Evening star., 1925-10-05

of California. to cover the cost of sup
pressing Indian warfare in the State
and made demand for it's retirement
With interest to date. \ search of the
old files disclosed the fact that this
indebt edness was properly met by the
Government many years ago.
\ Southern State submits it's claim
for over $4,000 for reimbursement of
its expenses in taking the interde-
cennial census of 1865. The present
officials of the State will he shown
that this claim was paid in 1883.
A nearby municipality was faced
with the redemption of tax scrip is
sued in 1871 and bearing interest TO
1898 The total of the claim
amounted to over S1,025. The heirs
of the original holders of the scrip
produced duplicates and affidavits APP
parently showing the loss of the scrip.
However. a search of the old files dis
closed the original scrip and record
of proper payment on behalf of the
Government.
Confusion of Files.
Last month more space was needed
for a series of files in Tempo No. 8.
There wasn't space there, so they
were sent to the Pettus Building,
where there are no elevators, and the
bundles of files had to be carried by
hand up two and three flights of
stairs, which is a pretty slow and
extensive method of handling. SDe-
cial carriers. resembling stretchers,
had to be constructed. And IN a
few months when more files are to
he stored they will have to jump to
another building.
1t must be emphasized that the situ-
/ ~ nf hn
eral Accounting Office is entirely diff
ferent from that in any other bureau
or department or independent estab-
Hshment. The other offices keep dupli-
Gates of their records and vouchers,
but the originals are held by the Cen
eral Accounting Office. The other of
fees might destroy their duplicates
and depend upon the General Ac-
counting Office to produce the orig
! inals when needle. General Account
! ing Office must keep the orig
inals continually available for con-
sultation and reference. Here. again,
! the other departments very often COM
plicate the work of the General Ac-
couting Office by sending there for ref
erence to these original vouchers.
Here is "A present tense illustration
Of how old files must be kept open
and available for consultation. Con
Jurisdiction to allow certain tribes of
Indians to have their claim cases
heard in court. Practically all of
! these claimants come to the General
| Accounting Office and ask for COM
plete accounting under certain treaties.
Search Old Treaties.
! This means that the searchers have
! to go back to the accounts of many
| disbursinE agents under more than
n score of old trea ties-for example:
| 1903 to 1851, with the Arickarees, the
! Gros Ventres and Mandanas; 1903 to
! 1868, with the Sioux tribes and Usage
| Nation; 1904 to 1863 with the Media
wakanton and Wahpakoota bands;
| 1886 to 1861, with Iowa tribes; 1851
with the Assiniboine tribe; 1864, with
! the Klamath and Modoc tribes and
| the Yahooskin band of Smoke Indians,
! and 1868, with the Flandreau band
| of Santee Sioux Indians.
! On account of the improper storage
| of these old records for many years on
! omen shelves, sometimes in hot and
| parching rooms, where they grow very
! brittle and again in dark, damp eel
| lars, very often these old papers fall
| to pieces when an attempt is made to
| handle them, then they have to be
patched up not only for immediate
consultation but for future preserya-
| ton.
Illustrating how almost any day
some very old paper may have to be
| studied-only this week the research
! clerks had before them some old ac-
counts of William Clark, showing ex-
penditures he had made for the Gov
| ernment. That was the Clark of
| Lewis and Clark boundary fame. Just
the other day a voucher turned up
| l. ~
| Boone.
This shows that these files are never