Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-14

Pay division. .................. Is 39,OOO
Review division. IL 17,DO
Foreign division. ............. Ii 17,4OO
Bookkeeping divisions...... II 1920
Collecting divisions. ..-..... 81 $3.50
Inspecting division. ...... 81 $500
Recording division. 10 S7.26O
Asserting division. 48 1880
Checking division........ 36 37,120
Total................. 400 5oo14o
The proposed reorganization of the office
win reduce the divisions from ten in num-
Der to seven, and they will be formed as
follows: Presidential and fourth-class Of
fees and general accounts division, 81
clerks. slo5s40: correspondence and files di-
vision, 70 clerks, SS2.9S0 pay division. 26
clerks, $40, 800; money order examining d.
vision. Il clerks. $4,000; money order book
keeping division, 81 clerks, $S0,54 money
order asserting and checking division, 81
clerks. S71.6O0: money order foreign division,
IL clerks. 15,6OO; total 374 clerks. $42S, 300
inaking saving to the government of 30
clerks and s71,7SO.
Simplifying Accounts.
mission says:
For the information of Congress the
5oint commission submit this report, which
covers substantially the reforms proposed
IN the accompanying bill, together with
certain notifications Of existing regula-
lions for and methods of doing business
IN the ofice of the auditor Of the treasury
for the Post Office Department and in GER
tain offices of the Post Office Department:
methods have been carefully considered
by the commission, the Secretary OF the
Treasury and Postmaster General. and
have been approved.
These Recommendations will simplify the
manner of keeping and auditing accounts
In the office of the auditor and the methods
of business in the office of the third as
sistant postmaster general. There Is a
great deal of duplication and unnecessary
work now done in the auditors Office, and
the changes proposed will effect a more
direct and expeditions settlement of ac-
counts, as well q large saving of clerk
hireL The accounts of the presidential
post offices have heretofore passed through
four divisions of the sixth auditors office,
and 1t can readily be seen what an unneces-
sary expense this involved in the simple
handling of the accounts. The divisions
through which they pass are the examining
division. the review division. the booxkeep-
ing division and the collecting division.
In all Of these four divisions more or less
OF examining work is done upon the ac-
counts.s
1T is now proposed that the accounts of
postmasters shall go to one division, where
they shall be settled finally except in cases
where the auditors clerk finds differ
ence, when the account will be reviewed by
q proposed second division.
by the present system of passing an
account through so many divisions the re-
sponsibility Is divided, and careful and ac-
curate work Is not obtained, as is proved by
an examination or the Work IN the sixth
auditors office. The larger part of the
postal revenues come from post offices at
which there are auditors, and those ac-
counts are very carefully prepared, and
upon their receipt in the auditors office, by
the proposed plan, 1T is intended that the
accounts shall be taken up at once. GER
tain clerks to examine the allowance for
railway mail clerks and letter carriers.
other clerks to examine the accounts for
certificates of deposit, &c, and the ac-
count to be finally disposed of, correspond
posed correspondence and files division,
where errors will be reviewed and proper
counts.
Stamp Accounts.
TN addition to the safeguard of this COM
plete and consistent audit of the accounts
Il Is proposed that a change shall he made
IN the stamp accounts, by which the post
master renders to the third assistant post
master general a statement of the stamps
which he has received d. ng the quarter
the amount that he has sold or returned to
the department and the balance he has ON
hand. The third assistant postmaster gen.
eral Is to check this account by the stamp
ledgers which he has in his office and Is
to certify the statement and send to the
auditor with the receipts for the stamps
This viii give the auditor a complete check
of the stamp account Of the postmaster
which Is the basis for his account and the
system will comply with the law U. s. Re
ktsed Statutes. sec 4O5), which requires that
phe Postmaster General shall certify to the
euditor that which in any way affects the
Accounts. This law Is not now compiled
th as regards postage stamps. By this
statement of the stamp account coming
Drough the third assistant postmaster gen.
erals office. another check is obtained upon
the account. which is a more important and
valuable check than any check that could
take It's place I'm the sixth auditors office
The system of checking postage stamp ac-
counts now Is very unsatisfactory and un-
reliable.
"At present clerks of the sixth auditors
ONCE, at such times as 1t is convenient
copy into ledgers the items of stamps that
nave been charged to the postmasters by
the ledgers of the third assistant postmas-
ter generals Office. This is informal and
irregular and applies to the presidential Of
nces. For the fourth-class postmasters'
counts the only evidence that the auditor
now has as to the stamps sent Is the re-
ceipts which have been forwarded to him
from the third assistant postmaster gen.
erals Office. II by chance any of these re-
ceipts have gone astray and the postmaster
should fafl to charge himself with the
stamps the error might not be discovered.
Further Retrenchments.
This reduction Of annual expenditures is
not only to obtain, as a result of the new
system. but the settlement Of postmasters'
accounts viii be greatly expedited and a
more thorough supervision thereof will be
secured The preceding exhibit relating to
the present organization and the expense of
the auditors office does not represent all of
the expenses. SINCE in addition to the 4OG
clerks. at an expense of S5OO.14 there are
the auditor, deputy auditor. chief clerk and
their clerks, messengers, assistant messen-
gers, laborers. charwomen &C The num-
bers and amounts treated of have reference
only to the clerks engaged directly In the
olVlsions IN which changes are recon-
mended- IN addition to the foregoing eSti-
mated reduction Of annual expenditures
there VIII probably be further retrench.
men ment IA the once Of the superintendent of