The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-08-08
Posteffice Corruption.

masb,nuton, THE special COM
81, w6ich has been investigaG-
Ing the condition and msnsgemeh0
OF the New Orleans possonce, SUI
mitted tie report to the Fostm ;as
General to-day. The com missionelSs
sav in this report that they found
t tbs facilities OF the office ample, but
the force employed insufficient,
throuoh lack of training, organ'zaS
ton OF discipline. They say these
do not exist in the Office, nor does
snv system of promotion Daseu on
Individual merit, and they add tDey
round everything arranged appaT-
entity more for the personal convent"
ence of clerks than for the necesSl-
ties of business. They say ; tno
postmaster possesses but HWi.6So
knowledge of the actual work OF lne
Office, AMI makes little or no etfoa.
to inform himself OF the necessities
of tie service, rarely visiting the
workipg floor and seldom consulting
with his slboIdinates. Also tnat
while too much ought not to be ex-
pected OF the ASSISTANT postmaster,
In yisW of his mparatively recent
appointment, yet thsy feel con-
strained to say his selection was
unwlse, because of his IN erlof
judgment, lack Of discretion, ana
, inability TO maintain discipline.
a They say further, that they founa
a the mailing division without organl-
zation or discipline. Mail matter
especially newspapers being badly
+ handled and delayed, that no &C
= count had been kept of mail sacks,
which latter in many cases were
i. being used by persons other than
. employes. They (the commissioners
= having found 140 of them in junk
, shops and other used as cotton
g nscksges or made into hammocks.
I. They express the opinion that the
r want of energy on the part OF the
,r chief of this division ls in part
. owing to the failure of his superiori
=, to support him. They say, also,
~ that the office OF collection clerk.
>. with salary OF 5000, has heen held
- for sometime past by George w
&c Merchant, son of the postmaster
20 who has render very little service
= his wo'k having been done by thu
II cashier, and, they say, this ofi1ce /!
- entirely unnecessary and should b'
abolished They re port having fount
~ an employee carried on tn
rolls as "porter detailed as detec
NJ tive" who rendered no service him
'is self, but vino had hired an old col
n. ored man at So month TO d. III
~ tie sweeping, that being the servic
si which called for the employment
in a porter, and they recommends
No this Office, rs we'll as thst of Chi
81 norter be abolished. They also rec
omnend that the title OF the offici'
MA now known as secretary and aud
~ tor be chauge4 to sofficial seer
= tary" and the salary of the Office
ov- reduced from $1,000 20 $1,000 p'
her annum. They recommend lncreas
ist- in the salaries Of certain clerks e.
of gregating 81, per annum and r
Der ductions aggrsgating $3.50 The
mo also report having mada iEqulrl
;o55 relative to depredations on the ma
ga ga at this tffice and the failure OF Il
the postmaster to report them, and 81
,tic with respect to this branch of the
90 Investigation at was found th
ned Just before their visit fifteen iette
of addressed to NJ. A. Da
nv phen had been distracted fro
nat. the mails in the Office. Ih
mix circumstance pointed almost &C
rbi- cluslVeiy u Inc SUI SUI u
rhe who stole them; that when
AIDE facts were reported to the postm'
ter. he obtained possession Of. q
tied burned certsin fragments of
ldge missing letters, lhereDy uesetoS
red, important evidence seasnSU
and promised to exclude his son perm
rage nentlY rom the olnce'