The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1912-12-19
CRAWFORD MAKES
RECORD IN WORK
ON CLAIMS BILL
Prepared Volume of
425 Pages Review
ing all of Them.
UNCLE SAM SAVES
One Item of 100000 and
Another of 5000, 900 Cut
Out by South Dakotan.
UNCLE SAM SAVES

Washington. d. C.-During the
consideration from day to day by the
/ United States Senate OF III. Il. 19l Is,
| the so-called omnibus claims bill, it
! has been disclosed that the chairman
! of the Senate Committee on claims
/ Coe l. Crawford. OF South Dakota. i'm
charge of the bill on the Senate floor.
(; is in possession OF expert knowledge
| of each of the thousands of CLAIM in
the bill which establishes an enviaDse
record for thorough and highly eff
cient work. The most interesting and
! important part of the bill in ques-
tion however. is the fact that, as a
i result OF Senator Crawford's per-
sonal examination of each of the
| thousands OF claims in the bill, as it
passed and came over from the
House, he has not only saved the
government about two million OF dol
| lars but, what is OF still greater inn
portance to the American people, he
has established a precedent for sue
ceedins chairmen of this important
committee which will in the future
mean a saving OF other millions.
Big Sum Saved.
volving claims against the govern
ment running into millions OF dol
lars. is highly instructive to citizens
interested in an economical conduct
of public affairs. In its original form
las it came from the House and was
Preferred to the Senate committee on
Iclaims. the chairman. Senator Craw-
(, ford, as result of only casual eX-
CD
THAT each item in the bill required
a most thoroughgoing examination
before it could be reported and acted
upon by the committee-in the int
crest OF justice to all concerned, and
! in accordance with the governing
rules of the committee and the find
: irgs of the court of claims and all
other evidence filed Notwithstand-
: ing it's imperative necessity, the
work involved in the undertaking
OF this task was OF such wearisome,
! grinding character that it is no Won
, der if had never before been done.
None the less, Senator Cra awford say
l it as his plain duty to furnish his
committee with complete report OF
the history and legal standing OF each
J claim, and went resolutely to work
: He labored necessarily for weeks, in
s variably till after midnight eacl
S might OF the week. until the task was
accomplished His report on the bill
: consists of volume of 425 closel!
e printed pages, with the claims prop
: erly classified and the history ant
: finding of each claim. AS a result
he struck out several hundred claim!
h including a very large number OF OLE
S Southern claims growing out of thu
late civil war that had been passet
e by the House. on the ground tha
5. they are not just claims and do no
d come within the law nor the finding
" of the court of claims, thereby savin'
h the government about two million
n dollars. Because he was in posses
j. sion of this expert knowledge o
e each claim in the minutest details
d Senator Crawford's exhaustive repor
% was adopted by the committee, an
a the bill as amended in accordanc
$. herewith reported to the Senate.
,e Defeats Big Grab.
s. AS an example, the claim of tn
at Cramp Shipbuilding company fc
n $135,56O can be cited. After havn
n read Senator Crawford's exhaustiv
Of report on the case Is. ID. 500 on
8 can only reach the conclusion thu
he this claim is an attempt on the pa
ne OF this big corporation TO obtain
large sum of money from the Unite
States government to which it hi
no moral or legal right In 1890 I'll
government entered into a writtf
4 contract with the Cramp concern, ;"
it's own risk and expense for I!
10 construction of the battleship Inc
is Sna. for which the government agree
ay to pay $3,020,000 in 80 equal insta
er ments as the work progressed. III
of- contract by express terms provi6
he that the final settlement and pa
ar. ment should not be made except up
ty the execution of an absolute relea
at OF all damages by the contractor
lat On May is, 1896. the Cramp col
ill pany signed and delivered just su
on release and received from the &C
IN ernment the final balance of 50
lat 1926. Fifteen months after havi
od delivered the release of all damas
a the Cramps brought suit in the co,
on of claims to recover the sum of $4S
go 232.9O damages! The court of clai
MT decided that claimant was enti.l
ent to recover damages in the sum
file 1850. A claim for this amou
est based on the finding of the court
ry: claims, was introduced in the Sem
to and referred to the committee
hat claims. In a former congress &
the tinguished Senator, under the dir
af- tion of the committee, had repor
the a similar bill favorably. Sena
the Crawford, however. discovered d
the lie decision of the court OF clai
the nau been carried to the Supre
his court of the United States which
/ it reversed the decision, and held t
the claimant had no legal or eq1