.
Their Indictment Of Uncle
Sam for Cruel Treatment
Proven False.
Most of the Kiekers Were
Discharged From the Navy
for Cause.
ONLY Two Men Entitled to the
Sympathy of Patriotic
Americans.

WASHINGTON, July 25.-On the 18th
of June San Francisco papers contained
the statements of certain survivors OF
the disaster to American vessels at
Samoa. enlisted men on the Trenton
and Vandalia, which, if true, presented
a severe Indictment against the authorl-
ties of the country, especially of the
navy department, for cruel treatment
and heartless abandonment OF the SUI
ferers by that disaster. The papers
practically Endorsed the statements OF
The men, and reported that about thirty
Of them were roaming around the water
front of San Francisco, unable to secure
wages due them, destitute and de-
pendent upon charity for their subsis-
tence. The charge by the men was, in
substance, that they had not been
paid the "bag money! S60-which the
United States contracted to allow them
in case of loss of their clothes by the
sinking of the vessel; that their wages
prior to the date of the disaster had not
been paid them; that they had been dis
charged and sent adrift, none of them
with more than S25; that the clothes
furnished them at Samoa had been
charged for at regular rates, leaving
them little or nothing to live upon after
the cost had been deducted from their
pay: that Lieut.. Carlin, executive otfl-
Ger of the Vandalia, had refused to
sign a certificate for one OF the Seamen
to be presented to the fourth auditor,
by which he would be enabled to pro-
l.; ho ~ and finally that
when the men diSembarked from the
Rockton. on arriving at San Francisco,
THEY GAVE THREE ORGANS
for Capt. w. H. Farquhar of the Tren--
ton and that they were deprived of
what was justly due them, by subse-
uuent action taken by him, in spirit of
revenge. Copies of the newspaper arti-
Giles were sent to President Harrison
and six of the sailors joined In a petit
ton to Secretary Blaine, asking that he
use his influence to have justice done
them. Attached to this petition was a
CODY of one of the newspaper articles.
These were referred to Secretary Tracy,
who ordered that an investigation be
made as to the truth of the statements.
The papers in the case have just
reached the navy department and make
the following showing. Commodore A.
E. K. Benham, of the Mare Island navy
yard says that the newspaper articles
have gram of truth in them, and
great deal of exaggeration; that the
attack upon Lieut.. Carlin is unjust in
the extreme, for the reason that he re-
NAMED at San Francisco by his own re-
uuest and was temporarily assigned to
the receiving ship Independence, in
order that he might be able to look after
the interests of the Vandalia's men and
aid them in obtaining an early settle
ment of their claims. AS to complaints
of discharged men, the commodore says
it is hardly necessary to remind the au-
thoritieS that men cannot be held be-
yond the date of their enlistment. He
further furnishes a statement made by
Lieut. Burnett, showing the amounts
paid o the men, tifty-nine in all, who
reached San Francisco. These range
fro m S26.S1 to $272.0S, in DO case being
as small as the largest amount said to
have been paid the men. Eighteen of
the men are reported as having
DESERTED AFTER ARRIVAL,
and of course they received nothing.
Lieut.. j. w. Carlin states that Of the
nineteen Vandalia men, who, it was
positive ''were roaming about the
water 'front.'" one was discharged at
his own request, two were discharged
at the expiration of enlistment, three
were discharged by sentence of court
martial, and thirteen were deSerters.
The clothing issued to the men at
Samoa was charged to them at dis
cOunt of &C % per cent. 1t was good
clothing, worn by officers and men
alike. AS to the ''bag money!" it is
stated the government does not sign a
contract to pay $50. 1t does promise to
pay as much as $50, on certain con-
ditions. The lieutenant says: 1.-The
claims of the men were excessive, as a
and wrecked in March can justly claim
his paw for the two months and no more.
If he has drawn $50 worth of clothing,
he is in debt for the last SIP. Capt. Far
quhar could not and did not have an
order regarding the amount of money to
be distributed to the Trenton men. The
amount of money actually allowed was
one months pay, and the sailor who
complained that Lieut.. Carlin refused
to sign his application to the fourth
auditor, was told that it was useless to
make the application until that official
was in possession o certain data, which
could not possibly be furnished before
the last of July, but refused to accept
the statement as final, whereupon the
lieutenant told him to make out
his own application" The officer
says he did not know the seamen had
obtained blank to be signed. He
further says: "As to the statement
that Il would help no one to get his
money until got mine will only say
that am here at my own request for
the especial purpose of putting the vari-
Gus records in shape so that the fourth
auditor may properly
SETTLE THE MEMS ACCOUNTS.
"This work is now finished; applica-
tions for indemnity otherwise known
as bag money! have been made out for
all men, dead or alive, and have as yet
taken no step toward getting my own
"There are six names signed to the let
ter to the secretary of state, viz: Nc
Cluskey. Stewart, Devine, Bleid-
ner, Lane and Boyle. McClus-
key was not at Samoa at
all. Lane was discharged by court.
martial. He was on board the Nipsic,
which was not sunk, and he has not a
shadow of claim for anything. Boyle
and Stewart were discharged by court
martial. Bleidner and Devine were
discharged at the expiration of enlist
ment. All of them except Boyle were
paid in full, but some of them had a
claim for loss of personal effects.
O'Donneil, the other man mentioned by
name in the newspapers, was discharged
by sentense of court-martial. The only
men entitled to sympathy are Johansen
and Steehmer. They have money due
which they cannot get at present. The
claims must follow a routine in the
fourth auditors Office, and, if l am moi
mistaken, an act of congress is neces
sary."
HMINn0nr AND 1NhNhMaH lid