The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1901-10-22

CAPT. LUNDBoRG.
Claims a Fortune for an Alleged Naval
Discovery
department has in it's possession plans
OF all of the public and secret improve
ments in naval construction held or in
use by the naval powers of the earth.
This court was established by act
OF congress, February "a, 1885. 1t has
general jurisdiction of all s'claims
founded upon the constitution of the
United States or any regulation of an
executive department, or upon any
contract, expressed or implied with
the government of the United States,
or for damages, liquidated- or un-
llquidated, in cases not sounding in
tort, in respect of which claims the
party would be entitled to redress
against the United States, either in a
court of law, equity or admiralty, il
the United States were suable, except
claims growing out of the late civil
war and commonly known as wal
Claims" and certain rejected claims.
1t has jurisdiction also of claims OF
like character which may be referred
to 1T by any executive department,
where the amount in controversy eX-
ceeds $4,000, or where the decision
will furnish a precedent for the flu.
ture action of any executive depart
ment in the adjustment of a class of
cases, or where any right, authority,
privilege or exemption is claimed or
denied under the constitution. An APP
peal only upon questions of law, lies
to the supreme court in all cases; but
the findings of fact by the court Of
claims are final, and not subject to
review by the supreme court.
There are five judges who sit to-
gether in the hearing of cases, the
concurrence of three of whom is nee
essary for the decision of any case.
The court sits in the department. of
justice building on the first Monday
in December of each year, and con-
%tinues in session until the following
summer, or until all cases ready for
trial are disposed of.
During the sessions of the congress
scores and sometimes hundreds of
bills are introduced authorizing the
court of claims to consider cases
which are barred by lapse of time.
The statute of limitations BARS con-
sideration of cases which are based
upon facts which are alleged to have
occurred more than six years previ-
ously. 1t was only by congressional
enactment that the claimants men.
toned above, Lundborg and others,
secured standing in this court. These
cases demonstrate the carelessness OF
some congressional committees in
such matters. If congressman had
gone into those cases as carefully as
they should have done, the time OF
the court of claims would not have
been ~encroached upon, because the
bills would never have been passed.
The attorneys and assistant attor-
neys employed by the government
for this court render valuable service
of which the general public hears
nothing. Their salaries are from $2,-
900 to $4,000 per annum. The attor-
ney who looked up the laws of Ala
bama and defeated that one claim
earned his salary for about 40 years
by saving so much to the govern.
ment, and that same attorney will
save the government perhaps half a
million dollars a year, by painstak-
ing endeavor in a number of cases re-
quiring knowledge, acumen inc dill
gence.
81 will not take a case before the
court of claims if l can avoid it, says
ex-Congressman j. Hale Sypher, one
of the oldest practitioners here. '.In
the first place, the fee is always con-
tingent, and in the next place the
work is hopelessly hard. The at
torneys for the court are all able law
yers, and, as your friend told you,
they have all of the of the
government back of them. Although
l believe they sometimes reject good
claims, on legal technicalities, they
undoubtedly save the government
many millions by disproving and
causing the rejection of unjust
claims.
There are lots of wheels within
wheels in this great big ramifying
government of ours, and therefore it
happens that we never hear of the
good work done by many faithful
public servants.
y SMITH D. FRY.