The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-03-07
BERGNER STILL AGAIN.
LOwRY,s FIFTH LETTER.

Low RN'S FIFT Ill L. X TT K IL.
The Dcncon's "TotaI Oepravity''-How He
Used TO Run Up the Postage Bill of the state
How He Is Watched While Passing Around
the Collection Bag in Church, and Divers
Other Matters.
HARRISBURG, March 5.-Dear Deacon Berg
ner:--The conclusion of my letter this morning
was perhaps little severe. This, however, you
must attribute to the reckless manner in which
you have prostituted the Legislature and by
reluctant division of the spoils, secured the
assistance of some of your political opponents.
You have almost, if not quite established the
doctrine of total depravity. / write this on
Saturday evening, so that you may not be disap-
pointed in my daily evidence of devotion for you
have further evidence from the AudtOr-Gene-
rails Office, to which / now call your special
attention.
1t has been the custom in this State, and |
believe nearly all the States, for members of the
Senate and House of Representatives to put
their names upon their letters and documents
which are deposited in the Post Office by the
Messenger, and for the Postmaster to put on the
necessary stamps and charge 1t to the State.
This practice has been in force in this Common
wealth until the present session. We discovered
that the State was being largely defrauded by
you, and at very great inconvenience and daily
annoyance to ourselves we changed the law.
Ourreasons for doing soyou already know and the
public will find in the following statement taken
from the books of the Auditor General. In 1862
you, the Postmaster at Harrisburg, swore that
you had put postage stamps on mail matter for
the Senate and House of Representatives vul-
gar fractions omitted, to the amount of Sl5, 1893.
In the year 1864 the amount of your account
against the State reached the handsome little
sum of $23, 392, to the correctness of which you
made oath. In 1865 you were removed from the
post Office by Andrew johnson, which deed on
his part was perhaps the best he performed DUR
ing his itful and unsatisfactory administration.
General Simon Cameron, In an evil hour for his
own fame, and In direct opposition to the wishes
of the citizens of this CITY, and against the pro-
test nf the RppublipaN marty here had rain
stated in Office and brave soldier removed to
| give you possession.
| According to the record now before me- your
account against the State the first year after you
! took charge OF the office the second time
! amounted to the enormous sum of S29 or.
| Stand up, Deacon George, and tell the people
| that. in 1862, you used postage stamps for the
! Legislature amounting to $15, 1879; in 1864 you
advanced to the sum OF $23, 1892, and that after a
short absence from office you again took possess
| sion and made forced march up to the sum of
| $29,072, when the Legislature wisely took the
matter out Of your hands, having become
alarmed at your deXterity and facility in in
creasing the charges against the State without
| any increase in the quantity of mail matter sent
| off. Give the people an estimate of the amount
| to which you would have increased these ex-
penses had the Legislature not taken the alarm
| and relieved you from the opportunity.
With no increase in postage, with no more
| letters and documents sent off requiring stamps
in 1869 than in 1862, and perhaps not as many,
| we u0u Lut JuulClOuB ana BhllIul MANAGE
ment of the pious Deacon an increase in the sum
| paid In 1869 over that paid in 1862 of $13 873
| Bear in mind, my worthy friend that whenever
| the Legislature becomes uneasy, or disturbed, or
| alarmed at anything you do no matter what 1t
| is there must be great danger, and some stu
| pendous, overwhelming defect and deficiency
| somewhere. / see from your paper of the 4th
instant that your tranquility has been disturbed.
| You make feeble and abortive effortto rd-
cule me- without attempting to reply to a single
charge that make against you. / may refer to
this article again, but my object at present is to
| PROFOUND 70 you some Interesting interroga-
tories, and let the people see whether you will
answer them direct or not or resort to ridicule.
| Question |. After you had been reappointed
| to the Post Office, and after the blue postage
stamps had been issued several months, how
many red stamps did you sell TO the people OF
| Harrisburg, and what was the amount you re-
| ceived!
Question 9. When you went into the Office the
second time, how many red postage stamps had
you on hand and as the General Post Office was
not Issuing any, and had not for several months
where and from whom did you obtain the
| sameS
Question 3. When the opposition of tle people
| of this city and the clamOr which they raised
against the selling of the old red postage stamps
forced you to stop, did you not send the remain
| der of what you had on hand to Philadelphia ol
| some other locality for SALE and what amount
did you receive for the same?
| Question 4. Were these red stamps, which YET
| must have held for over three years, included il
the bill you presented against the State in 1856
for $23, 1892, which you alleged you had furnished
to the Legislature in postage stamps to send of
their letters and documentsy
Question 3. If these stamps were included il
the aforesaid BILL please state your reasons 70
not returning them to the State Treasury?
Will you answer the above interrogatorles
That's the question. No lodging.
Again, referring to your paper OF the 4th, yo'
say: HE Qowry) has imposed on his constitu
ents continually by the publication in the Legts
lattice Record of speeches which he could no
| compose and never delivered"
, l never wrote letter or dictated one, made
speech or dictated il, that any intelligent mai
or woman in my district could not at once poin
, | TO the author. My atiiiction, which you have 81
often gloated over in your paper, requires me +