The evening times., 1899-11-07
AGAINST POSTAL BANKS.
Report of the Auditor for she Poe
office Department.


In view Of the persistent efforts which
1ation looking toward the establishment of
postal telegraph and postal savings bank
the comment of Henry A. Castle. Auditor
for the P ,stofice Department, in his report
to Secretary Gage cannot help but attract
attention. Commenting on the issue and
payment of money orders he says 1t is no.
In any strictly legitimate sense govern
mental function. Continuing. Auditor
Castle says:
1T is feature of banking business pure
and simple. and Is regarded by many
thoughtful men as dangerous develop
ment Of state socialism. II is a wonder
fully convenient thing for great masses
Of the people. hence it is universally pop
ular. 1t Is carried on with such enIight-
ened skill. such diIigent enterprise, and
such marvellous success by the department
officials who superintend its operations and
by the local postmasters and clerks who
directly conduct them that one who looks
only on the surface sees everything to
praise and nothing to condemn.
| Only the accounting function which it
is the duty OF his bureau to conduct dis
| CiuotS the uduSeTOuS Indt lie
| in the general principle involved. And 1t
must be frankly if reluctantly admitted
that perils rest mainly upon the possibili-
| ties OF faithlessness. carelessness, or re-
| laxed vigilance in conducting the opera
| tions OF this Office
| The supposed success of the money or
| der system has apparently stimulated a
demand for extension Of governmental ad-
| mtnistration into similar and even more
doubtful fields. Aside from propositions
Of Government ownership of railroads and
| for the absorption Of some great manufac-
| turing enterprises as alleged remedy
| for trust" despotism, neither Of which has
as yet assumed visible, concrete form,
| there are at least two measures which are
being vigorously pressed, both of them
| subjects of many bills introduced at each
succeeding session Of Congress. These
| measures are the establishment of postal
savings banks and postal telegraphs.
1t is not proposed TO enter into any ar
guments for or against these measures in
this report. Since under present account
ing regulations the enormous volume of
transactions which would inevitably result
from the Inauguration of either or both OF
these enterprises would at once fall upon
this bureau. il is certainly not inoppor-
tune to suggest that in making provision
therefor it is vitality important the ac-
counting feature be very seriously eonsid-
cred.
THE risk of Undertaking responsible
ties for which the machinery of government
is not fitted is ever present in the mind OF
the statesman. This risk will be much
more serious in accounting than in admin
istrative branches.
THE splendid executive faculty of the
American people seems to have no limit TO
its capacity for extending the scope of COM
mercial and financial enterprises Whetn-
er under purely governmental auspices
will develop the necessary wisdom TO de-
wise. and the cesseless. answering, untir- |
ing persistency to carry on the unsenti- !
mental, unattractive. unpopular work of |
auditing and bookkeeping, SO that complete !!
cognizance may be kept and perfect ac-
curacy assured, is a separate and a serious !
question. At all events if new paths OF !
outside service under governmental con- |
troll are TO be entered upon, prudence would |
dictate. as an essential preliminary, a care |
fully digested legislative provision for an
adequate accounting system. The one We
have for the postal service seems to have
grown up haphaZard. more by natural ac-
cretion than by scientific development. un-
til the legislation OF 1894 sought TO reducs
it to shape. But that legislation was SO
hasty and so faulty at some points that
several Of its boasted improvements have
already Deen aDandOned-
bills were pending in the last Congress
which appropriated $50. 600 600 if necessary
TO buy or build postal telegraph, but did
not even mention. much less provide for.
any plan for keeping and auditing its ac-
counts.
"Other bills provided for. an elaborate
postal savings bank system, some of which
paid no heed whatever to this primal ne
cessity Of such an establishment, while one
of them magnanimodsly allowed six addi-
tional clerks in the auditors office to take
care OF work which would speedily equal
in magnitude and multiplicity of transac-
tions the money order system. which now
keeps 300 clerks necessarily busy in this
bureau.
Naturally one of the first questions the
economist. or philanthropist
would ask, before advocating the engraft-
ment of new and extraneous features on
our postal service would be- VIII it pay
expenses? Unless the Government pro-
poses under the general welfare clause
Of the Constitution, to embark extensively
into eleemosynary fields. all its business
enterprises at least should be self-sustain-
Ing. The mail service proper shows an
nual deficits. But il due credit could be
given for free transportation of official
and public documents, that
deficit would disappear.
Wnetner tne money order branch OF the
postal system is self-sustaining or not is
an important question 1t is a radical i'm
parchment OF the accounting methods ex-
isting in this bureau even since the PAINS
taking improvements of 1884, that no ac-
curate statement can be made on that i'm
portant point.
'It would seem to have been the original ;
intention of Congress that this bureau ,
should be ready at all times to furnish this
Section 293, Revised Stat
ltes. provided that the auditor should keep
he accounts in such manner as to show s.
among other things all the expenses of
he money order business / can find no {
record that this requirement was ever
complied with. Meantime later legislation I
las practically repealed this provision, al I
hough under the general scope of the au- l
iitors duty and authority the accurate
compilation Of this information would GER i
ainly be permissible. did the system of
Ieeping accounts disclose it, and were the
clerical force allowed to warrant it. The y
let Of June 9. 1895. requires that the Post I
Master General shall submit to Congress e
ANNUAL estimates in detail for all expenses r
II the money order branch Of the postal r
ervice.' As such estimates would involve t
eference to items in many different ap- O
ropriation bills. the difficulty OF framing u
hem is obvious. Until those difficulties e
re overcome the departments estimates {
vhen made will be only approximate, but e
7ould at least give data for an opinion as I.
o whether or not the money order service Z,
) self-sustaining.'' n