The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-05-19
Washington Views Of
Topics OF Interest


Washington, May 1s.-rhc pcculation Of gov
ernmcnt officials in Cuba has scandalizcd the
administration. Our domestic postal affairs have
been managed by Postmaster General Smith
with exceptional ability. Abuses have been cor
rected and under his personal direction the
service has attained the highest efficiency. As
far as possible the methods so successfully en-
ployed here have been used in the Cuban pos
tai service. There is this important difference.
The Cuban postal officials were not subjected
to that vgant supervision which protects the
public service against the possible corruption
of its agents in this country.
The introduction of the American postal SER
vice in Cuba experiment. No fault is
found with the service 1t is praised every
hand, but the government has been unfortunate,
in the employment of dishonest agents, They
have betrayed their trust They were men of
established probity. They enjoyed fully the con-
fidence of the administration. They had seen
long and honorable service in public life. Their
integrity had never been questioned. They had
held positions of trust. Their official records
were above suspicion wrong. But with all
this to their credit, they were appointed only
after the most searching scrutiny. The admin
istration felicitated itself upon the appoint.
mcnt of such tried men Thompson and
Rathbone. 1t felt assured of absolute security,
both in the honesty and efficiency OF their ad.
minisration They owed their appointment
solely to their reputation for honesty and ca.
pacity
Whether guilty of corruption or incompetency
or whether directly or indirectly responsible for
the pecuation of Others they have disgraccd
the public service and subjected the admins
ration to reproach and misrepresentation. I'm
til the whole truth about the matter is known,
it is idle to speculate about the immediate
responsibility of the postoffce department the
war department. The postmaster general will
exhaust the resources of his department in the
pending investigation. lie is not afraid Of the
responsibility. The investigation will show that
he has done his full duty as the head of the
postofiice department. 1t will show that there
has been no dereiciOn on his part. He feels
the keenest disappointment. In Mr.. Thompson
the postmaster at Havana, he reposed the most
implicit trust, and feels deeply at the mere
suggestion of his culpability. But man, who
ever he may be, or whatever his influence, is to
be spared
Fourth Assistant Postmaster General Bristow
LETT here Wednesday with full and specific in
stuctions to searchingly investigate every pos
sible phase of the postal situation in Cuba. He
was selected by the postmaster general because
of his record as an honest, fearless, conscien-
| tious, exacting department official. Nobody who
| knows anything about Assistant Postmaster Gen.
/ eral Bristow's record in the department ques-
| tions his courage his determination to do
| his whole duty in this investigation.
| The postmaster general told Mr.. Bristow that
| the prosecution of the inquiry must be directed
| with desire to learn the entire truth, and
must be uncompromising and unsparing. He
| goes to Cuba deeply impressed that the prcsi-
| dent is chagrined and shocked at the betrayal
of trust the part of the postal officials, and
| that his wish is that in dealing with the frauds
| there shall be complete investigation with
| rigorous and unsparing prosecution Of the guilty
and of their condign punishment.
The fiscal year 1900 continues to break all
| records in the matter of expectations. April is
| an example Of this fact. The total exports in
| April, as Just announced by the treasury bur.
eau of statistics, Sis, ORG, ,JO7 which is S2O,
| 100000 more than in any preceding year, $780,
| 100000 more than in April OF last year and
| double that of April, 1898. Never before has
| April, which is usually light export month,
reached the slOO,O00,0OO mark in its exports
Every branch of industry lends its aid to this
| increase, The total figures for the month OF
| April have not yet been sufficiently analyzed
| to show the exact increase in each class, but
| an analysis of those for the month of March
shows that agricultural exports in that month
were SIS, 900 greater than in the correspond.
ing month of last year, that manufactures were
| Ss000,000 in excess OF the corresponding month
| Of the preceding year; that products of the
| mine were nearly 80 per cent in excess OF those
of the corresponding month of 1s00 while pro-
ducts of the forests, the fisheries, and those
| grouped miscellaneous all showed an increase.
| The advance in prices of cotton, corn, oats,
wheat and provisions accounts in part for the
increase in the value of agricultural exports,
while there is also am increase in quantity ex-
ported, especially in cotton, and the advance
in values also accounts in part for the great
increase in exports of manufactures.
II is now apparent that in all the great
| classes Of our exports the record OF the year
1900 will exceed that of any earlier year. In