The times., 1898-01-27
THE AGED coIoRED HOME BILL.
With Some Notifications 1t is Favor
ably Reported.

|
| Mr. Perkins of Iowa, in behalf of the
Senate Committee on Education and
Labor has submitted report on Sen
ate bill 2S21, which was introduced at
the request of the colored people of
the District. The report is as follows;
The Committee on Education and
Labor, to whom was referred the bill
| IS. 2S2D to provide for national
memorial home for aged and infrm
colored people and for the maintenance
| of the inmates thereof, have had the
| same under consideration and beg
| leave To submit the following report:
by this bill it is proposed, for the
| purpose OF establishing a national
| memorial home for aged and infirm
| colored people, to make use of a sum
| Of money now lying in the Treasury
| of the United States which is due the
| estates Of deceased colored soldiers
| This sum is that remaining from the
moneys certified to be due to colored
soldiers and which has not been paid
| out because Of the lack of properly
certified claims against it, The law
governing the proper adjudication Of
these claims requires that the heirs Of
the deceased soldier must prove their
lawful marriage relation by record evil
dence, and that 10 be certified to by
notary public or clerk of the court in
the several States. No marriage rec
ord of slaves was, however, kept, and
in great many instances the reQui-
site proof cannot be made, and the
money claimed cannot, in consequence,
be paid out to individual claimants
What the sum unproven and unclainl-
ed Will finally amount to il Is at pres
ent impossible to tell, but according to
the report of the Second Auditor of
10 a la Of
Treasury, July q, 1894, there at that
time remained unclaimed $3.50 01SS4
Owing TO the impossibility of making
TIE required proof. 1t is probable that
by far the greater part of this amount
will never be paid out 10 heirs OF de-
ceased colored soldiers.
1T is this money that will never be
paid out in the manner originally de-
signed that ii is proposed to appropri.
ate for the establishment of a ma
tional memorial home for aged and
intirm colored people. The money
clearly belongs to the colored people.
and numerous requests have been
made that it be used for the benefit
of their race. One of these requests
is indicated in the bill now under con-
sideration. The institution in whose
aid the appropriation is requested is
proposed by number of colored men of
formed corporation 10 carry out the
plan. By private Subscription they
have acquired a tract of land suffi-
cient to erect suitable buildings. and
now ask Congress to transfer to them
portion of the unclaimed money in
the United States Treasury which
equitably belongs TO the colored peo-
pie, to assist them in their very laud-
able work
1t does not appear to the commit
tee that there can be just or reasona-
Die ground for objection to the use of
the money appropriated in the bill for
the purpose indicated, when proper
safeguards for its expenditure and
for the protection of the United States
Treasury, are provided.
Your committee would therefore
recommend that, for the purpose of
liking a limit beyond which no claims
can be brought against the fund there
be inserted in section 3, line II, after
the word Claims the following words:
which shall be presented before jan
uafy first, eighteen hundred and nine
ty-nine, all claims which shall be pre-
sented after that date being hereby
barred
Thus amended. the committee rec
ommends that the bill be passed"