The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1901-10-22
CLAIMS ARE SIFTED.
Getting Money Out of the Treasury
Is Hard Work.
All the Powers of Government Are a,
the Disposal of the Court of
Claims Which Investigates
Every Petition.
Especial Washington Letter.l


90 II 9 %ss:s s ! :. s i: .:t e e.
~ through the court of claims,
do not realize the difficulties which lie
in their way" says one of the expert
.enced officers of that court.
For example, WI have under con-
sideration the claim of a man for $780,
900 for the use of his insulated wire
during the civil war. This man Sc
cured hat amount from a telegraph
corporation, and he expects to GOV
that much from the government. But
there is where he makes a great mis-
take, as SO many others like him have
done and are doing. He thinks that
this court of claims is a very small part
of the federal government. AS a mat
ter of fact, this court of claims is the
whole thing because we have at our
disposal all of the powers of all the ex-
'eeutive departments of the govern
ment. In this case, by way of illustra-
ton, we informed the secretary of the
treasury of the claim, and requested
that 4 secret service agent be sent
abroad to ascertain whether or not
this gutta percha insulation was in.
vented by this claimant. We thus as
certain that this insulation was dis
covered and patented in Germany long
before the civil war. 1t costs consid-
cradle to get this information, but it
knocks out the claim of $780, 600, leav-
ing the government upwards of sos, 900
ahead; for without this information
the government would have been
obliged to pay the claim.
TN like manner we can call upon
the war department, navy department,
department of agriculture and all 9TH
er powers of the government in de-
tending the treasury against these nu-
merous and usually enormous claims.
Here is an instance of a man who
makes claim against the government
for supplies furnished the federal SOL
diers during the civil war. In every
claim of this kind the claimant must
establish the fact thai he was loyal
during the great conflict. This claim
ant swears to his loyalty, and a mum
Der of his friends make similar Aft
davits. Well, we ent to the division of
rebellion records, and there, in the rec
ords of the confederacy, we find that
this man was disloyal, in that he fur
nished aid and comfort to the confed-
crate soldiers. We have a dozen copies
of his signature, and it corresponds
with his signature to-day. Of course,
he did not know that the government
has possession of the rebellion records,
and hence he did not know that we
would easily have means to disclose his
disloyalty. In common with all other
claimants, he is waiting for the money
which he claims; but, like a majority
Of his kind, he will be disappointed.
'Here is a colored man making claim
to a large sum of money because of de-
struction to property by federal troops
during the civil war. He makes oath
that his master went into the rebellion
and left all of his property to the coll
ored man. 1t was in Alabama, and the
colored man swears to his loyalty, as
well as to the ownership of all this
property. We have here the state laws
of Alabama which were in force during
the civil war, and it is provided that
no negro shall own any property; not
even a dog That settles this claim.
The negro is simply used as a cat'spaw