Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-16

After reciting the valiant record of
the long-departed old fighter and Civ
ing full details of the present
straitened financial circumstances
of his descendants. the lawyer says:
II am prepared to admit that this is
quite an ancient claim. but / suppose
it is all right. for l never knew, in all
my practice now of over forty-seven
years. of our respected Uncle Sam
sneaking out of paying a just bill by
pleading the statute of limitations.
and. if l have good success. perhaps ]
may find some unpaid bill incurred in
the partial erection of the tower of
Babel, or some of Old Noah's unpaid
bills for lumber. carpentering and
plumbing incurred in the matter of
the ark. and as biologists. 1 under
stand. have decided that the land
from the ST. Lawrence through into
the Adirondacks is the oldest on the
globe. evidently the bills should be
payable here"
In times of war it sometimes be-
comes necessary for soldiers to help
themselves to whatever they can lay
their hands on in order to keep the
wolf from the kitchen One of the
most amusing cases of this kind oc-
Cured down in Georgia during the
war between the states. 1t seems
that Young private simply could NOT
persuade himself to keep on going
" hen he espied a toothsome variety
of livestock in barnyard along the
road which he was travelling. In less
time than it takes to tell it. that SOL
dier emerged from that barnyard with
a young pig. a lamb and rooster all
clutched tightly in his arms. For
wears the farmer and his sons en-
deavered to get the government to
make good his loss, claiming they
" itnessed the theft. They describe
the soldier as ''red-headed. Spanish in
body and "a right-smart runner"
For more than half a century civil
war claims have been pouring into
Washington. Some are pathetic and
others amusing.
''They broke into my smokehouse."
reads one claim, land those soldiers
took every ham. shoulder and side of
bacon I had. I wish you would either
send me some more hogs or pay for
my good smoked meat"
Comparatively few persons are
aware that $4,000 900 has been lying
in the United States Treasury since
away back in the seventies waiting
for people to claim it. This money
was appropriated by Congress to pay
for many bales of cotton that were
taken by the northern armies. while
the war was in progress When the.
southern planters whose cotton had
been taken commenced sending in
their CLAIMS thev realiZed tHdt All uH-
fortunate joker had been slipped in
the bill. This joker compelled them
to take the "ironclad oath of loyalty"
IN which they were obliged to swear
that they had never bore arms against
the Union. OF course. they were un--
able to tale such an oath, as they had
all either participated In the fighting
against the north or were heartily in
favor of that cause. They were.
therefore. unable to collect single
dollar. hence the money is still in the
Treasury. Efforts are now being
made to have this money distributed
among the surviving Confederate SOL
diers or widows of soldiers. The orig
inal owners of the cotton are prac-
tically all dead.
A claim that has been before the
government for more than 100 years
is known as the "old Sewer claim"
Sewer, who at one time was Gov