The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-20
WANT TO BE REIMBURSED.
EX-sLAVE OWNERS TO APPLY To
THE 55TH CONGRESS.

Sub-Onice of the United states ex-
Slave Owners Registration Bureau
Established in savannnh-Its Plan
is to Get sworn Statements of All
slaves Owned Jan. 1, 1868, as "a
Basis for the Proposed Legislation.
How the Lists Are to he Worked
Up.
A sub-office of the United States Ex-
Slave Owners Registration Bureau, which
was Incorporated in Washington. d. c..
has just been established in Savannah
with Maj. L. NJ. Warheld in charge as
state superintendent. The Savannah Of
fees of the bureau are located in the
Provident building.
This is new movement about which
little has heretofore been said. The
name of the bureau almost indicates
what its purposes are. The object of the
work is simply TO prepare a basis for leg
islation which is to be sought, to have
the ex-slave owners reimbursed by the
government for their losses incident upon
President Lincoln's emancipation prOcla-
nation Of Jan. 1, 1853.
Tomorrow both the Savannah and
Washington offices will begin sending out
information upon the subject which has
been taken in hand. AS a preamble to
the explanation of what it proposes to do
the bureau says in its announcement:
President Lincoln never favored the
policy of interfering with slavery where
it existed, nor of freeing the slaves with
out compensation to the owners. and if he
had lived there is no doubt he would have
hi s,ar, 70 1tauf
done between the government and so large
number of her citizens, but he was TAX
en- off by the assassin's hand, and then
the great scramble for place, preferment
and pecuniary gain which has ragged for
more than thirty years. has prevented
any well-defined or concerted action be-
ing taken in the premises
History shows that no civilized nation
has ever emancipated her slaves and fail
ed to compensate their owners. Therefore
he is no ethiopian dreamer who now looks
forward to the time when this great gov
eminent will do justice to her citizens
We believe, this will be an established
fact within the lives of most of the pres
ent generation. We are now on the eve
of a mighty political struggle, the out
come of which will be determined largely
by the pace set by public opinion.
I'm view of these facts, and realizing
the time is fast approaching when It will
be impossible to obtain an authentic rec
ORD oil slaves owned ana recognized as
property by law at that time, we have de-
Vised system of registration whereby any
former owner or the heirs of any former
owner of slaves can have them registered
in approved books of records, and their
sworn returns of said slaves preserved
| for future reference at a nominal cost"
The ex-slave owner or heirs of ex-slave
| owners will fill out blanks making a
sworn statement of all the slaves they
| owned Jan. ], 1863 The fee charged is
| for registering one to ten slaves, 81; ter
| to twenty. 81, and so on, or forty tC
| fifty or more than fifty, S. These rec.
| ords will all be kept in the principa.
| office at Washington, d. C., and will bt
| used as a basis of legislation to be in.
| troduced in the next congress, claiming
compensation for the slaves that were
| liberated. 1t is said the value of such
| property at that time was something like
| $S00OO0, 900
| The sub-office located here is tn,
! only office yet established out
| side of Washington. 1t has charge
| of Georgia, South Carolina, Florida
! Alabama, and Mississippi. The Washing
| ton Office for the present will attend Il
| all other territory. Mr.. c. p. ROssigno
| will serve the bureau as travelling superin
| tendent.
| Mai Warfield has several stenographers
| at work getting out thousands of circulars
| and letters all of which will be mailed Sat
urday, and it is intended to work up the
| registration as rapidly as possible.