Staunton vindicator and general advertiser. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1860, 1859-04-09

Post Office Affairs in Virginia.
Nwould sstound the honest and straight
forward people Of Virginia, if they could
know the extent of tho ineficiency and cor
ruption- yes, DOWNRIGHT and unblushing
corruption which prevails in the admins
tration Of the Post Office Department here
IN Virginia. Nearly every post Office in
the State is ia the hands Of brawling Loco
fooo demagognes- and every mail agency
on all our railroads is in the hands of men
of the same stripe. And, that there is
widespread swindliDg and pilfering going
on among them, we entertain not the shad-
ow of doubt. Indeed, we are fully and
thoroughly convinced. from numerous facts
that have come to- our knowledge. that
scarcely day passes that these postmasters
and mail-agents do not deliberately steal
and destroy matter that has been entrusted
to the mails. And not only do they. steal
and destroy documents and, empty letters,
but they steal and put in their own pockets
money and checks, and to an amount which
can never be known. We know there are
many exceptions among them-that there
are men Of honesty and honor, engaged in
the Post Offices and Post agencies Of the
State, and who would scorn to do what we
have charged upon some Of them. ..e.l
In part proof Of the broad, sweeping and
serious charge we have thus brought against
our Virginia postmasters and mail-agents,
let us descend to a few particulars. It is
known to all men that the Opposition Gem
trail Committee, in this city, have gotten up
and printed several documents for use in
the present campaign. These documents
have been duly directed and put in the
Richmond post-ofice, aoitA postage anudri-
ably prepaid; and yet, from information
which has reached us from various and au-
thentic sources, we doubt whether even one
third Of these documents have reached the
persons to whom they were sent. In many
cases, we .knoU that they have not reached
them. Now, why /? WHAT'S the cause OF
this thing? Documents addressed to a gen.
tleman living not a hundred, or seventy
Eve, or even fifty miles from Richmond and
put IN the Richmond post-o6ice three soeeks
ago, HAVE NOT ARRIVED AT. THEIR POINT OF
DESTINATION s ga,a., ;;,t ss,s;4
In addition to the destruction of the doc
uments to which we have adverted, we have
assurances from gentlemen of the highest
standing, Of their having enclosed money
to US, which has never reached us. IA sin
gle instance of the enclosure of. about
hundred dollars from the county of Am
herst, over three sceeks ago., which money
has ,never reached a.s, lis a sufficient proof OF
the swiaedging operations of some of the per-
sons engaged in the mail service in Virgin
ia! Now, it is impossible for us to trace
this species of rascality, and fix the gull
upon any single individual there are toe
many having a finger in the pie for us tt
be able to detect the real criminal. And,
then, who knows to what extent there may
exist combination. among these post-ofice
officials to rob the mails Rich. Wing.
Had the Whlg seriously considered wher
it pcnned the above article, the effect which
this broad, sweeping, and serious charge,
would have? Here is as respectable a body
Of men as any in the State, brought under
the sweeping charge of ''unblushing cor.
ruption," Of s'wide- spread swindling and
pilfering," ~, and all because few know
nothing documents and 500 bill, AM
many other instances of which the Whie
does not deign to inform US did not reacl
their destination. y af
tits true that the Wing makes an excep
ton of many men s'of honesty and homo
engaged in the post Offices and post-agen
cies of the State, who would scorn to Dc
| what we have charged upon some Of them,
but the Wing has made the sweepiuI
charges which we have cited above, but ev
cry one is denied the acuteness and the eyi
dence (Which the Wing keeps as yet studi-
0 usly locked up in its own sauctum) b
which to discriminate between the homes
and corrupt post-masters and mail agents
and Of course one is just as liable to sus
picion as the other. ..9H T14' isii
John LetCher In the East