Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-02-23


division of the Post Office Department, and
1t depends a number of conditions. OF
course. the amount of money handled is a
chief factor. But In the case of the New
York post Office the fact that the sub
treasury at New York reports daily the
deposits made by the postmaster and that
the report made to the money order divis-
ion Is In within forty-eight hours, makes a
decided difference. If the New York post
master reported only once in a month. like
some of the backwoods postmasters, he
would have to give bond that would cost
him more than his salary.
Investigating the sureties.
The bond of postmaster does not have
to be made by people residing in the city
in which he Is to hold office. A postmas-
ter in Maine can find his sureties in San
Francisco If he chooses. But it is pretty
safe to say that under ordinary conditions
a postmaster who goes away from home
for his bondsmen is a man who Is not to be
trusted. The department instantly investi-
gates the bond Of man who does this
OF course. there are conditions which rem
der this necessary sometimes. For exam
pie, just after the war the carpet bag
gers" who were appointed to take charge
Of post offices in the south had no stand
ing In the communities where they had
recently gone to live and almost all of the
southern postmasters during the recon-
struction period filed bonds made out in
the north. The poverty Of the southern
people at that time was another reason
why bonds were hard to get locally.
In the case Of presidential postmaster
the bond, even If it is not under suspicion
Is Investigated by one Of the department
inspectors. A copy of the bond is given
to the inspector and he reports whether he
has found that the sureties on it are
really worth the amounts for which they
have qualified. Often the bond division re-
ceives letters. saying that some one who
has gone on a postmasters bond is not
worth what he claims. In this case there
is an immediate investigation. If the
names of postmaster's bondsmen are
made public 1T is his fault and not that
Of the department. The names of bonds
men are kept carefully concealed because
large penalty might affect his credit in
business transactions. Usually, though,
when a postmaster is appointed he makes
a great show Of his bondsmen to demon
strate what friends he has in the COM
munity. And bondsman who can qualify
for 100000 Is usually not ashamed Of It,
surety In the sum Of 100000 Is not
unique.
The rules of the bond division say that
there must be two suretes on each bond;
that a woman will be accepted as surety
If she is certified by competent authority
as unmarried and possessing the requisite
amount of property and that firms and
corporations are not accepted as sureties.
None of the 10000 postmasters can be in
sured by the surety companies which do
such thriving business furnishing bonds
to clerks. Mr.. Wanamaker when he was
Postmaster General expressed the belief
that the government should accept only
surety companies security for postmas-
tiers. He said that in hundreds of cases
the best men could not accept appoint
ments because they could not furnish
bonds, and that the man who received the
appointment might have the ability to give
a bond and no other qualification for the
place. 1t has happened in some cases
but they are few-that a postmaster has
been obliged to give up his office because
he could not get bondsmen. Disappointed
candidates have gone through community
asking people not to give bond for their
successful opponents and SO have forced
them out of office. These cases, though, are
not many and they are not of great i'm
portance.
Letter Carriers Bonds.
The bonding of the 10000 letter carriers
Is comparatively recent The carriers were
required to give bond in some of the offices
before, but the general bonding of the car
riers was begun under this administration.
Each carrier gives bond of $1,000, which
makes the total of the carriers bonds s10,-
600 600. These bonds are given to the Post
Office Department, for under existing regu-
lations 1t is the department and not the
postmaster that appoints the carriers The