Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1889-07-25
A ApOSTOFFICE SCANDAL.
THE CIvIL-sERvICE COMMISSION RE-
PORT ON GRAND RAPIDS.

IL Finds Only Ono AnidavIt Against the
Postmaster, but Several Against Chief
Railway Mail Clerk HudsOn-The Matter
Turned Over to the Postmaster General.
A Washington dispatch says: The civil
service commissioners submitted to POST
master General Wanamaker their report
upon the condition aud management Of
the postoffice at Grand Rapids, Mich.
They say:
"In the course Of recent examination
by the civil service commission into the
condition and management of the post
offi-e at Grand Rapids, Mich, certain
charges were made against the post
master, Mr.. Blair, and against the then
chief clerk of the railway mail service, Mr.
+. A. Hudson. The charges are backed
uD by sworn affidayits and arA nf so seri-
Gus nature that tle commission, in view
of its lack of power to subppnd witnesses
and administer oaths, deems it proper to
turn the whole matter over to the post
office department; and accordingly they
herewith submit to the department the
said afIldavits.
''The only affidavit affecting Mr.. Blair Is
that of John McConville, which asserts that
Mr.. Blair was present in this government
building at Grand Rapids one day in
October, 1888, and assisted the clerk,
Hudson, In an attempt to extort from him
(McConville) q contribution of money for
political purposes. On this point the
affidavit is unsupported by any others,
while it is explicitly contradicted by the
atiidavits of both Mr.. Blair and Mr.. Hud-
son, and the commissioners do not consider
that it is in itself sufIiciert to warrant their
asking any action to be taken thereon.
"But in the case of Mr.. Hudson seven
afiidavits charge him with having collected,
or attempted to collect, money for political
purposes from Government employees in the
Government building at Grand Rapids last
fall -
The report then gives brief statements
of the afiidavits The commissioners say:
IF the assertions contained IN these affi-
davits are not disproved or explained by
other evidence, the commissioners believe
that they warrant Mr.. Hudson's indictment
under sections IL, II, 13, IA, and 10 of the
civil service act.
"But Mr.. Hudson has submitted, to-
gether with his affidavit denying specific
ally all the charges, the affidavit of the
chairman of the 10 al Democrats party
organization, denying that Mr. Hudson
turned over such sums as were alleged;
and also copies of letters from two of the
atlantis denying the very facts they set
forth in their aflldavits, as well as letters
and other matter tending to show the bad
character or the improper animus of the
other men who make the affidavlts against
him. II Mr.. Hudson is guilty he should
be prosecuted; if he is not guilty then
the men swearing falsey against
him should themselves be prosecuted for
entering into a peculiarly infamous con-
spiracy to blacken his character. With
the commissions limited power especially
in the matter of administering oaths and
properly investigate such a case and,
accordingly, we herewith turn over all the
affidavits and other written matter in our
pos session to the Postmaster General for
such action as b @ may deem necessary"