The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-03-14
MEXICAN COLD.
Yellow Metal Held in Trust by
This Government
Since 1875, to the Amount of
100000, to Be Paid Over.
A SERIES OF SUITS.
A Disputed Claim Over Value
Of Destroyed Cotton.
Decision Will Control Cases
From New Possessions.


since August. 1876 There is a story
connected with this money which has
never been printed. An act of the
United States supreme court made on
Monday, February 20, opens the his
tory. The act, so termed because it
was prefunctory in its nature, was so
quietly done that it created no in
quiry. This act was a simple refusal
of the court to grant a rehearing of
the case which the court had affirmed
when it came before it some time ago
from the court of claims of the dis
trict.
The attorney of the Mexican govern
ment, General James E. Slaughter, an
ex-confederate, a lieutenant in the
United States army at the beginning
of the civil war, now in his seventy
first year, and also connected with the
engineering department of the gov
eminent, is a most interesting person
atty. From him were obtained the
folloing facts in the cases
In accordance with the treaty of 1868,
the United States and Mexico appoint
ed what was known as a mixed com
mission to regulate accounts between
the two republics.
WE'LL AND LA ABRA CLAIMS.
Among the claims against Mexico
were those of La Abra Mining com
pany and Benjamin We'll. They set
forth that MeXicans had taken from
them /, 914 bales of cotton, worth then
40 cents a pound The Mexican gov
eminent solicited General Slaughter,
who at the time was a confederate COM
mander on the Rio Grande, to look af-
ter these claims. Each of the claimants
had received awards from the mixed
commissions aggregating $780, 600 and
$500, COO respectively. General Slaughter
in his appeal from these awards estab
liShed by documentary and other evil
dence the fact that the claims were
false. The money, growing out of the
mixed commissions duties, was already
held in trust by our government. After
General Slaughter'S representation to
congress it refused to permit payment
of the money to the claimants. The
case again came before a later con-
gresS-in fact, before number of con-
crosses, year after year. and finally the
last congress before which it came
passed an act submitting the cases to
the court OF claims. This was in
1S91-'92. After years of litigation in this
court it finally decided that the claims
were fraudulent and that the money
should be paid back into the Mexican
treasury. An appeal to the supreme
court of the United States resulted in
an affirmation of the finding of the
court of claims.
SETTLED IN SUPREME COURT.
The next step was a motion for a re-
hearing of the case before the supreme
court, and an order denying the mo-
preme court, and within the next ten
days the money, which has been boxed
in the treasury vaults all these years,
is to be shipped back to the Mexican
government. General Slaughter had
conference with the Mexican minister
on Wednesday, February %, to make
arrangements for its return.
The decision of the court of claims
in this case was far-reaching and inn
portant, inasmuch as it asserted the
rights of g court to review a decision
by an International tribunal. By it
all treaties for the adjudication Of
claims pro and con citizens of the Uni
ted States by foreign countries are
safeguarded. The Importance of the
decision will doubtless be seen before
long in the claims arising in Cuba,
Porto Rico and the Philippines, growing
out of the late war with Spain.
By this decision another important
fact is established, not generally known
namely: that the president of the
United States may sign bills during the
vacation of congress.
Since the appointment of the mixed
commission by the two governments
claims to the amount of $4,000, 900
have been filed against the Mexican
government. The latter government
has paid in installments $780, 900 year
on account of awards. But in the cases
of La Abra and We'll the money has
been retained in the United States
treasury as a special deposit, all in
American gold, and when it is returned
it will be without interest.
CASES BITTERLY CONTESTED.
In these two cases there are on file
10000 pages of printed testimony, and
although every committee that has
passed upon them has reported ad
versely on the claims the claimants
have had sufficient strength to have ac-
ton postponed from their first appear
ance until they finally reached the SEN
ate, when it was quickly discovered
that there We're but five votes in favor
of them, while in the house they We're
SO overwhelmingly squelched that the
yeas and nays were not demanded.
The history of these claims is doubly
interesting by reason of the history
which attaches to Gen. Slaughter. He is
a nephew of Mrs. Dolly Madison. He
came to Washington to visit his aunt
when Polk was president. Slaughter
was then 10 years old. Through his
auntS influence he was appointed by
Polk lieutenant in the regular army.
His was one of the four appointments
to the regular army from civil life a
thing which, at that time, was so I'M
usual that it excited comment and crit
icism.
When the civil war broke out Slaugh-
ter had charge of government property
at Eagle Pass. Texas. The state auth
critics of Texas demanded that Slaugh-
ter surrender to the confederacy all the
government property at Eagle Pass. in
GLIDING guns and ammunition. Slaugh-
ter refused. His reply to the state was:
IF you want them. you have got to
fight for them as long as hold a COM
mission from the government
While the state was preparing to cap
ture the property Slaughter chartered
a transport, the Belle of the West, load
ed the property, and shipped it to the
government. 1t arrived in safety in
spite of efforts made by the confeder-
ates to capture it.
After the days of reconstruction Gen.
Slaughter returned to this country, and,
although he is well advanced in years,
is now employed by the government in
the engineering service, with headquar-
tiers in New Orleans