The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-05-09

on civil service of the senate resumed
investigation CT the operations of the
/ civil service law Senators Pritchard
of North Carolina and Chiffon of Texas
and President Proctor and George r.
Wells of the civil service commission
, conducted the proceedings. Several
letters from government officials. Civ
ing opinions on the law were read
+ Secretary Bliss recommended that each
( commissioner of a department have
4 the right to appoint private secretary
or confidential clerk and the chief
/ clerk of the department and the chiefs
of divisions be exempted from the
/ classified service. The appointment of
/ special agents. such as land. timber
and mineral land commissioners, and
particularly special Indian agents, he
/ wrote, should be more directly under
/ the control of the secretary who is re-
! sponsible for them. He suggested an
examining board of the secretary and
four commissioners to make special
examination for such officers.
Commissioner of Pensions Evans and
Commissioner Herman of the general
land office recommended that the chief
clerk, appointment clerk, private sec
rotary. chiefs of pensions and exanin-
ers and inspectors be exempt from the
classified service.
survey and Wade Hampton, commits
sioner of railroads, recommended
continuance of the present law.
Thomas Robinson, a $1,000 treasury
clerk, complained that he had been dis
missed on demand of g. Democratic
Georgia senator because he printed the
only Republican newspaper during
Grants second campaign
William W. Hill, former assistant
superintendent of the free mail deliv.
cry, charged that there had been col
fusion between the postoffice' depart
ment and the civil service commission
TO violate the law by the employment
in 1894 and 1895 of 80 spies, termed in
spectors, whose employment was not
authorized by law. Two inspectors,
Hill asserted. were brothers of Mr..
Machean, superintendent of the free
delivery service. One brother had
been under charges of embezzlement
at Toledo, E, when appointed. Another
appoirtee had been dismissed from the
Washington postoffice for embezzling
the funds of the Letter Carriers aSSo-
citation.
In the campaign of 1894 six inspectors
Mr.. Hill asserted. had been detailed to
the several congressional diStrics of New |
York. Mr.. Hill testified that in Phila-
delphia the Cleveland administration had |
managed to get rid of many Republicans |
and Old soldiers on the letter carrier |
force in October. 1894. by evading the |
law The department had increased the |
salaried at $500. and shortly after had |
decreased it by disrnissing Is carriers |
salaried at -S1.0o0 and % salaried at $500.
The salaries of inspectors were paid with |
money taken from the remittances of |
postmasters made in currency and de-
posted to the credit of their chief. Mr..
Bellman. in Washington bank
The inspectors had been assessed for
the expenses of the Ohio campaign in
1895 to make arrangements for the as
essment they had been massed in Chi
cago ct a meeting of them held on Oc-
tober 31st. which had been addressed by
Mr.. Machen, superintendent of the free
delivery service. who had gone from
might better bear the assessment the
salaries of the inspectors had been raised
from 81 to s. day in July. 1895. The wit
spectors to Mr.. Machen, in reply to a
letter from Mr.. Machan. that he had not
the amount of the assessment
because he had not understood the ar
TOLD TO SHUT Up.
The witness had informed Assistant
Jones of this last
matter. Mr.. Jones had told him TO keep
his mouth shut. saying that 1t was
natural that Mr.. Machen should want to
Mr.. Hill had brought the questions of the
employment OF the ..sDies''
and the oo1t.cal assessments to the at
Lention of the civil service commission.
President Proctor had told him that the
commission had no jurisdiction over the
appointments. Mr.. Machen :
had informed the witness that the former !
president Roosevelt. of the commission
had authorized the employment of spies
of the assessment had been
given the commission. including evidence
hat Mr. Machen had declared that he :
would discharge the men who failed to {
)ay assessments.
(
he commission made report incriminat-
ng Machen and Bellman. but that the {
general had quashed the
.harges. An affidavit was read from an !
Employee of the postoffice department. !
hat Mr.. Machen had withheld money
rom the salaries of spies for political
purposes.
Mr. H:ll declared that Assistant Post ,
naster-General Jones had employed spies
o follow him and learned that be gave {
o Representative Heimstreet. of Indiana.
egarding the assessments. and had dis
harged him. uDbraidlng him with in
-ratitude. The personal character of the
spies, Mr.. Hill declared. was very bad.
iany of them had been arrested in h
arious cases for drunkenness and dis l
rderly conduct.
FORGERY CHARGED. h
One of the snies. named Lorenz had
cen appointed October L. 1894 bur salary j!
ad been drawn from July. 1894. The time U
e had not worked amounted to 1869. I
his amount he'd been drawn by Mr. :
Iachen and appropriated by him through !
he forgery of the check and voucher. all q
( which was shown by the records of n
he department and the treasury.
In dismissi-g Mr. Hill from the post
flee DEPARTMENT, Jones nd told him
2 would pursue him and procure his
ismiSsal from the department of Justice !,
S assistant commissioner OF claims which
e did. Mr. Hill was lifelong Demo- a
rat Congress in 1896 specifically pro- r,
ibited the employment of the spies :
Inci0eQtallN. NJ Hill said in D
Dectors had been instructed when max [,
Ig charges against letter carriers to as n
srtain whether they were Democrats or :
TIE witness had fled Il
worn statement concerning the political RI
ssessments with Postmaster wilson,
In the course of a cross-examination by o
". Proctor, of the civil service COM y
ission. It was developed that the COM h
ission had made n report m the matter y,
political assessments recommending =
TIE attorney general. Mr. Olney the I