The Savannah morning news., 1901-06-09

line Oh hamm0CkS IRON Base
melt, at COST
prevention Of frauds in insurrectionary
districts within the United States, and
acts amendatory thereof, so that the
claimants Of this fund may establish their
claims without regard to any statute
Of limitations or the loyalty of the claim
ant or the original owner of the property
seized or taken by the United States at
the time OF its seizure. Other privileges
are extended which will put claimants on
q fair footing to prove and recover the
value of their lost property.
Representa- tive Carmack OF Tennessee
introduced on Dec. 20. 1898, House bill
u,3l5 which is the same as the Senate
bill. Both measures have been referred
to the Committee on War Claims and
have been reported upon favorably. But
FOR our hostilities with Spain, Congress
would no doubt have disposed of these
matters long since. Now that the horizon
has cleared and time is found for reflec-
ton, it is believed the bills will be
brought before the next Congress and put
upon their passage. The government holds
the money as a trust fund and is no
doubt willing to restore it to it's real
owners.
Since the matter has been before Con-
gress volumes of argument have been Of
fered in support of the rightful owners
1t ali tends to demonstrate with irresisti.
Ole conclusiveness that the most obvious
demands of absolute and unstinted jus
tice, require that immediate provision be
made for the return of the balance of the
frrd now in the Treasury, to those whose
property created it, or to their legal rep
resentatives, if they have any; and #
they have none, then to their numerous
and needy heirs.
The claimants Of this big fund are scat
tered all over the South. The favorable
reports Of the committees. which puts
these measures in position for passage
viii be encouraging to those who have
fought for years for recognition. Presi-
dent johnson told a Savannah man who
called on him during his incumbencv in
regard to cotton claims Of Southern men
that everything would be adjusted when
reason shall have been fully restored -"
The better feeling between the sections
indicates that this prediction may be
gradually coming true.
Adolphus N. Cohen of Savannah IS
among those who have chung to their
claims. He tells some interesting
stories of cotton seizures here
er was sent here in 1865 to seize cotton
and continued his searches until about
every bale in Chatham county had been
gotten and shipped to Hart Island N Y.
to be sold. He posted on the Custom
House notice offering to the negroes a
reward of 80 cents per bale for all cot
ton they located. On Christmas day of
1865 Draper wired to President Lincoln
a present of 25,OOO bales. The people
oh x,7..
some storing ii in cellars, Others In gar
rets. under beds, and in every conceiv.
able hiding place, but the negroes thew
| trusted were informing on them, and If
only took the officer a few months 10
gather 1t all. In those days cotton was
more valuable than now, hence the great
desire to hold it, Sea island cotton
brought $1.S5 per pound, and upland, the
inferior grade, was also at a premium.
Col. e. c. Wade, who has recently re-
turned to Georgia from California to pros
ecute his own and other claims. and who
was at one time a leading cotton man in
Savannah, had FIVE warehouses fun OF
cotton here, amounting to about SOC
bales, belonging to himself and his
friends, which were seized in December,
1864, by Sherman's army and were taken
in charge by Draper. Col Wade's inter-
est in this claim and others induced
him to enter the BUSINESS OF
claims attorney and he is now looking
not only after these particular claims,
but all claims against the government.
From the strong language of the Su-
preme Court OF the United States, includ-
ed in its various decisions of cases bear
ing on this subject, it seems that Con-
gress will have TO set at naught some
very pointed opinions unless the trust
fund is administered by distribution. ITO
refuse TO return IL (the proceeds OF the
property seized)" the court says, would
be a breach of faith not less cruel and
astounding than to abandon the freed peo-
pie whom the executive had promised to
maintain in their freedom"