Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1890-08-08
MICHIGAN NEWS.
THE STRANGE CASE OF MR.. AND
MRS. GUSTAV SCHMIDT.
Local Option and Original Packages
in Van Buren,.
The Happenings OF the Past Few
Days Briefly Told.

LANSING, August 2.-The board of state
auditors, to whom has been referred the
matter of payment of state bounties under
the recent decision Of the supreme court,
have dee id ID as follows:
No state bounty was authorized previous
to March 9, 1868. At that date an act was
passed authorizing the governor in his dis
erection to cause to be paid from the war
fund such sums for bounty as he deemed
necessary, not to exceed $50, to each vol
unteer, etc. The governor issued an order
paying bounty of $50; to the following list
of regiments, batteries and companies:
First regiment engineers and mechanics.
First regiment sharpshooters.
First nine regiments of cavalry.
First "a regiments Of infantry.
Batteries A to nj First light artillery.
Companies G, 1 and X First United
States sharpshooters.
First and Second sharpshooters attached
to Sixteenth infantry.
First and Second sharpshooters attached
to Twenty-seventh infantry.
The bounty was paid until November 10,
1868, at which date the governor, by order
No. IL, discontinued the payment of the
bounty, and no state bounty was paid until
February 5, 1864. AT that date the legis-
lature passed a law giving 500 state
bounty to each person below the rank of a
commissioned officer who should enlist and
be properly credited under any call or order
of the president or military authorities,
made or issued since tho first day of Janu-
airy, A. ID. 1864.
Payment of bounty under this law was
made until May IA. 1864, at which date
the governor issued an order disseminating
the payment of bounty, and no bounty was
paid until February 8, 1865, at which date
the legislature passed a law giving $3.50
state bounty to those who enlisted after
that date and were properly credited.
There was law passed giving $50 state
bounty to veterans who re-enlisted after
two years service in the company and reg
iment to which they belonged.
The decision of the supreme court re-
Gently given in a mlndamus case only eff
feots those who enlisted between May IA,
1864, and February 5, 1865. The records
OF the quartermaster generals Office show
that all other bountieS have been paid. If,
however, any soldier enlisting at any time
other than between May IA, 1864, and
February 5, 1865, claims that he has not
been paid his bounty, he can present his
claim to the board of state auditors, and
the board will thoroughly examine the
claim. But, as shown above, it is hardly
probable that any of this class of claims
can be paid, though thousands of them
have already been received, filed and ex-
amined.
The board has u large force of competent
clerks industriously classifying these claims
presented, and will get them in shape for
settlement as fast as possible. The work
involves the adjudication of claims, the set
ding of which will require an enormous
expenditure, and the board of auditors will
sift these matters as thoroughly and as
rapidly as is consistent with the interests
of the state and the soldiers. 1t will great
ly expedite and simplify their work if sol
diers who enlisted at other times than be-
tween the dates above indicated will desist
from filing more of this class of claims,
which in the very nature of things cannot
be legally paid.
The board recognizes the fact that thou
sands of soldiers who enlisted at dates
other than those indicated above honestly
believe they have never received or as
signed their bounties, but the records of
their payments or assignments are on file
IN the military archives of this state and
signed by these claimants. This board
cannot go back of these records, which
stared them in the face in thousands of
cases.
As there is no money in the state treas
ury out of which these claims can be legal
ty paid all this work on the part Of the
board is only in the nature of an adiudica-
ton, to be followed by payments when
legislative action shall have provided the
necessary funds therefor.