The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-09-18
PAYING OFF AN ARMY.
SYSTEM OF DISTRIBUTING MONEY
TO AMERICAN SOLDIERS.

! COO.OOO Handled In Ihis WIT
without a Loss Numerous In
stances In Former Years where
! officials Have Been Robbed BY
/ Bandits.
From the New York Tribune.
! one of the greatest and most important
works of war time is the task of provid-
ing and distributing the funds for the pay
ment Of the soldiers. The responsibilities
involved may be judged somewhat from
the fact that during the last year of the
civil war there was paid out by the war
department alone over 5000, 100000. while
from 1861 to 1867 this department paid out
over 81, 100 900 ,OO0 Though the grand total
of army expenses along during the recent
Standardization war has reached moth
ing like these figures, the sudden increase
in the size of the army from 1905 men,
customarIly involving the services Of
twenty-five experienced paymasters of all
grades in their monthly payments, to over
100000 men necessarily threw suddenly a
greatly increased burden of labor upon
the pay department. This was felt the
more as the additional paymasters," for
whom provision was speedily made by act
of Congress, were largely appointed from
civil life, and had TO be put through a
kindergarten" of departmental training
before they could be safely sent forth to
pay off the armies in the field In in
stances appointees, after a few days ex-
perience at School" becoming suddenly
aroused to the dangers not only of losing
men pay large sums of money on their ac-
count, have quietly resigned, and sought
position and emolument elsewhere. The
names of others who have gone to the
front have for some reason ceased to ap-
pear on the rolls of the department, and,
according to the inspectors, the number
of mistakes appearing in the reports of
some of the additional paymasters" has
been something phenomenal. In one in
stance 1900 errors were observed and it
is the opinion of the inspector that all the
correct entries In the paymaster's report
were unintentional mistakes on his part.
| These are exceptions, of course, as the
greater number of new appointees have
proved efficient and successful in their
work.
The bill increasing the regular army to
over 10000 men, and the calls by the Presi-
dent for 100000 and 1900 volunteers, re-
spectiveiy, necessiJafed increasing the
force of paymasters TO an aggregate of Ill,
while the number of clerks, inspectors and
office assistants has been proportionately
increased. The aggregate appropriations
made by Congress for the payment of both
regulars and volunteers up to Jan. l. 1899,
is $50, 2S0 1899, of which amount from $780,,
100000 to $S5,000,0O0 is still unexpended. OF
the amounts expended, Notwithstanding
the errors made, not one dollar has been
actually lost to the government, and this
Is attributable to the system of accounts
controlled by Paymaster General T. II.
Stanton and his assistants. This system
as applied to the payment of troops con-
! templates, first of all, accurate lists Of
the soldiers to be paid prepared under
the direction of the proper officers. Upon
the rolls thus prepared the paymasters
and their clerks compute the sums due
placing them severally opposite the names
of the officers and men. The payments
are then made by the paymaster, and wit
messed and certified 10 by the proper army
officials. The rolls then go to the pay
master generals department and this Is
the critical time when trouble for the pay
master is likely to begin. A corps of in
| spectors goes over these rolls, scrutiniz-
| ing every item in detail. Each paymaster
| has twenty days allowed from the first of
every month in which to make his re-
| turns to the department failing to do
which his funds may be cut off. The
| corps of examiners also has twenty days
~ which TO examine the paymaster's re-
| ports, rolls and vouchers after they reach
the office. This work is really preliml-
nary, and for the paymaster's benefit, SO
! that If overpayment or other mistakes
| have been made he may be informed and
| the errors may be corrected. Then all the
| papers examined by this preliminary
corps OF inspectors go TO that officer of
| the treasury known as the auditor for the
war department, where another corps of
examiners goes over every report voucher
ana pay roll of each paymaster, and if
| any sums have been improperly expended
or are unaccounted for they are charged
! up to his account.
1t win be perceived that the dangers of
| loss to one paymaster through his own
errors are far greater than from rob
| berry, and yet in the history of the de-
partment there have been Instances where
J his funds have been lost through violence
and even murder. On May %, 1876, a pay
masters clerk, Louis r. Spencer, a native
| Of Hartford Conn, While accompanying
his chief on a pay tour in Northern Cali
fornia, in endeavoring to defend the pub
lie funds was killed by robbers. Earlier
| in the season of this year a paymasteT
| was drowned by the wreck of a steamer
near Vancouver's Island, and the funds
| in his possession were lost. On March 49,
1887 Maj. d. n. Bash, a paymaster sta
toned in Wyoming, while in a stage
coach en- route to pay the troops at Fort
! Mckinney, was held up by solitary
robber at a place called Antelope Springs,
and relieved of all his funds, amounting
to 81 350.93.
Maj. ]. w. Wham, while en- route TO
pay the troops at Fort Thomas, Arizona,
accompanied by an escort consisting of a
| sergeant aud eleven men, his clerk, and
1 I-,l
of robbers, May II, 1889. The paymas-
ter and his whole party were driven from
the ambulance containing the money chest
at the muzzle of loaded guns, while the
thieves broke into the chest and carried
away SIS, 34510.
On Nov. 6, 1891, Maj. c. c. Snif1n. a pay
mteser, on his way to pay the troops at
that post. reached Fort Clark, Texas,
about 1870 at night. The funds in his
possession, consisting of $500 in green
backs and 81 $50 in silver coin. were placed
by direction of the post commander for
I aa.la Of 1aa