The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-09-03
WANTS SII,OOO,OOO
TURNED LOOSE
NOW LOCKED UP IN TREASURY
CONGRESSMAN LIVINGSToN'S FIGHT,
FOR COTTON TAX CLAIMS.

Wants the Money Taken From the
Treasury and Distributed Among
the Several States for the Erec-
ton of State acknowledgements
man Livingston No Novice in FL
nanciaI Affairs and Hopes to BE
Able to Induce Congress to De-
liver this Money.
BY R. NJ. Laner.
Washington, Sept. misrepresentation
Lon Livingston, the ranking member
of the minority of the Committee on
Appropriations, proposes to make an
other effort to induce the government
to release the $11, 100000 now held in
the Treasury Department as a result
of a tax imposed on certain cotton,
which the Supreme Court has decided
was unjustly and unconstitutionaHy
levied.
when first came to Congress" re-
marked Mr.. Livingston, my attention
was drawn to those cotton claims, in
which the people of the Southern
states are SO deeply interested. Various
means have been suggested by which
the money might properly be taken
from the treasury and distributed
among the people to whom the cotton
belonged, or their estates All efforts
have thus far failed. and now I pro-
pose that the money shall be taken
from the treasury and distributed
among the several states to be used in
erection of state hospitals. On a pre-
vious occasion introduced a bill in
Congress providing that the money in
volved in these cotton claims be dis
tributed among the various states for
educational purposes.
No Justice in 1t.
There is no right or justice in keep
ing that money locked up in the vaults
of the treasury when it might be used
to relieve suffering humanity. 1t is
conceded that the money does not be-
long to the government, but the ex-
cuse for not disbursing it is that it
is impossible to distribute the money
among the local claimants because so
many of the original parties to the
claim of their successors cannot be
located. In the meantime the gov
eminent does not hesitate to pay out
$4O,OO0OOO to the Panama canal ring,
Notwithstanding it creates a deficit in
the treasury"
Not "a Novice in Finances.
Mr.. Livingston is not a novice about
the financial affairs of the government,
for his long connection with the APP
preparation Committee has enabled
him to get a pretty clear insight into
the mysterious methods employed in
the Treasury Department at various
times and in political emergencies. He
has recently reviewed the status of
these cotton claims and he hopes to
be able to induce Congress to deliver
The money over to the several states
for hospital purposes. He says he is
prepared to demonstrate that the gov
eminent has no legal right to hold
that amount of money in the face
of the decision of the Supreme Court,
and it is in line with the usurpation
of power by the executive branch of
the government.
These cotton claims have been pend
ing before Congress for many years,
and thousands of dollars have been
paid to attorneys who have held out
the nope to claimants that Congress
would eventually pay the money back
to the individual estates. There seems
to be but little prospect of such action,
but in the opinion of Mr.. Livingston,
there is a possibility of paying the
money back to the states for hospitals
May Take the stump.
Col. Livingston expects to be able
to respond to the request of the DEM
ocratic National Committee to take an
active part in the campaign in some
of the doubtful districts. He has been
studying the Republican campaign text
book and claims to have discovered
enough misstatements and inaccuracies
10 fill a volume several times larger.
He was particularly incensed by the
bold claim by the Republicans that the
popular rural free delivery mail serv-
ice was suggested and had its birth
during the Wanamaker administration
of the Postoffice Department.
Now, if there is one subject with
which Mr.. Livingston is entirely ia
miliar it is the rural free delivery
service. Notwithstanding Tom Watson
claims that he secured the first appro-
priation for that service. the records of
Congress show that the first PROPOSE
ton for an appropriation for rural free
delivery service, originated with Mr.
Livingston. He has prepared a state
ment on the subject which the Con-
gressional Committee will send out in
reputation of the false claim made in