The Waco evening news. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 1891-1894, 1894-04-04

mum; and, therefore, the rate at
which Mr.. Pendergrass has been
paid for service for the quarter
ended Sept. 80 is the most that he
can be paid for the service" An
other Communication addressed to
Penderprass stated succinctly what
Moses had to expect in the future
from the United States government:
Regular quarterly pay, per the
contract III w
More per quarter, under order
No. 1888. .......... 45
Total quarterly compensation.$l As
1t was at this juncture that
Moses moral qualities came out
illustrous. He felt that money
| was not the only consideration. He
| was, in his humble way, the Gus
todian of public trust. He
owed certain duties, not only to
Knob Lick and to his bondsmen,
and to the people of Liberty
vile, Avon, and Coffman, who de.
pended on him and his mule for the
prompt receipt of their letters and
newspapers, but also to American
ideas of good citizenship and 10y
atty to the constituted authorities.
All who know the circumstances
testify that Moses conduct at a
crisis 80 important to himself, was
very honorable, disinterested and
patriotic. Greater men than he, in
greater emergencies, have NANTES.
ted less fidelity to the public inter.
ests. Actuated by such spirit, and
comforted, no doubt, by the belief
that so obvious and simple an error
as was involved in the matter of his
annual pay could be rectified with.
out much delay by government as
great and powerful as that of the
United States of America, Moses de.
termined that to accommodate the
department and his friends in Lib
ertyville, Avon and Cotfman, he
would continue to carry the mail
bags at the annual rate of So ~ ex.
ira compensation included, until the
tangle could be Strengthened out at
Washington; even though the pay
was hardly enough to keep properly
shod the off hind foot of one of his
mail mules. And he actually per.
formed the service at that ridicu
lous rate of pay until April 10,
1883.
But the tangle was not straight.
ened out at Washington. The red
tape got 81 arled around Moses worse
and worse as the months went by.
1t twisted itself around the legs of
Pendergrass' bondsmen, some mem
bers of congress from Missouri, the
senators from that state, and the
higher officers of the post office
department and the treasury depart
ment, both under Mr.. Cleveland
administr alton and Gen. Harrison's.
Serious questions of law, of ssatu-
tory construction, Of department
precedent and routine arose, and the
official correspondence during sever
al years, concerning Moses and his
81 contract, became 30 voluminous
that it would fill small volume.
Moses understood nothing of all
this; he kept on in his simple,
straightforward way, CARRYING the
mails, in order that the service
might not be interrupted, and de-
pending on the government to sci
him right in the end.
Finally it became apparent thai
the only way to cut the red tape ant
let Moses out was for him to become
technically defaulter on his con
tract by refusing to perform the
service. He gave months notice
in the spring of 1888, and, at the
same time, wrote, or rahter dictated,
a personal letter to the second as
sistant postmaster general. 1t il
not without pathos and homely
dignity:
| Knob Lick, Mo March l, 1888
"Dear Sir-I notified the honorable
postmaster gener that l was com
PEELED to give up my contract.
"My bid was $4OO. The post
master at Knob Lick made it ou
for me, and made it 81, when hi
wanted to make it $500. The post