The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-08-08
CUBAN POSTAL FRAUDS.
The Report Of Fourth Assistant Post
master-GeneraI Bristow.,
SAYS NEELY EMBEZzLED Sl3l, 900
Former Director of Posts Rathbons
Charged With MisappropriatinE Funds
-He Drew q Per Diem in Addition
to HIs Salary Without Authority
Lesser Officials Also Accused.

to His Salary Without Authorit,
Lesser Officials Also Accused.
Washington. D. c. (Speciap.-
Fourth Assistant PostmaSter-Ge
Bristow, in his report to the Postmas-
ter-General on the postal frauds IN
Cuba. places the amount !embezzled by
C. F. W.. Nicely, chief of the Bureau
of Finance at Havana headquarters
at from $4,000 to $15OOOO. : The re-
port also accuses e. G. Rathbone, who
was Director General Of Cuban posts.
of misappropriation of funds. and rec
ommends that he be required to REIN
burse the Cuban revenues. The re-
port is the result Of an investigation
begun May 19 into the entire business
of the Cuban Department of Posts.
and sets forth in detail the successive
discoveries of the existence of fraud
in one department after another.
MIR. Bristow finds a shortage as
shown by Neely's records Of $50, GOO
and Ian excess Of credit by destruc-
ton of surcharged stamps definitely
ascertained" of $101, 113. These two
items aggregate ,S131, ,713.and Mr.. Bris.
tow estimates that Neely credited
himself with enough more stamps as
"destroyed" which he did not destroy,
but sold, to bring the total to $780,.
OO0
This, Mr.. Bristow says, is a fair es.
innate of the total Of Neely's direct
embellishments. although his cash
book. owing, perhaps, to his loose
bookkeeping, shows a cash shortage OF
$119.27S. F
"Neelys fraudulent transactions,
however" says the Bristow report,
ARE not confined to embezzlement."' 1t
is then asserted that Neely before 60
ing to Cuba made mock transfer of
his Muncie. Ind, printing company
to man named Cowan, and that Nee
" sent large amount of Cuban postal
printing to the concern.
An instance Is given where Cowan
rendered bill Of about $4,000 and re-
ceived in payment more than $4,000.
There is nothing to indicate what be-
came of the extra $1,000 1t is further
shown that some of the bills were paid
twice. Mr.. Bristow makes no at
tempt to estimate the total amount
which Neely fraudulently obtained
through his printing office.
s4 Another case of Nicely crookedness
Is disclosed In his dealings with the
Keyless Ldek Company. of 1ndianap-
oils. According to the Bristow report,
Neely purchas1d $4,000 worth Of pos
tai supplies from the firm and received
from them two checks aggregating
S3292. These checks Mr.. Bristow con-
cludes were paid to Neely as com
mission or bribe."
The report is severe not only upon
Rathbone. but upon w. H. Reeves, who
was appointed assistant auditor for
the islands by the War Department,
and whose duty it was to audit Neelys
accounts.
Mr.. Neely declares that Rathbonc
and Reeves, through carelessness or
collusion, gave Neely free hand and
that Reeves was a party to the con-
spiracy to defraud the Cuban Govern
ment by falsely reporting the destruc-
ton of stamps which were afterward
sold by the conspirators: Reeves Is
said to have confessed that he received
$4,000 from Neely for concealing this
fraud.
Mr.. Bristow shows how Rathbone
started in at salary Of $4,000 a year,
and by constant appeals to the Post
master-General got it increased to
$500. with an official residence
thrown in. At one time portion of
the increase was in the shape of a per
diem allowance Of S.. When the sal
ary was raised to SG500 Rathbone was
told that the per diem allowance must
cease, but Notwithstanding this he
continued to draw it. Concerning this
Mr. Bristow says:
at appears, therefore, that Director
General Rathbone drew from August
/, 1890, to April 80. 1000, the sum of
S1365, as a per diem, which was un-
authorized, and that the drawing of
the same was fraudulent; and l there
fore recommend that he be required
to reimburse the postal revenues of
Cuba in that amount
Mr.. BriStow further accuses Rath-
! bone of unwarrantably including in
the expenses of his official residence
items for trunks. gloves. dog collars.
and clothing for his coachman. 1t is
| further shown that Rathbone made
| several trips to the United States and
| without warrant charged to the CGDan
Postal Department the expenses of
himself and family. One Of these
! items was a bill of $23G from n New
York hotel. where Rathbone and his
family stayed for eight days-a rate
of 5000 day.
Finally it is shown that Rathbone
drew two warrants in 1S90 for 5000
cach-one when he started on a tour
of inspection. In Cuba. and the other
when he started for the United States
and that he has never made an ac-
counting for either.
There stands against him. there
fore, says the Bristow report, "the
charge of unlawfully appropriating
$1,000 of the Cuban postal fund to his
own use"
In conclusion Mr.. Bristow says:
1T is my belief that was justified
in recommending the removal of Di-
rector General Rathbone from office:
and 1 further believe that he should
be required to answer for fraGdulently
and unlawfully appropriatnS to his
own use moneys from the postal rev.
cnues of Cuba"
r.,1