The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1849-08-08

tnen worked together systematically TO
keep the knowledge of it from the peo-
pie.
On the 18th of December, 1880, the
Senate took up for consideration the fol-
lowing resolution of Mr.. CLAYTON, then
a member of that body from Delaware;
"Rssoipsd, That committee be appointed to ex-
anime and report the present condition OF the Post
Office Department. in what manner the laws regu-
latng that department are administered; the dstrl-
button of labor; the number of clerks, and the
duties assigned to each the number of agents
where and how employed; the compensation of
contractors; and, generally, the entire management
of the department.; and whether further, and what
legal provisions may be necessary to secure the
proper administration Of its affairs"
A strong effort was made to get rid of
the proposed investigation by referring the
resolution to one of the standing commit
tees, where of course it would have slept
for the session. Mr.. WHITE and Mr..
GRUMPY of Tennessee, and Mr.. KING of
Alabama, advocated this disposition Of it;
but it was defeated, and the resolution, as
offered by Mr.. CLAYTON, was then adopt
ed. Mr.. BELL, of New Hampshire, then
moved that committee of five be APP
pointed by ballot to take charge Of the re-
solution. This could be done under the
rule only by general consent. Mr.. GRuN-
DY said that would not be given-so the
Chair announced the appointment of Mr..
CLAYTON, Mr.. GRUMPY, Mr.. Holmes,
Mr.. WOODBURY., and Mr.. HENDRICKS, as
the committee.
By the 4th of February, 1881, Mr..
GRUMPY found that Mr.. CLAYTON and Mr..
Holmes were making things little too
hot for comfort, and appealed to the Sen
ate to declare by resolution that the COM
mittee were not authorized to call before
them as witnesses the persons who had
been removed from Office by the Post Of
fee Department, for the purpose of testi-
flying as to the causes of their removal.
MIR. CLAYTON opposed this resolution, and
declared that, in substance, its E'design
was, and its effects would be, to repeal an
eristing power, to smoth~r inquiry, and
BATTLE Investigation" This system of sup
pressing inquiry has gone along for twenty
years side by side with the system of
plundering the public treasury. While
the Locofoco executive officers have been
making way with the money, their Repre-
sentatives and Senators in Congress have
been uniformly voting on all occasions to
suppress inquiry. So it will be next win
ter, if there should be Locofoco MAORI
ty in the House of Representatives. The
committees will be so packed if possible
as to thwart and Illustrate every attempt at
investigation.
But, at that early period, Mr.. CLAYTON
had obtained such an insight into the af
fairs of the Department, that he was ena-
bled to make some startling statements on
the floor of the Senate. In explanation
of his object in offering the original reso-
luton, Mr.. CLAYTON observed that
" concerns of the department. and to ascertain, if
possible the true cause of their decline. He had
seen that, under the administration of the prede-
" cessor of the present Postmaster General the
" finances Of the department were ia most -four
" ishing condtion that, by the report of the Com
" mittee on Retrenchment, in the other House, in
" 1928, it appeared that, under his able superin-
" tendence, It's funds had been brought up from an
I" annual deficit of $5S,0O0, to yield clear reve-
"nue of Sl00,3l2 after defraying all the expenses
of mail transportation, and all the incidental ex-
"penses Of the department
Indeed, the predecessor of the present incum-
"bent had actually paid into the treasury of this
" nation upwards of one million one hundred thou
" sand dollars; and, In reply to an interrogatory
"put TO him by the Committee the Post Office
"and Post Roads, in the other House, at the last
session, Mr.. Barry himself admitted that there
had not, at any time, been drawn, by the depart
ment, any money from the treasury which il had
deposited there. All the expenses of transporta-
" uon, and others incident to the department, had
"been betrayed by its own resources, without any
appropriation, at any time, to meet them, from
the treasury At the commencement of the
present session, might be that its concerns
"were in very different situation BY the reports
" OF the head Of the department, 1t appeared that,
=" from the first July, 1898, to the LIST July 1929,
" there had been al excess OF expenditure beyond
"the revenue, Of S74, and an additional excess
OF expenditure, beyond the revenue for the en-
" suing year, of $50, l24. The expenditures Of
Z" the year ending the LIST of July, 1880, exceeded
" even those of the preceding year by the enormous
" sum Of Sl50,674. The available funds Of the
" department, in the first fifteen months of the
"present administration suffered an abstraction of
"Sll4,000. The sums drawn from the treasury,
" to pay the salaries Of officers and the contingent
Expenses, also exceeded any ever drawn before
=" In 1924, the whole amount OF appropriations for
" these purposes was s3s, $50. In 1880, it was
1851 ,290; and the appropriation demanded for the
present year is the same. IL was, therefore, evil
dent that if the department had leaned on the
treasury for support, it would already have near
ely exhausted its available funds, accumulated
during preceding administrations, and amounting,
as the Postmaster General had stated them, on
+" the LIST of July, 1929, to 100000. And, without
" considering the appropriations from the treasury,
" 1t must be evident TO every man who reflected on
" this subject, that uness some change should be
" made in the administration Of It's affairs this de-
"parment would soon reach the period of It's
insolvency"
In the same speech, Mr.. CLAYTON al
luded to allegations of gross abuses in
regard to mail contracts, which had