Birmingham state herald., 1896-07-17
so HE RETURNED THE CHECK
Curious and Costly e-lder by Some One in
 the Nay Apartment.
MOST OF THE ' Sly WENT TO ALABAMA
General Shell Spre'entea the Claims in Good Faith pposing They Had Never Been 7 jailed Onoe-Mr. Lewis
 Sved Uncle Sam.

double payment of over $41, 900 and an actual payment of nearly 5000 have just been disclosed in the navy department, most of 1t going to the state of Alabama. The facts seem to be that at the out break of the war the old side wheel steamers DeSoto and Bienville, belong ing to the New York and New Orleans Steamship company, were purchased by the government and an appropriation made for the payment of their stipulated price. For a time the proportionate amount due the stockholders in the conn pany resident in the Confederates states was withheld by the treasury, but in the years intervening between 1870 and 1874 all these dropped southern claims were taken up and paid. Through some blun- dering proper vouchers were not filed with the papers in the treasury depart ment. This fact seems to have come to the knowledge of Ex-CongresSman Charles M. Shelley of Alabama, who in MT. Cleveland's first administration was fourth auditor of the treasury, and he. presuming In good faith from that fact that the claims had not been paid, pro- cured powers of attorney from the claim ants after going out of office and prose- cuted the claims successfully before the court of claims and congress, securing
  for that pdrpose.
 Over $S5O0 of claims under this appro- priation had been paid away before the fact was discovered that all the claims had actually been paid more than twenty years ago. This was brought about through the honesty of MT Kenelson H. Lewis of Raleigh, N. C., one of the bene- ficiaries, who returned the check sent him for his proportion of the claim, say- ing that he had already been paid, and | sod Hhn ~ cial explanation of the navy department why the claims were twice paid Is as follows: In making settlement of the forty-one shares paid in 1871, 1872, 1873 and 1874 the bills were made out in the name9i of the attorneys and not in the names of. the claimants, and the papers relating tq these claims were retained at the navy department and were not attached to the vouchers according to the present prac- tice
 The papers or portion of them were sent to the bureau of construction and repair for safe keeping, and 1t appears that they were not entered on the files of papers relating to the purchase of ves- sels and were lost sight of In than bureau.
 The overpayments made under this ap- propriation appear to be $S535. Of this amount one claim of STOP may be correct, the investigation of the auditor into it's validity not having been concluded. The bills in all these cases, except that or MTd Lewis having been made in the name of the attorneys and not in the names or the claimants, the records of the audit or's office did not furnish ready check upon the payments when made in the name of the claimants themselves. It was not until the date, names of attor- neys and appropriations out of which the payments had been made had been ascer- tained by this department in consequence of the matter having been brought to att tention by MT. Lewis that the number and amount of the payments was dis covered.
 One of the persons paid under the ap- propriation was Mrs. Tuthill, widow Of George A. Tuthill of Mobile, Ala who received $4255 and reports that she has spent the money. General Shelley says he is trying to arrange for the settle- ment of other claims paid or in process of payment. He explains that the orig inal payment was made to MT. Lewis when he had just come of age and his fathers estate was in the hands of ex- ecutors, where 1t still continues, and that his (Shelleys) power of attorney to col lect the claims was obtained from the executors. When the check reached MT. Lewis he returned it. with such informa- tion as stopped further disbursements and enabled the department to trace the vouchers for the payments made twenty three years ago.
 It is more than probable that but for MT Lewis prompt action the entire ap- propriation for these claims would have been disbursed shortly.