The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-05-09
CIVIL SERVICE Inv
INVESTIGATION of IT'S OPERATION
RESUMED BY THE SENATE
COMMITTEE.
Mr.. HILL ON THE STAND.
CHARGES MADE BY THE FORMER
ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT
OF FREE DELIVERY.
HsprEs" THE OBJECT OF ATTACK.
TrreruInrities in Their Appointment
and Compensation Among the
Allegations of the witness.

WASHINGTON. May S.-The COM
mittee of civil service of the senate To-
day resumed the investigation OF the
operation of the law, which was I'M
dertaken some time ago. Senators
Pritchard. of North Carolina, and Chill
ton. of Texas. and President Proctor
and George r. Wales, of the civil SER
vice commission, conducted the pro-
ceeding,s. Several letters from govern
ment officials giving their opinions OF
the law were read. Secretary Bliss rec.
commended that each commissioner OF
the department have the right TO ap-
point a private secretary or conhdential
clerk and that the chief clerk of the
DEPARTMENT and chiefs of division De
EXEMPTED from the classified service.
The appointment of special agents, such
as land. timber and mineral land COM
missioners and particularly special IN
dian agents, he wrote, should be more
directly under the control of the sec
retary. who is responsible for them. lie
suggested an examining board OF the
secretary and the four commissioners
10 make special examinations for such
Offices.
Commissioner of Pension Evans and
Commissioner Herman, of the general
land office, recommended that the
chief clerk, appointment clerk, private
secretary, chiefs of divisions and exam
liners and inspectors should be exempt
from the classified service. Director
Wolcott, of the geological survey, and
Wade Hampton, commissioner of rail
roads. recommended a continuance OF
the present law.
Thomas Robinson, a $1,000 treasury
clerk, complained that he had been dis
missed on the demand Of the Georgia
senators and others because he had
printed the only Republican newspaper
in Georgia during Grants second term.
w. Hill, former assistant superin-
tendent of the free mail delivery, chafg-
ed that there had been collision be-
tween the postoffice department ana
the civil service commission to violate
the law by the employment in 1894 and
1895 Of fifty-nine spies, whose employ
ment was not authorized by law. Two
of the inspectors, termed spies, MI.
Hill asserted, were brothers of Mr..
Machen, superintendent Of the free de-
livery service. One Of Mr.. Machen's
brothers had been under charges OF
ENLIGHTENMENT in Toledo, O., when ap-
pointed, and another of the appointees
had been dismissed from the Washing
ton postoffice for embezzling funds Of
the letter carriers association.
Sixth Auditor of the Treasury How
ard had at first made violent objec-
tons to approving the accounts Of
these inspectors because they were not
authorized by law, but after Mr. How
ard had been allowed the nomination
of one inspector each quarter and had
approved the disbursements. First AS
sisitant Postmaster General Jones had
refrained from assuming the authority
of signing the appointments of the in
spectors and had delegated the duty to
his private secretary, Mr.. Lamar.
In the campaign Of 1894, six of the in
spectors, Mr.. Hill asserted, had been
detailed to influence the votes of letter
carriers in the Fourteenth congress
ional district of New York. Mr.. Hill
testified that in Philadelphia, the Cleve-
land administration had managed to
get rid of many Republicans and old
soldiers on the letter carriers force in
October, 1894, by evading the law. The
department had increased the force by
the appointment of eighty men, sala-
ried at $500, and shortly after had de-
creased it by dismissing seventy-eight
carriers salaried at $1,000 and twenty
two salaried at $500. The salaries of
inspectors were paid by money taken
from the remittances Of postmasters,
made in currency and deposited to the
credit of their chief, Mr.. Bellman, in
a Washington bank. The inspectors had
been assessed for the expenses of the
Ohio campaign in 1895. To make ar
rangements for the assessment they
had massed in Chicago, at a meeting of
them held on Oct. 81, which had been
addressed by Mr.. Machen, superintend-
ent, Of the free delivery service, who
had gone from Washington for that
purpose. That they might better bear
the assessment the salaries of the in
spectors had been raised from 81 to SIS
day in July, 1895. The witness read
letter from one of the inspectors to
Mr.. Machen, explaining, in reply to a
letter from Mr.. Machen, that he had
not forwarded the amount of the as
sessment because he had not under
stood the arrangements.
The witness had informed Assistant
Postmaster General Jones of this last