The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1910-01-27
MEN AND AffAI.sS M WASHINGTON
some Waldo County Post Office Claims.
Inc Work of Maine Representatives.

anu VI Inelr heirs and assigns, VINO dp-
Pieo Tor excess of salary under the al
legged claims which have been agitating
the Senate in recent days, was small.
1here We're less than dozen, although
the total number in the State of Maine
was approximately 500. AS the proceed
lhgs IN the Senate have indicated, none
OF these claims are at all likely to be
PAID; IN fact, Congress once enacted law
specifically barring them. When the de-
pate over these claims, which are from
all parts of the country, was on last
week, Senator Hale of Maine was one OF
those who denounced the persistence
with which claims attorneys had pressed
them and urged that the whole matter,
covering about $1,000 900 alleged to be
due, be referred to the committee on
post offices and post roads for an investi-
cation and report There is no doubt
but that the report will be emphatically
against the claims as having no standing.
The claims cover period from 1864 to
1874 and have to do with the method of
adjusting salaries. Congress passed
law in 1883 prescribing how the claims
should be paid, but a dispute arose as to
whether the computation should be on
the basis of law of 1854 or law OF
1864. Although the chief clerk of Post
master General W. Q. Gresham promul-
O9 tnd lI,o nj,
the claims valid, Attorney General W. H.
Brewster promptly delivered an opinion
that that ruling was not valid and that
adjustments should be made on the basis
of the law of 1864, which was done. Con-
gress in the sos further sanctioned that
action and prohibited the adjustment OF
the claims by the standard of the law of
1854 But Harvey Spaulding, claims
attorney in this city, has been working
Tor years to get the claims audited on
the basis of the law of 1854. Many reso-
lutions to that end have been introduced
and the Senate the other day, by mad
vertence, adopted such a resolution for
the claimants from Massachusetts. That
action stirred up tremendous fuss in
the Senate and brought the matter to a
head.
Most of the Waldo county claims are
for small sums. All the claims listed
are in cases where the postmasters ap-
piled for restatement of salary prior to
1886. The claim of Postmaster J. S.
Huxford Of Brooks, made in 1885, for
$27, heads the Waldo county list. This
is for additional salary during the period
from 1868 to 1870 For his services dur
ing that time Mr.. Huxford was paid
S2O1. There are two claims pending in
behalf of James N. Atwood of Frank
fort Mills, one for S73 in excess of
salary Of S24O that was paid to him and
another for $50 in excess of $3.50 paid.
The periods of the claims are respective
ly from 1864 to 1866 and from 1868 to
1870.
b. H. Vose, postmaster at Freedom
from 1872 to 1874, is down for claim
of $40 in addition to the $3.50 paid; Will
liam Aver, postmaster at Liberty, for
$50 in excess of the 1920 paid for his
services from 1872 to 1874.
Nathaniel Showers is down for two
claims of S23 and $50, respectively, for
the periods of 1896 and 1869-7O, when
he was paid for being postmaster at
Standpoint the sums, respectively, of
Sl55 and S1S4.
The largest of the claims from Waldo
for being postmater at Searsport from
1864 to 1866 81 ,246, and would have re-
ceived 1854 more if his compensation had
been figured according to the law Of 1854
instead of the law of 1864. E. B. Shell
don, postmaster at Searsport from 1872
to 1874, drew 81, $50, but became claim
ant in 1888 for an additional $40 An
other large Waldo claim is for S206, made
in 1884 in behalf of W. NJ. Griffin, for
services as postmaster at Stockton from
1864 to 1866. The pay he received during
that period was 1854.
O. j. Farwell, for his services as post
master at Thorndike from 1870 to 1872,
received SAG and entered a claim in 1884
for $50 more
Many of the Waldo postmasters served
for longer time than their claims indi-
Gated. They simply applied for the ex-
cess salary for certain periods and failed
to do so for other periods of their tenure.
Most of the applications in Maine and
elsewhere are understood to have been
made at the instance of claims attorneys,
OF whom there is large number in
Washington. The fee for collecting was
20 have been Is per cent IN most cases.
The Maine Representatives in the
House have been largely marking time
in recent days, while the legislative pro-
gram was being prepared, Representa-
tive Burleigh of the third district, and
all his Maine colleagues, have stood firmly
with the Speaker and the House organi-
cation during the attacks of the insur-
gent Republicans, which have been of a
very aggressive character ever since the
session was resumed in early January.
Counsels for peace, which Gov. Bur-
NS<.I1