The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1881-05-19
PosrNAsrER GENERAL JAHS.


In coutradistiu.tion to at least the three
preceding Postmasters-General, Thomas L.
James comes to the management Of the most
complicated department of the Government
with purely business methods begotten OF a
successful business management Of the larg-
est postofiice in the United States II not In
the world. The executive and business ca
pacity exhibited by him in the management
of the postofiice at New York City rendered
his call to a Cabinet position Of signal wis
dom and foresight. The postoflice at New
York not only has charge and is responsible
for the vast amount Of mail matter flowing
in and out of that city, and Of the complicat-
ell ocean mail system, but ii is in one sense
sub-treasury of the Government through
which drafts for the mcney-order system are
drawn, and into which deposits Of postal
moneys are made, aggrcgating daily an inn
mensc sum Of money cut up into hundreds OF
small accounts which must be accurately
kept and reported. The mastery Of that one
Office qualified him for the complicated BUSH
ness details OF Department which has many
sub heads and divisions and which employs
hundreds of experts under one roof TO say
nothing of the forty or fifty thousand local
postoffices throughout the United States.
But there is one other phase of the man.
agement Of the Postoflicc Department which
is annoying and pcrplcxing TO head that
desires to conduct its transactions upon rec
ognized business principles. While the post
Office service comes nearer the people than
that of ary other and is entrusted with the
peoples money hourly in untold sums, it is
still the greatest political machine pertaining
70 our Government. The Postmaster Gencr-
al is brought into closer personal contact
with United States Senators and Congress
men than are any or all of the other Cabinet
officers and the President thrown in. lie
has TO do with them hourly, and clashing
with his ideas Of business are the demands
and wishes Of the most powerful men in the
countryside wishes and desires of the men
who make the laws, dictate the appropria-
tons for the postal service, and who will
even ask the President himself to interfere
when failure seems imminent. For ycri-
~ the position Of Postmaster General is the
most complicated and is beset with more an-
noyances than all OF the other Cabinet posi-
tions put together.
A few years since the old system Of adver-
Using in each Congressional district the Star
Route lettings was discontinued, and instead
Of two or three newspapers Of each district
containing a notice of such lettings, a
pamphlet was sent out TO each postmaster.
Following this action came rings, straw bids
and the concentrating of all Star Routes into
the hands Of the few instead OF the many.
Frauds followed. Contracts were let for three
or four times too much. TO remedy This one
prominent and probably only crookedness Of
the great system General James set himself
Immediately to earnest action. The result
our readers know. The thieves have been
unearthcd and the crooked made straight
and the Republican party in rejoicing in the
possession Of such man as Postmaster Gen
eral James makes good its profession of be-
ing the most honest and economical Of any
party that has yet figured in our country's
history