New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-04-14
WASHINGTON.
MAILBAG FRAUDS.

FURTHER PARTICULARS OF THE METHODS By WHICH
THE GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN DEPRACDED IN THE
REPAIR OF MAn-BAGs-PoUCHZs CUT AND MI
TILATED IN ORDER TO INCREASE THE EXPENSE
OF RhrAIRs-THE CONTRACTOR AT INDIANAPOLIS
LIFT WITHOUT SUPERVISION.
WARRINGTON, April 13.-SOOn after the Post
came into office he had to suspect
that considerable faud being perperated in the mat
ter OF repairing mabags at the different mailbag de
positories Having received Inclination that fraudu-
lent transactions going ut Indianapolis and st.
Louis and acting the hint he dispatched Special Agent
Henderson To the~e points make thorough investiga
on The Special Agent his report says concerning the
st. Louis depository that the pouches, &c. properly
examined at the Office when returned by the contractor
MAILING the REPAIRS and the repairs represented by the
tag accompanying each pouch generally compare with
the repairs actually made The fraud is perpetrated
IN this way: Thomas Morrison, the contractor,
directs his to make the work average 1925
to the hundred pouches and in order to do this they must
butcher them and then repair them until the desired
amount Is reached perfect pouches have been cut and
pacched In the most ridiculous manner; good bottoms
have been cut ont straps cut or handles and staples c
Of and holes cut into them without limit. The total
amount paid him by Government from May, 1874, to
January /, 1875, was S7i5A O5, and since the latter
date about 800 The amount charged for repairs was
steadily the increase and Mr. Henderson thinks II not
checked would have increased monthly The substance
of Mr. Hcndersons report of hs Of the mail
bag depository at Indianapolis, Indiana, In as follows
He found the work Of repairing being done BY one W. c.
Mason. formerly clerk in the Indianapolis PostOhce
The work Wa given 10 him on the 9Th Of May, 1874
Prior to this the Government paid for the work in ques
ton At the Indianapolis Depository an average say OF
about $500 per month, about So 600 per While
Mason's predecessor WAS doing the work It was
customary for Mr. Holloway superintendent Of the Office
to supervise the repairs by examining all the work DONE
and by comparing the charges on every pouch repaired
with tho tag representing what rerairs were necessary
the price, &c THIS examination took ny much Of his
time that consultation with the Postmaster was con-
eluded 10 transfer this duty 10 porter, one
Edward Vickers by name. vickers it seems.
attended to these duties during the month OF May
and part OF June last year, bnt no longer, hls
being that Mason, the contractor, told him he
need not do II that he (Nason would do nothing but
what right The monthly bills of the contractor I'm
ediately began materially, sometimes reach
ing 900 per month and recently the Postmaster at In
dianarols Instituted investigation into the matter
which led to the late investigation by Special Agent Hen
derson.
On being asked II he did not know Mason was over
charging for his work. vcker said he had had reason to
think 80, but did not positively know H.
On b~ng asked by Special Agent Henderson why he
did not inform the Postmaster OF his suspicious he said
he regarded ii az none OF his (vickerss) business.
Mr. Henderson asccrtaned that the charges for repairs
averaged 50 0s per bag Notwithstanding the fact that In
many only slight repairs few stitches on email
patch costing o5 cents needed the pouches
Mason charged the Government in three months, for
2330l than he had used purchased in ten
months and had received for material, which cost him
$50 ST. the Of s74s 6l and in regard 10 other
items To up, the total amount Of material pur-
chased and labor paid for by him in ten months from
May 8, 1874, cost him <4,076 He charged the Post
Office Department, and received for the same
$ls,44s A. at the rate of about S22,l00
per year That N to say, IN ten months
he made net profit after paying br help material etc,
Of si472 A. which about three times more than the
annual pay OF member Of Congress, and nearly thrice
IA much az member Of the Cabinet receives. Subse-
queutly Mr. Henderson visitd the repair shops, and
took down and examined about 100 pouches which Ma
son said had been repaired AT half Of the bags
spected showed repairs whatever. Mr.. Henderson
says he cannot believe that Vickers received
any consideration for his neglect OF duty but
never. heless recommends his removal.