493.11/754
The Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (Gilbert) to the Secretary of State
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 27th ultimo,98 requesting that you be furnished with data supplemental to that set forth in letter of this Department of November 2, 1911, to the Chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of State, House of Representatives, in connection with the Chinese Indemnity resulting from the so-called Boxer insurrection of 1900.
[Page 400]In compliance with your request there is submitted the following statement giving the information desired, viz:
1. Receipts by years covering payments of Chinese Indemnity made to the United States from July 1, 1902, to present date.
| 1903 | $962,902.34 |
| 1904 | 987,772.54 |
| 1905 | 1,128,200.04 |
| 1906 | 1,493,278.74 |
| 1907 | 1,438,841.36 |
| 1908 | 1,013,606.36 |
| 1909 | 892,974.91 |
| 1910 | 533,535.52 |
| 1911 | 533,473.49 |
| 1912 | 105,081.41 |
| 1913 | 644,500.26 |
| 1914 | 806,083.88 |
| 1915 | 535,260.60 |
| 1916 | 533,238.47 |
| 1917 | 535,070.09 |
| 1918 | 269,679.76 |
| 1919–21 | |
| 12,413,499.77 |
2. Claims allowed and paid from the moneys received by the Treasury to date.
The Secretary of State by letters of March 15 and 20, 1902, allotted the sum of $2,000,000 out of the indemnity received from China, to pay the claims of American citizens for losses sustained by them in the Boxer disturbances, this account being set up on the books of the Treasury Department under the appropriation title—
“Chinese Indemnity, Claims of Citizens of the U.S. growing out of the Boxer Uprising in North China in 1900.”
| Payments under this fund to March 6, 1907, as shown by statement transmitted with letter of November 2, 1911, referred to above | $1,994,553.65 |
| No further payments since March 6, 1907. | |
| Unexpended balance standing on books of Treasurt Department under this fund | 5,446.35 |
| 2,000,000.00 |
Under the provisions of the Joint Resolution of May 25, 1908 (35 Stat., 577), (in connection with decision of the Comptroller of the Treasury, dated November 26, 1909) a fund not to exceed $2,000,000 was set aside from the Chinese Indemnity to pay judgments [Page 401] allowed by the Court of Claims, this account being set up on the books of the Treasury Department under the appropriation title—
“Claims upon Chinese Indemnity of 1900, Judgments, Court of Claims.”
| Payments under this fund during period December 1, 1909, to December 3, 1912 | $824,164.36 |
| No further payments since December 3, 1912. | |
| Unexpended balance under this fund, returned to China as shown below | 1,175,835.64 |
| 2,000,000.00 |
All judgments allowed by the Court of Claims having been paid, the balance of the above mentioned fund, $1, 175,835.64, under the provisions of the Joint Resolution of May 25, 1908, (in connection with decision of the Comptroller of the Treasury, dated November 23, 1914), was made available for return to the Government of China, the account covering this balance being set up on the books of the Treasury Department under the appropriation title—
“Balance of Chinese Indemnity 1900 reserved by Joint Resolution of May 25, 1908, returned to Government of China.”
Payments under this fund were made by settlement warrants drawn in favor of a representative of the Chinese Government, as follows:
| Fiscal year | 1915 | $400,000.00 | |
| 1916 | 500,000.00 | ||
| 1917 | 200,000.00 | ||
| 1918 | 75,835.64 | ||
| $1,175,835.64 |
The last payment of $75,835.64, closing this account, was made to the Chinese Minister, by Diplomatic Settlement Warrant No. 1481, July 28, 1917.
| From the above it will be noted that the total payments under claims presented and allowed in connection with the Boxer disturbances have amounted to | $2,818,718.01 |
| Balance returned to China under the $2,000,000 set aside to pay judgments, Court of Claims | 1,175,835.64 |
3. Balance on the books of the Treasury after payment of all claims.
The only unexpended balance standing on the books of the Treasury Department under the funds established to pay claims arising under the Boxer disturbances is that referred to above under the [Page 402] appropriation “Chinese Indemnity, Claims of Citizens of the United States growing out of the Boxer Uprising in North China in 1900,” amounting to . . . . . . . $5,446.35.
By direction of the Secretary:
Respectfully,
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
- Not printed.↩