Oliver Otis Howard, Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general , United States army : volume 2

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[356] real claimants very often helped us to detect that sort of crime, and so checked its occurrence or repetition. When the bona fide soldier or sailor had died, the crime, which was a robbery of the heirs, was harder to uncover and punish. There was but one transaction in connection with these moneys held by me for the soldiers and sailors (after remaining for six months or more to my credit at authorized depositaries) of which some of my real friends complained; it was putting the waiting money into United States bonds.

The use I made of the interest on the bonds was to meet cases where the true claimants had been defrauded, as heretofore explained, and for such other purposes as were by law authorized for any and all refugees and freedmen's funds. I made the investment under the advice of Dr. Brodhead, the venerable second comptroller. Doubtless his interpretation of all the laws which were involved, was right. On his clear and fearless decisions all War Department disbursing officers always depended for the final adjustment of their money accounts.

A brief summary will set forth in convenient form the vast work touching back pay, bounty, and prize money for colored claimants. All cases intrusted to me by the claimant were settled without necessitating attorney's fees. After the bounty law of March, 1867, went into effect, up to October, 1870, 5,108 such cases were thus brought in, saving to freedmen concerned $51,080 legal fees, and, judging from attempts at fraud continually occurring, many times that sum in illegal fees which would have been extorted from them on every conceivable pretext by greedy attorneys. The whole amount paid from the passage of the Act to October, 1870, was $7,683,618.61. At the close of the