The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1890-04-04
PEOPLEsWITM CLAIMS,
THEY sOAErlMEs DIE. Nut THEM
HEIRS KEEP UP rae FlQrrT..

1A00 ASAkAe k&0I6AIN
HEIRS KEEP UP the FIGHT. :
4 aich Field Sbr E~nterprising Novelists-
The Foos OF . tor Sawyer-How sena.
tor Petsigrew OutWitted y Lnud.ShMrk-
Other Washlngton News.
ESPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE
WASHINGTON, d. c., April L.
Probably the hardest worked anil most
pestered committee In Congress- 10 that
having iu charge the claims against the
Government. II all the claims now pend.
Ing before that body were allowed It
would take . round $l0O. O0O, 900 out of
the Treasury. In vnriety aud gall" rep
resented i'll somo Of them they would
staRger the most vivid. imagination.
Many OF them have been before Congress
Tor half q century and are still being Wig.
orously pushed by the grandchildren Of
the original claimant.
The records Of this committee would
furnish the foundation for some very In.
teresting lomances, and It is a wonder
that enterptising novelists have not long
since taken advantage Of the strange
tales contained in the imms nse mass Of
documents on file here. The most thrill
ing romancer would find his creative
genius fsirly distanced in The tales of
Q Rtrdlel with red tape and pigeons
holed In this committee room.
To those unfortunate beings who may
have claims before this body it will not
be . very cheering statement when I say
that not more than one in every one hun-
dred appeals for relief made to Congress
over succeed In getting cven outside Of
Inc committee.rooM, to say nothing of
consideration directly from the hands Of
either branch Of Congress-. Beyond this
1t 10 fair to state also that only about
this proportion are entitled to consideya.
ton. The fact is, there are some most
rtdtculous IS we'll o. infamous efforts
being made every m nutc in the day to
pick Uncle Sans capacious pockets.
ing reading.
During the recent war Q we'll known
steamboat captain on the Mississippi
was plying his vocation up and down the
river, and while pretending to be loyal
to the Union, secretly carried provisions
and arms to the Southern arlnv. Caurht
in the act finally. his boat and cargo were
coniiscated by the Government troors.
Or rather were destroyed in attempting
to pass q Union fort. Twenty years
afterward, backed up by afidavits and
other proofs, he applied to Congress for
relief. and placed his damages ut $780,
VVVs Nv WOAA 0uRHAAOO WIS Nc WIFI 6WOtn
statements that went to show that he was
an innocent sufferer that he enlisted the
services OF eminent statesmen in his be-
half, and the bill passed one branch OF
Congress, but failed Of being reached in
b other during the session. The next
Congress took the matter up, but in the
discussion the true status Of the claim
came to light, and it was ANONYMOUSLY
kicked out. Notwithstanding these dis
couragements, the original claimant is
still in Washington trying to get his bill
through.
The most persistent class of claimants
who hang about the committee rooms are
those persons who during the wal lived in
and around the dividing line between the
North and South, and who allege to have
war. They invariably claim to have sym-
pathized with and aided the Northern
troops and consequently think the Gov.
eminent should reimburse Them for losses.
About as cheeky q sefNof claimants as have
pushed to the front Of late years are men
who have gone West and settled upon
Indian lands. With q full knowledge that
they had no legal rights there they have
gone into the Indian country aud reserva-
tlons, and made In many instances extern
sive improvements. AS might have been
expected they were driven of, and now
they are asking the Government to pay
4 this nature have been introduced this
session.
A pathetic story relating to one claim
now before Congress goes far to illus
trate how difficult it is to get oven a mer.
it0rious measure through that body. Way
back in 1870 q wealthy Illinois Spectator
contracted to furnish the Government
with a very large quantity of grain, and
was to deliver it on the railroad some-
where in Kansas. The grain was deliy.
cred, as specified in the contract, but
while stored in q warehouse along the
road was burned up, together with all
the papers, and among them the way.bill.
The Government refused to pay for the
grain without a special act Of Congress,
and the man undertook to get it. The
loss he sustained completely ruined him.
both financially and physically. In 1873
he visited Washington and tried to
lobby his bill through. But, while
every one conceded his just claim, the
bill failed owing to the press of other
business. In the meantime the unfortu.
nate contractors family were subjected
to the pangs Of abject poverty. rendered
more pitiful from the fact that their
former condition in life untitled them for
struggling with the world. A year or SO
later the contractor died, leaving his
widow and three children. all girls, to do
battle for AT existence. The mother has
visited Washington several times to push
the claim Of her dead husband, as vet
with poor success. She hopes on how
ever. and should she get her dues, which,
by the powers above, I nope she may. she
will no longer lie in want and may rest
in peace and comfort during the balance
of her life.
The Harvey Peak Tin Mining and Mill
ing Company, with mines in the Black
Hills, South Dakota, through its Presi-
dent. Samuel Untermeyer Of New York,
place q duty on block tin. The company
claims that with sufficient protection this
region will o be able to supply this
country with all the tin necessary in the
United States. Since the agitation Of
this question remonstrances have been
coming in from all parts Of the country.
principally from manufacturers in can.
ned goods. The tin people ask for a
duty Of two cents per pound.
a..
The National Farmers Alliance has
established headquarters in Washington.
The President, MI. Polk Of North Caro-
lima, is nov here and makes q good inn
preston. He ie q clear-cut. plain-spoken
man and apleasing talker. s1he farmers"
said Mr.. Polk. ARE most vitality interested
in the sub-treasury plan. OF course it is
nothing but an experiment. but nothing
better has been suggested to relieve the
money market. The farmers look 10 this
Congress to pass the bill and IL it doesn't
the next one will in oil probability. lam
advised that the Secretary Of Agriculture