The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-08-31
Mr.. ARLINGTON TALKS
81 AM A DEMOCRAT AND THERE'S WHERE
THE TROUBLE LIES"
He Makes Full Explanation Of the Methods
Employed in Keeping the
Accounts
Accounts.
IVA shington Post.O


washington Post.)
Mr.. Arlington asserts that he IS MADE
the victim of others, and the charges
were rrumpeG up IN order to GUST him
from office. Last evening. in a state.
ment to The Post, he said:
Il was succeeded as Division Inspector
by George Il. Hamlet, who was transfer
red from the Pension office, and after he
had held the position for a very hriei
time he was made Chief Inspector. The
day after he succeeded me | received q
letter addressed to mo ms Inspector, in
closing a settlement from u postmaster
I made IA memorandum on the letter and
turned it over to Hamlet within five min
utes after il was received. lie had ~"
I'D before the Fourth Assistant rostmas-
ter General, and | was told ! had no
right to open such letters Monday last
I received notice that | had been dis
missed.
81 am a lawyer, and at once decided to
begin the practice OF my profession here.
took an office in the Atlantic Build
ing, and was ready for business, To-day
I went down about II o'clock and found
marshal there waiting TO arrest me
for ENLIGHTENMENT. | was never more
surprised in my life. but consented TO go
before Commissioner Mills Mt once. On
the way to his office | got Mr.. A. A.
Lipscomb. my friend and attorney.
''The warrant charges that | cmhez-
zled S2,115 on August 16. 1896: $213.5G
on Febraury &c. 1897: $40 on April %,
$3.50 on April %, and S4OS2 on March
9. Inspector Smith, who has charge Of
this case, admitted to the court that all
the amounts had been paid except the
last one. If owe the government n cent
don't know it. No demand has ever
been made on me for the $I0,S2 claimed.
l am amply able to pay it. and stand
ready to do it if it can be shown that |
owe it. I would like to explain how
the money in the inspectors office is
handled. and will take the case of the
So mentioned in the warrant as an
instance.
when settlements cannot be had from
postmasters the claims against them are
turned over to the inspector by the Audi
tor of the Treasury for the Postoffice
Department. The inspector then has one
of those in his division 60 to the delin-
quent and effect settlement. They arc
frequently compelled to take checks and
drafts, and these are not accepted by the
Treasury Department, but must be con
verified into cash before they reach there
Consequently the inspector cashes them
at his bank and turns over the cash. If
one of those checks or drafts should not
be paid when sent for collection the
inspector has to make them good; of
course, he being the only one known by
the bank in the transaction, and then
his only redress is to petition Congress
for reimbursements. This causes de-
lay of months, perhaps years.
THE CASE IN POINT.
"Now the case in point. The postmas.
ter at Warrington, w. Va, was reported
drunk. The auditor wanted his accounts
squared up, and | went to Warrington,
accompanied by the inspector stationed
at Wheeling. We found the postmaster
in the condition reported and the affairs
of his office were in q terrible state. At
ter three days we arrived at the amount
due from money orders and approximately
at that due on postal account. His sure
ties were called together and [ received
checks for the amount claimed. / came
back to Washington and deposited the
checks in my bank. l waited until n
sufficient time had elapsed for the checks
to return if they proved worthless and
then settled with the auditor. This was
the course l generally pursued when re-
ceiving checks in settlement of claims.
Why this case has been brought up at
this late day l am at loss to say.
'The reference in the postoffice de-
partments statement to the unsatisfac-
tory system of conducting the inspectors
division means the whole office and not
my books.
eyes. l am Democrat, aud there's
just where the trouble lies. 1t is-easy to
see that they wanted some excuse to
Dust me from office. If / had wanted to
embezzle anything certainly would have
taken more than the $4O.S2 now claim
ed. / could have taken much more than
that had been inclined to. / was ready
for hearing to-day, and it was not
postponed on my account"
Mr.. Arlington was appointed from
North Carolina in June, 1885. and he
comes from Rocky Mount, in that State.
His father, Hon. A. III. Arlington, was a
member Of Congress for several terms
before the war, and also represented his
State in the Confederate Congress. Mr..
A n I