Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1876-01-25
TIE p. o. RING.
Another Phase OF Radical Rascality-
Counterfeit Stamps and Forged
Signatures Bogus Bids
and Bidders,
The Arkansas Combination Known as
the Arkansas, Texas and Cali
fernia Stage Company
"There's Millions

Chicago Times Special
| WASHINGTON, January 20.-Among
the points brought TO the attention OF
the subcommittee on postal affairs is
the dubious practice running back about
seven yesrs, permitting mail agents to
draw salary from the government and
! charge travelling expenses when they
| had not raised their hands in the public
service outside Of their offices. The SAL
aries of sgents OF the departments range
from twenty-five hundred TO three thou.
sand dollars year. Besides this, they
| are allowed, under the law, five dollars
| per diem when en- route, Il Is found,
however, thst in the face bt the law
| bills fer travelling expenses are regularly
| allowed men who never stir from their
/ desks in Washington. When cases Of
this sort reach up into the hundreds, as
the records show they do, the loss to the
| government can be estimated. Post
| masteT-G enefai Jewell admits the pTac-
| tice, and admits that an opinion OF the
sttorney-genersl forbids it, but he felt
constrained to continue 1t because IL had
been
SUSTAINED BY HIS PREDECESSOR.
Iu July last the Times published an
exhibit Of the peculiar operations of one
SAFELY, whose business in the pCstOffice
department wss shown to oe profitable
10 himself while very costly to the gov
eminent. SAFELY has presented a petit
ton to congress asking An investigation
into the charges. A whole broadside of
the Times Of the issue Of July 25th &C.
companies the document setting forth
| Safely's grievances. The story which
hiss been read by the committee has put
| them on the track OF that particular class
of frauds, and II the figures now under
study by the committee are not more
satisfactorily explained than the books
Of the department explain them, sur
prise awaits the country in the conduct
of postal affairs. A member OF the COM
mittee said to-day, in response TO ques-
tion as to Jewell's responsibility, thai he
knew at least OF the vicious practice OF
agents drawing per diem expenses who
never left Washington, and had knoWl-
edge Of its unlawfulneis as the attorney
generals report had bsen submitted to
him and he bad refused to read it, as he
did not want to change existing GUS
toms. George s. Bangs, who has just
been appointed assistant treasurer in
Chicago, was
A CONSPICUOUS EXAMPLE
Of this peculiar irregulsrity. He drew
salsry for office-Work and five dollars
day for expenses when he rarely left his
Office. His salary was two thousand
five hundred dollars, and his fraudulent
per diem ran up to four thousand dol
lars and more. 1t must be further borue
in mind that all postal contracts call for
free passes for postal agents, go that i've
dollars per day, even in travel, was
handsome bonus, even sleeping car
passes being included gratis. Besides
himself, the books show that Bangs had
two or three assistants in Offics, who
drew handsome salaries as clerks and
per diem ss agents. The records show
that every attache of the department
dr,w a per diem, though not one in fifty
left the department. The mass Of papers
to be examined, and the intricate meth
cd of keeping them, renders the work OF
the committee slow, but enough is gained
from the points already uncovered to
say that the postoffice department is
scandalously mismanaged, and that the
thieving in many details makes
AN ASTOUNDING TOTAL,
and leaves no room to wonder how it
happens that the postmaster-general has
deficit of eight million dollars to ten
million dollars annually. Certain irlegu-
larities were shown to have existed in
the postoffice department about the time
Of the Kittle and Hines mail contract
scandal. 1t was claimed then by the
friends Of Postmsster-General Jewell
that he had reformed all this sort OF
thing, and that it no longer existed.
THE METHODS OF CONTRACTS
in those days were to secure collusion
with certain clerks Of the department by
the placing OF false bids ia with the reg
ulaT ones SO as to obtain contracts. They
would first obtain. through these dis
honest clerks, the figures OF legitimate
contracts, and then they would fill out
blank from the bids, aud with fraudu
lent stamp would give them an appear
ance of regularity. This case was tried
in the local courts here, and from the
weak management ofitby the postOffice
department all parties involved in 1t es-
caped. 1t is claimed by parties who
have had an opportunity to know that
these false bids were purloined through
the connivsnce of the guilty clerks by
parties interested, and that by this
means the ends of Justice were defeated.
The method Of cOunterfeitiDg there bids,
I a.,
number CT bids for this service the de-
psrtment decided to have q stamp made
to a fac siYnle of the official signature OF
the sec nd assistant postmasteI-gen
Mr.. Chsnell, bToiher-in-law Of the chief
clerk in the contract office, it is said,
brought this information to MIR. Kittle,
and advised him to have a stamp made
for possible future use. When the de-
partment stamp was completed, 1t is
further stated that Chanell, in the cem-
pany of a messenger for the second as
sistant postmaster-general,
OBTAINED 1T FROM THE MAKER
and carried it to Mr.. Kittle's 10 )m. That
O large number OF blank bids were
stamped to be used, If necessary, in the
future. The stamp was then carried to
the pcstoffice department, and when
the books were opened this stamp was
ussd upon them, using black ink upon
bids from all States excepting those
from Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.
When the bids for those States were
reached, the ink was changed, and blue
ink was used. When the bids for the
State OF Texas were assorted Mr.. Kittle
sniJ. J. Hines, whom he hsd taken in
partnership with him, were found TO be
the lowest bidders on something less
than one hundred routes, having put in
their bids with the knowledge obtained
through ChAnell's completely, but every
day persons whom KittIe had employ ed
reported that route alter route was lost
| through the mys .eriOus appearance OF
still lower bids in the name of ID. A.
! ClsffiiD, J. &. Kinney and A. j. Curry.
These parties were found to be iTrespon-
sibie persons bidding in the interest OF
an Arkansas combination, entitled the
Arkansas, Texas and California stage
company. Not to be outwitted, the
Kittle party prepared still lower bids,
using upon them
THE COUNTERFEIT STAMP,
and in that way recovered the routes
| which they had lost. Having clerks in
| charge Of the books under pay, this ms
/ nipulstion wss successful, and 1t Is al
/ legged that the Arkansas party, having