APPENDIX 161 
lected. There was no branch at that time. The money was 
collected and turned over to these officers and was sent 
to Washington. The army officers came in and advised 
them to save their money, and they saved it and handed 
it to them, thinking that they were dealing with the 
Government and in dealing with the Government they 
were dealing with something that was strong as Gibraltar, 
and were simply putting the money where they could get 
it. Here it is right on the face of the charter. These men 
could not read and they would say to those people, “Here 
it is, ‘any officer in the civil or military service of the 
United States.” ” 
Mr. Gillespie: Let us read section 7. This did not au- 
thorize the officers, civil or military, to receive deposits; 
it simply said if anybody wanted to make a deposit for 
any specific purpose that the acknowledgment of that fact 
might be made before a military or civil officer, and when 
the deposit was made it must be accompanied by this 
certificate. This is quite different. 
Mr. Hayes: Here comes a Negro that does not know 
any more about getting money to Washington than he 
does about going to heaven. . . . 
From 1865 down to 1870 the negro did not have any 
responsibility or vote or anything. He was the ward of the 
nation and hardly that. Think what that means. If there 
was any chancery proceeding by which the Government 
was responsible for these people, it certainly was respon- 
sible. They had no vote or anything. Here were the army 
officers of this great Government. Why did not Congress 
think about the fact that the Negroes were being enslaved 
and stop them? They had nine years. With all the in- 
formation before Congress why did not somebody say: 
“Vou are involving the Government; you are making mis- 
representations; you are making these people believe that 
this is a governmental affair when it is not.” 
Statement of Judson W. Lyons: 
The institution was called the Freedmen’s Savings and 
Trust Company. We all know what a trust company 
means. That is, we know a good deal about it, but we 
know that you gentlemen know all about it. We know