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Bibliographical Note.

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Little of the mass of original material at one time in existence relative to the life and activity of Haym Salomon can now be located. Mr. William Salomon, of New York, a great-grandson of Haym Salomon, writes in response to a recent inquiry as follows: "I am under the impression that all the papers bearing on the services of Haym Salomon in the cause of the Revolution which were not lost when he died intestate (and a few months before Haym M. Salomon was born) came into Haym M. Salomon's possession, but unfortunately his descendants have been deprived of that valued inheritance by reason of their disappearance while in the custody of the Government. All I ever discovered among my father's papers was a letter from either President Tyler or Polk (I cannot remember positively which, and the letter is not now within easy reach) stating that papers my grandfather, Haym M. Salomon, desired to have returned could not be found in the Department where they had been placed."

Some further details of the strange negligence to which this unfortunate loss is due may be found in the Senate Committee Report to the 31st Congress on the claim of H. M. Salomon. The timely services rendered by Haym Salomon to James Madison during the sessions of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia are specifically indicated in the published letters of Madison; see Gilpin, Madison Papers, Vol. I., pp. 163, 178–9. Mr. Herbert Friedenwald, of Philadelphia, has recently found among the records of the Continental Congress an interesting Memorial of Haym Salomon, submitted to the Congress in August, 1778; see Publications of American Jewish Historical Society, I., 87. The main sources of information relative to the life of Haym Salomon are thus the secondary Congressional Committee Reports upon the claims of his descendants for indemnity for money advanced to the United States Government during the Revolution. These, in the order of their presentation, are as follows:[21]

1. Report on Claim of Haym M. Salomon. Rep. F. A. Tallmadge. April 26, 1848. 3 pp. House Reports, No. 504, 30th Cong., 1st Sess., Vol. III.

2. Report on Claim of H. M. Salomon. Senator J. D. Bright. July 28, 1848. 3 pp. Senate Reports, No. 219, 30th Cong., 1st Sess.

3. Report on Claim of H. M. Salomon. Senator I. P. Walker. August 9, 1850. 7 pp. Senate Reports, No. 177, 31st Cong., 1st Sess., Vol. I.

4. Report on Claim of Haym M. Salomon. Senator Charles Durkee. March 9, 1860. 10 pp. Senate Reports, No. 127, 36th Cong., 1st Sess., Vol. I.

5. Report on Claim of Haym M. Salomon. Senator M. S. Wilkinson. July 2, 1862. 5 pp. Senate Reports, No. 65, 37th Cong., 2d Sess.

6. Report on Petition of Haym M. Salomon. June 24, 1864. 4 pp. Senate Reports, No. 93, 30th Cong., 1st Sess.

The second, third, fifth and sixth of the above reports have been reprinted in pamphlet form, presumably for private circulation. During the first session of the 29th Congress, the Senate Committee of Claims unanimously agreed upon a report similar to that adopted by the House Committee of the 30th Congress, but too late for presentation. Another report was drawn up during the second session of the same Congress, placed on file, but never adopted. It was largely embodied in the Senate Report to the 31st Congress; see Senate Report to the 31st Congress. The last sentence of the Report to the 38th Congress: "except the report of this committee made at the last session," and several paragraphs inserted in the Report to the 37th Congress as statements of "the committee of the last Congress," indicate the presentation of additional reports. No positive evidence of their existence has, however, been found. At the second session of the 52d Congress (February 24, 1893), a bill was presented to the House, ordering that a gold medal be struck off in recognition of services rendered by Haym Salomon during the Revolutionary War, in consideration of which the Salomon heirs waived their claims upon the United States for indemnity. The measure was reported favorably by the House Committee on the Library, but too late for consideration. The Report (No. 2556; to accompany H. R. 7896) summarizes the efforts made in previous Congresses, and reprints in full the Senate Report to the 37th Congress.

The American Jew as Patriot, Soldier and Citizen

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