The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-06-09
The New Post Office OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
Necessary I'm All tho Public Service.

The New Post Office Frauds-Investigation
Necessary In ALI tho Public Service.
The recent astounding Developments in the
frauds on the Post Office, by the manufacture
and sale of surreptitious postage stamps, calls
for an immediate investigation by the govern
ment of the whole system of the manufacture,
sale and use of the present style of the certif-
cate Of prepayment of postage.
| All the Postmasters should be overhauled, and
their modes of conducting their business looked
into for they are all politicians as well as pub
lie officers. Let the investigation commence at
once, and begin it with our own New York Post
Office. Our Postmaster is finished gentleman,
but he is so intensely devoted to politics, and
the other elegancies of life that he has little if
any time to devote to the business proper of the
Post Office. An investigation into the affairs
of all the Post Offices in the country, even
if it does not lead to the discovery of
the parties who make and sell the fraudu-
lent stamps, will certainly do much good
to the public service. It will discover to
the Department many things which it now
knows nothing Of; will show who does the
work and who gets the pay; and perhaps it may
lead to the discovery Of the causes that stimu-
late the robbery of money letters in the mail,
now SO usual, and which is 90 great a stain on
the public service, and so great an annoyance to
| the people.
Unfortunately, ali Cur postmastsis and all
our pest Office clerks sTe politicians. Now,
/ when man undertakes to do business as mer-
chant, be must have some respectability, cha
racter for integrity, and decent respect for the
proprieties Of social intercourse. These are the
foundation of bis credit and standing in his pro-
fession. So, too, with the professional man, the
shipmaster, the mechanic, and even the common
laborer. If they have not common honesty, go
briefly, truthfulness, and certain selfrespect in
their social intercourse, they cannot advance in
social position. But there are two classes of
society, as things now exist, which do not re-
quire these qualities to enable them to command
success. Indeed, to the politician and the bur-
glar their possession is an incumbrance and an
impeachment to success. As soon as either of
them is known to possess even lingering re-
gard for truth and honesty, or decent
respect for social obligations, be loses
caste among bis fellow.politicians or fel-
low burglars. To use their cant phrase,
he ceases to be IAN available man, Both
of them must, in fact, be up to all and any kind
of work required Of them.
AS tits, the politicians, and we may almost say
the politicians alone-for the honest people mind
their own business, and the burglar is provided
with public employment in another way-get
into all the branches of public service. Not only
are our Custom Houses and Post Offices full of
them, but they crowd out every other class in
municipal office, as representatives in our State
Legislatures and in Congress, and even in our
consular and diplomatic service abroad. And
this is not condition that attends one party
alone. 1t exists in all parties alike. Democrats,
wings, black republicans and Know Nothings
all obey the same law. What the future results
of such state of things will be, we do not
care to prognosticate. It's present results are
tangible on every side. Its operation is seen in
Board of Aldermen that refuses to confirm a
City Inspector, State Legislature scheming to
sell the State canals, and Congress that will
not attend to any other business than that of
log-rolling railroad jobs and public land grants,
except it be on the Matteson terms of one
thousand dollars head. Its influence has filed
our consular posts abroad with men who, In mat
tiers Of commerce, do not know q big B
from bulls foot, and has given us a
set Of diplomatic representatives near foreign
governments who know nothing Of the great
public questions Of the day, or of the history
language, character or social customs of the
people among whom they are sent to reside and
to protect our public interests and those of our
citizens. In q word, pothouse and Pewter Mug
politicians rule the roast everywhere in our pub
lie service.
This state Of things requires ventilating. A
little wholesome investigation will do heap of
good in every department. Such movement
cannot be better begun than in the Post Offices,
and the recent astounding Developments in re-
gard to frauds Ton the postal revenue furnish
an occasion to begin with which the Postmaster
General should not pass over. Let us know how
these things are managed; how the public con-
tracts are obtained how the sureties for public
officers are made secure or remunerated for the
risk they run, and how the public money is nib
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