The evening times., 1899-04-24
AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT.
Governor Durkee's Heirs Present a
CiaIm for AGi.OOO.OOO.

Minneapolis. Mimi, April "a Uncle
sam, who has been called upon TO spend
Sl,50O. .0o0. 600 by the Fifty-fifth Congress,
and is beginning to feel pretty poor, is
likely TO be confronted soon by a priay:e
claim of s6i ,000,00 The story of this
claim, as told in the Minneapolis Jour
nal is long and complicated. and C. =.
Nimocks. the well-known Minneapolis sta
tistical and financial expert. has been at
work for two years untangling some of
the complications. In brief, the story fol-
lows:
When Clarence Durkee had served his
term as United States Senator from Wis
consin President Andrew Johnson made
him Governor of Utah. He was at that
time worth $4,000, ,000. In Utah he became
associated with the projectors and builders
of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific
railroads. When, in 1862, the promoters
had reached the end of their resources,
they went to the Government for assist
ance.
The Government decided to issue its
bends thirty years and per cent. $4,000,
for every mile of road constructed. These
bonds We're mortgage on the roads. In
addition the companies were permitted TO
issue an equal amount of their own bonds,
which should constitute prior and para
mount claim 10 the Governments bonds.
Fart of the railroad earnings were 10 be
paid into the United States Treasury as a
sinking fund. The companies were required
10 settle up all their existing debts and TO
issue their bonds in even amount, tenor,
date, ana time of maturity with those is
sued by the United States.
In compliance with these conditions Gov
ernor Durkee. representing himself and
others, bought up the outstanding con-
struction bonds and in return for them re-
ceived the companies new paramount"
bonds 10 the amount Of S64.623,512.
In 1870 Governor Durlee died. On his
deathbed he told his wife that the bonds.
enclosed in a tin box. had been given into
the custody of the Metropolitan National
Bank, OF New York. A search revealed an
empty box. For fourteen years all trace
OF these bonds were lost. When the bank
failed, in 1884, the missing bonds were
found among its assets. They had been
pledged by the bank to secure its own
loans, but Secretary of the Treasury
Charles ]. Folger secured evidence of their
rightful ownership and took charge of
them.
Leonard C. Blaisdel, of Champaign, ILL.,,
whose wife was one of the disappointed
Durkee heirs. went to Washington to see
Secretary Folger about the bonds. The Sec
retary assured him that there was no ques-
ton about their ownership by the Durkee
heirs. He had only to present a power of
attorney and the Treasury Department
would turn the bonds over to him. Mr..
Biaisdell went about getting this power
from the heirs. Meanwhile Secretary Fol-
ger went out of Office, and when Blaisdell
came back the bonds had disappeared. In
1893. Mr.. Blaisdell filed suit in the Court
OF Claims, but has since died.
Now the first disappearance of the bonds
is by some attributed to a wealthy man
while the Durkee heirs are poor-of Chi
cago, who was associated with Mr.. Durkee
and afterward had to do with administer
ing his estate. The abstraction of the
bonds from the Treasury Is attributed to
the Central and Union Pacific Railroad
magnates. 1t is claimed that a number of
clerks who resigned from the department
about the time the bonds disappeared are
now living in afiiuence in their homes in
different parts Of the country. The
companies on whose property the Durkee
bonds were a first mortgage would profit
by their disappearance TO the amount Of
the principal and the accrued interest. The
holders of other Junior bonds and shares
would also profit by having the first mt TT
gage bonds out of the way. Mr.. Nimocks
says there is no doubt that the recovered"
bonds found their way into the hands Of
persons heavily interested in the Pacific
To add to the mass of duplicity and
double dealing, it is claimed by Mr.. MINI
ocks that the companies have palmed off
sl00. .00O. 600 of other bonds as the prior
and paramount" bonds. OF course. this
amount is very much too large to be the
real issue, which was restricted to the
amount of the outstanding Indebtedness in
1862.
The claim Of the Durkee heirs against the
Government, which they hold responsible
for the loss Of these bonds, will soon come
before the Court of Claims. the suit being
brought by ]. A. Kuy Kendall. supple
mentary administrator OF the Durkee es-
tate The actual claim against the Govern
ment is now limited to $40. 0.000.0 900. that
being the amount 1t is claimed the Gov
ernment has collected from the Union Pa
cific Railway, and of which the real own
ers of the Durkee bonds have, of course,
never had cent.