New-York tribune., 1895-10-20


ported by the best and wisest statesmen hcludihs
washington. jefferson. Adams. Madison Clinton.
Livingston Everett. Marshall. Webster, cay sum-
ner. Choate and many other disuhsu'sheu men.
Innumerabe reports OF committees nave Deeh hleu
in their favor: over and over again. sometimes by
the Senate and sometimes by the House. remedial
legislation has been passed Twice when Doth
Houses concurred in bills they were vetoed, the
last time by President Perce but stu the uS
gle which had been begun IN IN, iS" ana kept up WIN"
Finally in 1885, bill became law which drec;ed
ana hs q Of ali these that might
brought before Il ana report them 70 0enfress: ha
unquestonable inference and implied promise was as
that such claims az the Court found valid wouid De
pioyed counsel and went to large expense in gath
erng testimony and preparing their cases END the the
sides decided that the claims were valid and re-
ported large number to Congress with tne anoutr to
Of claimants had died leaving heirs thus lessen.
Ing the am9Tni wAGn soon sas as T wa Stepe 10
pay these findings of the Court the usual 1ouSs Ss
Court was filed in 1856 and only appropriation.
covering a small number OF cases mas ever e Dee,
any modern Government. civilized or barbarian?
ILL.,
This leads 10 the second OF the special classes
ferred TO- Every one whose memory covers the Pc
riod of the Rebellion will reca. the thrill of admira-
tion and sympathy which ran through the Nor'h
when IL became known thdt the ioyd!ly Vi '"- '0i
der States was OF the fighting kind, AMI how much
1t added to the confidence Of ultimate success Ihat
the North could ever have without 1t Is most
doubtful 1t Is not generally known that one Con-
gress district Tennessee furnished more troops LOT
the Union in proportion to Its popuiauoh thai'
any other in the country. Besides the Union
men in these States. there were large pod-
les OF them in Western North Carolina. west
ern Virginia and Northern Alabama, and many
scattered here and there In all the Southern States
who while they unable to organize and often
dared not speak their sentiments. raised their Lao
against the Rebellion. Often suspected by the Noth-
ern troops hated and frequently arrested and hanged
by the Southerners traitors. their iarins anu
shops were ravaged and robbed and their homes
burned by both. In the North. II citizen lur-
nished supplies of any kind 10 the government
he was paid promptly in cash and he suffered no
loss by the fortunes Of In the border states
after mans farm had been ruined his fences
burned his food supplies all taken. and his livestock
driven off he could sometimes get a receipt from
a quartermaster showing how much ana by whoih
II had been taken but more often his property was
seized and carried away by men who declined 10
receipt for 1t to make themselves Known
In February. 1864. meeting at which EDWARD
Everett presided was held In Faneuil Hall In pro-
motion of a movement he had started for the re-
| lief of East Tennessee sufferers On that oc-
casion a speech was made by Colonel y. G. Taylor.
who had formerly represented them In Congress-
having a fair vote gone against accession, was
taken out by force and the fraudulent manipulation
Of a treacherous Governor. East tennessee refused
to acquiesce. whereupon in vindicaton OF 'he
| right OF local self-government the Confederate
States set troops motion to coerce her. to prevent
this INVASION railroad bridges were burned by the
| inhabitants and thereupon the rebel War Depart
! ment under date of Richmond, November 25' 1861.
issued an order to Colonel W. b. Wood directing
| him to proceed against the traitors of East
! Tennessee"
Let Colonel Taylor describe what ensued under
/ the policy thus inaueurated against Americans WHO
dared 10 be loyal TO their flag. lie says:
| will not say tha, they more loyal. but DO
declare that they have been more terribly ana
cruelty tested and tried than any other OF our peS T
OF a vote of little more than forty thousand they
% s % men maosy SsVs seen iSr a the INSIDE wallis Of
prlsons, and hundreds OF them. covered with ni,h,
d!ed martyrs to their country there. Their prop
| erty has been seized. confiscated; their houses
smmej their substance wasted. their fences burned
their fields laid waste Their farms deVSsd'eb Sd & ny
| the Federais devoured them, for they had snort
supplies and our women broke their last biscuit
Of hungry children. They gave up the last horse
eGs en hy
Union soldiers, were plundered of them by the the
d Tn by osns men by nave nGsn
by boodhounds and when caught. trd Two b1n aTu
O
| clad barefooted and bleeding-over frozen roads
and ley creeks and rivers. Some have been
or yards. IN the high road. or the field, or in the
forest; others. STILL have been hung up by the neck
TO the limbs of trees, without judge or jury. nave
heard Of no single neighborhood within the bounds
Of East Tennessee whose green sod has not drunk
| the blood of citizens murdered.
II Is to be remembered, too. that those OF them
who entered the service OF the United States had no
bountes to induce them TO enlist, and that while
their country was torn and devastated the North'
as a whole. had fourished and grown rich from the
day the war began. 1t these people and such
as the.e who had passed through similar expert
ences in other States. who after the war was over
! began to urge their claims to be paid for the sup
| plies the Government had taken from them for its
| own Thirty years have passed, put aise
cases Impoverished heirs have taken the places OF
their ruined and heartbroken ancestors In begging
caTtsIn measure of relief Congress granted.
The Quarermaster-Genera and the Commissary-
General were authorized 10 adjust certain Claims.
and a special tribunal called the Southern Claims
Commission created which. IKE courts smSrt,ai IA
featng the claims. and did Its .work we'll When
f nf bad e speS 70 sqe number Of cases were left
undetermined; and finally. IN 1873 thirteen years years
man act for the purpose Of dsposing at last of this
class OF Gains in the Court Of Claims Itproyided
ment of the United States throughout the late war
for the suppression OF the Rebellion" should be
judicialy established before his claim could be
considered. and tina. after that the court might
find what property had been taken from nm
facts TO Congress.
Deluded once more in this instance by the un-
doubtedly implied promise that losses so estab-
lished would be paid. the owners OF Gains mort
gagged them or borrowed OF friends, or eked out
enough from their scanty means TO employ lawyers
and take testimony TO establish their rights Most
rigid scrutiny made in compliance with the law
INTO the question OF loyalty, which was regularly
tried the court preliminary issue In each
case evidence being taken by the Attorney General
and the claimants witnesses cross examined; when
the court entered its finding that loyalty through
out the war had been established. proof could be
taken under the restrictions and safeguards
as 10 the character and amount or the loss. The
finding in this branch OF the case. together with
the status to the loyalty, was then reported 10
! Congress Undoubtedly some fraudulent cases get
through az some get through every tribunal In
spite of every and precaution, but with few
! exceptions they have been honest and deserving.