The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-12-26
TWO CABINET OFFICER RS.

Democratic Correspondent Who Is Honest
Enough 20 Speak the Truth About Them.
Letter in brooklyn Eagle.
Two of President Harrlson's Cabinet of
ficers have made their annual report dur
ing the past week-the Secretary of the
Navy and the Postmaster-general-an and
both of the statements of their years work
are worthy of careful perusal. These two
men have undoubtedly brought more credit
TO the present administration than the
heads of ANY OF the other departments.
General Tracy will 60 down to history as
one Of the best Secretaries of tho Navy
we have ever had. His record has been a
credit to himself, and satisfactory to
the entire country: Postmaster-general
edged, from o business point of
view, to have accomplished great
thin gs for our postal service. In his official
communication to the President accom-
panying his annual report. he says: I'm
bringing to q close four years Of steady
service in the Postofice Department, itmay
not be out OF place to say that the WORK
has had . strange fascination for me. /
have had what seemed to me to be large
thoughts about il and have been ambitions
to make the postal-service Of the United
States as nearly perfect and as f~ar-reaching
in it's usefulness as possible. If you In
tended that i should be content to fill up
the days with signing vouchers. allow
ances, commissions. leases and the like. or
to listen to applicants or their friends seek
ing places. you are surely disappointed.
i have busted myself all along studying
the systems OF older nations, trying to
complete the work done worthily by my
predecessors and planning for large
developments in every direction. You
will remember that from time to time
as l have learned. have laid before you
postal questions which / have also urged
saw how much more could be accomplished
by adjustingt the system, which. unfortunate-
~. or perhaps rightly enough At the time,
had wrought physical conditions and de-
tails OF method into laws that no longer
suited the greater growth and newer bust
ness ways and needs Of this last quarter of
q century. However ambitious the Post
master general of the future may be, the
old limitations of early geographical and
business conditions. existing when the
Postottice Department. was small. will
handicap him until legislation brings the
service mp to modern times. The chief de-
velopments OF the year may be briefly
lars added to the gross revenue:
the deficit reduced nearly Sl,O o 900;
money order offices increased nearly
two-thirds; eighty.two cities supplied with
free deliy cries; 2.792 offices established; 263
offices advanced to the presidential grade;
16. 100000 of miles of additional travel; 1880
new mail routes established. embracing
$500 miles OF new services; ocean mail serv-
ice extended and pneumatic-tube services
LouuCcu. iuio, III ecoIno 10 fuo, 10 y WOu-
derful ehowing. and one that the American
people may we'll be proud of. MIR. Wana-
maker has conducted this important
branch of the government service Just as
he runs his W great and successful busi-
ness in Philadelphia. He has made MANY
personal antagonisms. but no one can
say that he has not attended to his duties.
Through all the torrid heat of last
suinme he was at his desk IN
his department., working harder than HE
humblesr clerk. ! have frequently asked
him why he did not give himself moro rest.
and his invariable reply was, II cannot and
attend to this business properly" There
is another rather curious thing i'm onnec
ton with the Official career of these two
men. 1t 10 hat while General Tracy gained
the ILL Will of what may be called the small
fry politicians. because no iDaugurated and
insisted upon the carrying out of the civil
service rules in the employment of work
men ct the navy-yards. Mr.. Wanamaker
has been condemned by Roosevelt and the
higher grade politicians because he con-
tracted the civil service in his department.
and said that he could get better men for
the postal-mail service and other special
lines of work outside of the civil service.