The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-05-14
AMoDEsT CLAIM.
One of the Cases Filed Before the sFord's
Theater Comlnittee-Hundred of Thou
sands Needed to Repair His injured
Feelings.
Washington Star.1

washington Star.
Every session of Congress has is own dis
tinctive grist of crank bills, crank petitions,
crank letters and the like, and should a Ii
brary be made today of all he erratic docu-
ments that have ever reached Senators and
members it would probably be found to con-
tain some of the most valuable contribu-
lions to the literature of monomania. Con-
gress is the dumping ground OF all the
quaint characters of the country. Every man
with a grievance looks to the national leg
islature for relief, and for each case Ike
that of the late William McGarrahan there
are thousands of utterly futile, undeservlng
claims brought to the attention OF Congress
men. The organization of the select COM
mittee of the Senate during the past winter
to investigate the Ford's Treater disaster
was, strange as it II ay seem, the signal
for quite an outporing of crank letters, and
the records of that committee have already
been swelled by considerable number of
curious documents. Perhaps the most in
teresting of these cases W filed during the
latter part of April by imam now living in
Ohio, who at onetime was quite well known
to certain citizens of Washington.
a SURPRISING CLAIM.
The inquiry now in progress by this select
committee is for the. specific purpose of
determining the exact nature of the injuries
received in the Ford's Theater disaster and
of fixing a scale of compensation for DANA
ges. The establishment of Chairman Harris
may therefore be dimly imagined, perhaps,
when he received a formal claim blank filed
out with the following interesting informa-
ton:
my name is o. J. Markle; age fortyfive
trade or profession was formerly that of
teaching; place held at time of disaster,
out of employment and sick; place now held,
out of employment and still in i'll health"
Mr.. Markle goes on to state that he en-
tered the War Department on the sth of
March, 1888 and in July, 1890, was transferred
to the record and pension division.
Inasmuch as he confesses absence from
the government service at the time of the
disaster, interest, of course, centers upon
the exact nature of the damages claimed
by him. This information is somewhat
vaguely given IN answer to the following
quetion: Mature of injuries sutained, in
reponse to which Mr.. Markle writes fol-
lows: Injury to bodily health; extreme
nervousness OF nervous prostration; neural
g1a or facial neuralgia; insomnia; injury
to mind; mental depression; injury to MEM
DRY, reasoning and constructive faculties
and the will; injury to feelings-religious
feeling. social feeling, ambitious feeling
and aesthetic feeling; injury to reputation;
injury to social standing-and other in
juries.''
This leaves the case in a very interesting
condition, but the claim of Mr.. Markle it.
self affords little or no information as to just
how this complicated collapse of his physi-
cal, mental and moral constitution was
produced by the falling of the old building
on 10th street, especially as he was not pres
ent when the accident occurred. He goes
on to remark: II know shall never be SO
strong physically and mentally as when
entered the Office. March s, 1888, and I do
not believe morally or re1igiously.' Under
the item, 'sItemized statement of expendi-
lures incident to injury" he'notes 500 for
medical attendance, and continues: "Ex-
penses from inability to do literary work
or mental or physical work up to the pres
ent time alone would probably amount to
$150,000 or more.''
HIS LITTLE BILL.
That is all of Mr.. Markets formal claim as
set forth in the blank which he filed out
and forwarded to the committee, but a vast
amount of light is thrown upon the ques-
ton by printed bill of six pages, which he
filed at the same time, with a request that
either the committee or some charitably
inclined Senator might introduce it. At
the top he writes this gentle hint: "Please
introduce exact or modified. Keep this bill
private and preserve till it has been passed
or damages have been obtained by me.'
In view of the fact that the passage of the
bill is somewhat doubtful, The Star is cou-
strained to inform the public on this impor-
tant matter now while it has chance
The bill is composed of eighteen where
ases," to each one of which Mr.. Mark1e
states he is willing and even eager to testify
under oath, an one enacting clause, which
appropiates for the relief of Mr.. Markle the
sum of $400,00O which he generously agrees
to accept as full compensation for all mani
fold injuries received by the government