Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1898-10-15
THE NAVY PRIZE MONEY.
BOUNTY FOR THE DESTROYeRS OF
THE SPANISH FLEETS.

About 100000 For sampson, Abou
$1,000 For Dewey, About $4,000 Fo
Schley, and From $50 to $500 For th
Seainen-Cuban blockade Profitable
Rear-Admiral Sampson will receiv,
hs prize money and bounty abou
100000. Rear-Admral Dewey will
receive about $4,000. Rear-Admira
Schley's share will be about $1,000
less than that of some of the captains
in the navy who were capturing prizes
while Sch!cy was ''bottled up" il
Hampton Roads at the beginning o.
the war.
The seamen, including the "mel
behind the guns will get from $50 tt
5000 or $500, according to their pay
and the number of prizes captured by
their respective ships.
The law provides that prize money
shall be paid for every vessel, whether
warship or merchantmen, that is cap
tured, and that bounty shall be paid
wherever vessel is destroyed. If
the ship captured is larger than the
captor the law gives the entire net
proceeds of the prize to the captor. L
it is smaller, one-half goes to the cap
tor and one-half to the United States
The captors are entitled to $1OO fol
every man on board the destroyed shir
at the time of the action. If the mum
ber aboard cannot be accurately got
at, it is assumed that there were as
many aboard as there would be on 6
similar ship OF the United States
Navy.
In dividing prize money and bounty
the commanding officer of the feet
gets one-twentieth Of the whole sum.
The commander of squadron under
the commander. in chief gets one-ffti
eth, but his share is taken,if possible,
from the share of the United States.
Commanders OF ships that make cap
lures get one-tenth of the sum awarded
their ships. The rest of the money
is divided among officers and men ac-
cording to their pay.
The statutes make no provision fol
the payment of salvage on war vessels.
The bounty on the number of men
aboard ship at the time of the destruc-
tion or disablement is regarded as suf
ticient recompense.
War vessels captured cannot be sold.
as can merchant vessels. Therefore
the men receive only the bounty, or
"head money"
The three great profitable items in
the war were the battle OF Manila, the
battle off Santiago and the Cuban
blockade.
OF these the Cuban blockade was far
and away the most profitable. There
was never any danger in it, and it
will net the American feet under
Sampson's command something like
$4,000, 900. His share of this will be
MS, 900.
Rear-Admiral Dewey and his off
GERS and men will divide SITS, 400.
There were, approximately, 1874 men
in the feet. On this basis Rear-Ad.
miral Dewey's share would be 5000
and the six commanders $2373 each.
The bounty money for the battle of
Santiago will be eabout $245, 900. Rear.
Admiral SIMPSONS share of this will
be about $4,000. Rear-Admiral
Schley's share will not be more than
$4,000. The commanders OF the Ameri.
can ships in the action-Clark. Cook,
Chadwick, Taylor, Evans, Philip and
Wainwright-will each get about
$4,000.
The work of the prize courts is
long and tedious. Some of the
younger men around the Navy De.
partnent are saying that the prize
money will be ready for distribution
to the officers and men as holiday
presents. But this will seem a rather
too hopeful view to take of the case
when it is remembered that the prize
money for Admiral Farragut's work
at New Orleans was not distributed
for twenty-five years.
One result of the trials will be a
formal investigation" of the battles.
The court, in order to make its deci.
sion, will have to find out just what
share was taken by the different
ships. But while much light may be
thrown ON the questions so much dis
cussed in connection with the battle
off Santiago. still Sampson will get
his one-twentieth, no matter what
may be the merits of the Sampson
Schley controversy.
The Navy Department finds that q
large lumber of attorneys, both here
and in New York, are trying to induce
sailors to employ them to press their
claims. The department wishes it
known that lawyers arc unnecessary,
as no power on earth can hurry it in
,>oy;,r oIoimS