The Monticellonian., 1916-06-22
Huge sums fnVolUed in
suits brought against the
government in the court
Of claims at Washington.

n II
IN ~ tits in a queer place fer a firing line
49, -@fn former art gallery. In other
- words. the old abode of the Coreoran
gallery, Seventeenth street and Penn
syIYania avenue Washington. D. e, now houses The
United States court of claims and there nearly every
day OF the courts sessions eminent counsel endeaYof
to score bull s=eye and thereby win fer themselves
and their clients coin of the realm in all the
from few thousands to many millions Of dollars It
is a mighty absorbing and always alluring game, be
cause. as rule. the stakes high. Competitors
are numerous because. if hit is made, the pay is
sure.
AT the present writing some ninety -nine millions
lin fresh crHkly notes Of Uncle sam worth 100 per
cent Of each 1oo cents involved That Is cases
pending in the court of claims calling for
$9S.730115.70
A judgment by the court OF claims. unless reversed
by the United States Supreme court. is as good as
cash. 1t follows that the prize of prizes in legal cir
cles today is sort of fairly well substanated
claim against the United States government IN
Vulnerable such claims discovered and made. The
cases pending number than ten thousand
Needless TO say f al any considerable part of
this ninetyHfne million dollars is paid it will come
out of the United States treasury. out Of the
pockets Of the people of the United States. There
fore. this firing line the people have their repre-.
sentatiFes, the same consisting OF numerous
staff of attorneys retained upon salaries BY Uncle
Sam Nominally their chief Is the attorney gen
eral, but the attorney general in person is
and enforcement of the greater laws. particularly
the antitrust laws. lie has very little time to
devote to routine
The gentleman in actual charge therefore. is
the assistant attorney general in charge of the
defense of suits against the United States. In
der the present administration this gentleman is
Mr.. Huston Thompson Of Denver Colo former
classmate at Princeton Of President Wilson. Mr..
Thompson holds one of the many big submerged
Jobs in the government service.
This Denver man the records show. has injected
western hustle into his job When he came into
the office he found the dockets= of the=coarf Of
claims eluttered up with some twenty-odd thou
sand eases. Now the total is 1905 cases.
The claims run all the way from few thousand
dollars into the millions They originate for the
most part in the numerous contracts maae=by al
departments of the government Tar the building of
battleships. cruisers and other vessels: the cree
tion OF public buildings; dredging and improve
ment of rivers and harbors: the building and main
tenance OF dams. locks. and seawalIs; reclamation
projects; construction of dry docks contracts for
army supplies. contracts with mail contractors
and railroad companies for carrying mails; claims
for the alleged use and infringement of patented
devices; and suits where it is contended that an
implied contract exists.
IN amount the so-caued epiyisor case is the
largest. The railroads are attacking the validity
of an executive order issued in 1907 which bases
compensation for carrying the mails upon diyi-
sion of the total weight by seven rather than by
rather than a sixday week was meant in the
statute covering railway mail pay. If the govern.
ment loses this case it must pay To the railroads
over S40000000
One of the highest dams in the world has pro
duced one of the biggest law suits in the world.
AS is shown BY the accompanying picture, this
dam is a bigger proposition as far height goes
than the United States capitol building with its
enormous dome at Washington. D. c. It is the
dam which stores water for the Shoshone irriga.
ton project in Wyoming.
The contestants are endeayorng to collect more
than 100000 in addition to the S1.33Sooo allowed
under the terms OF the contract as interpreted by
the United States reclamation service. The orig
NAL contractors went into bankruptcy after the
first years work on the Job and the bonding
pany behind the contractors took over the con
tract An unprecedented spring food in the Sho
shone river. accompanied By run Of saw logs
from mill operated mile or SO above the site
of the dam. washed out the temporary works
which had been stalled preparatory TO the con
struction OF the present concrete dam.
II is also alleged that the government made re
auirements not specified in the terms of the orig
inal contract which neeessftated the removal of
the foundation OF the dam Il feet upstream. II is
sought TO fasten on the government responsibility
for the run OF saw logs and it is contended that
the requirements of the government engineers
were unusual and unnecessarily strict
The contentious OF the United States the
other hand that neither contractor appre=
ciated the peculiar difficulties of the work under
taken, that the plant and material brought on the
ground for the performance Of the work was con
spieuously inadequate; that the engineers en-
ployed by the contractors were incompetent and
inefficient and not qualified BY training and expert
ence for the undertaking OF such WORK; and. in
short that all Of the difficulties encountered grew
out of the negligence. inefhciency and improper
methods of the contractors
The claims growing out of naval matters are
numerous and large. There is a device used IN
manufacturing tornedoes which IS known
"superheater." II is eontriyance whereby fuel
is burned in the compressed air driving the motor