Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1903-01-22
WAR.CLAIMSDEBATE.
A COMMITTEES REPORT SUPPRESSED.
% Was Never Printed fseeanss Linooin No
Moved That its Eisvslstaasa Wesid Make
the People DsspAir--A Fight on m
Omnibus RasOlatiOn.

Washington, Jan. 17.---An interest
ing controversy arose In the house
yesterday in connection with bill Il
appropriate $s,446 to pay the claim
Of B. u. Moody & Co., Of Keokulr, Ia.
for balance due under q contract fol-
the equipment Of the Third Iowa cav
airy during the civil war, and some
sensational chapters in the history
Of the alleged army contract frauds
in 81. Louis were exploited. Mr.
Smith, of Iowa, was in charge Of the
bill. The original amount Of the
claim exceeded $4,000, but It was
scalded down by the committee to
$s,446. Mr.. Smith commended that the
claim was just, the contract having
been executed under the authority Of
Gen. John G. Fremont, through his
agent, Gen. Cyrus Bussey. Mr..
Hedge, of Iowa, Mr.. Smiths col
league, denounced the claim with q
vigor which attracted the attention
Of the entire house. He impeached
It first on the ground that 1t had
been allowed to slumber for 80 years
without being presented to congress,
and then proceeded to point out that
It had its origin in the action Of the
famous commission consisting Of
David Smith, Hugh Campbell and Jo-
seph Holt, which unearthed the al
legged frauds in Gen. Fremont's de-
partment OF the ST. louis in 1852. He
declared that the commission had
scaled millions upon millions of
army contracts, one of which was
that of Moody & Co., and that Gen.
Fremont had been superseded be-
cause Of the intolerable conditions
that were found to exist. "The re-
port of that committee" said he,
twas never, printed because Lincoln
believed that its revelations would
make the people despair" III
IL have that record here" said Mr..
Smith, raising aloft q package of pa
pers, musty and yellow with age.
"But IL was never printed" insisted
Mr.. Hedge. ut would not have been
advisable to print IT," Then he called
on Mr.. HIT, chairman of the COM
mittee on foreign affairs, who had
been an interested listener to the de-
bate, to bear out his testimony, ex-
planning that Mr.. Hit had been the
stenographer of the 81. Louis com
The latter corroborated Mr.. Hedge,
saying that the report which Mr..
Smith had displayed had been writ
ten by his own hand. He told of the
gigantic, frauds unearthed in that in
and Of the unwillingness
If the authorities to permit the COM
plete story to become public, owing
10 the disheartening effect 1t might
produce on the people. Personally,
he said, he did not remember the
ietails Of the particular claim Of
Moody & Co.
Mr.. Smith. in reply, while admit
ing that the contract might have
,een technically without authority,
insisted that the claim was not fraud
llent in law or in fact.
The house, however, voted the bill
Town, 30 to 70.
among tine mis- passeu was one TO
,ay $5,6S3 to Mrs. Flora A. Darling for
damages growing out Of her arrest
" the military authorities Of New
orleans in 1864, while she was on
lag Of truce boat under safe con-
uct.
Mr.. Payne, the floor leader Of the
majority, led q strong fight against
n omnibus resolution TO refer to the
curt Of claims 90 separate claims
ggregating 100000 for finding Of
act under the provisions Of the
tucker act. He contendcd that the
esolutlon would remove the statute
limit action, which already barred
lany of these old claims. The
laims were all for stores and sup
lies taken by the federal forces dur
x the civil war. Mr.. Payne con-
ucted filibuster, but he was over
Idden by friends Of the measure,
'ho comprised all the democrats and
alf the republicans. On roll call
n the adoption Of the resolution,
owever, quorum failed, the vote
at.. M A. ~ and &ha hauua a. |