Evening star., 1901-01-26
TWO ARE DISMISSED
Official Action in the Dead Letter
Sale Scandal.
SUCCESSFUL PLEA FOR THE OTHERS
Reform and Reorganization to Be
Instituted.
SUCCESSFUL PLEA FOR THE OTHER
PRACTICE OF YEARS

Whlle the recommendation of the post
office inspectors was that all the clerks i'm
plicated in the recent scandal of the dead
letter office be dismissed. the first assist
ant postmaster general. after careful re-
view of the case, has dismissed Mr.. Charles
Hardin, chief of the property division, and
Mr.. r. c. Walton. clerk in that division.
The charges against Mrs. Lillian e. Browne
and Mr.. Charles Albert have been dismissed,
although both are warned that a repetition
Of their action will work dismissal from
the service
In their testimony before the inspectors
and in their hearing before the first assist
ant postmaster general both Mrs. Browne
and Mr.. Albert substantially admitted the
truth of the charge that they purchased
packages through others at the sale with
the contents of which they had become fa-
miliar through examination In the de-
partment. In taking their cases under con-
sideration the first assistant found that 1t
had been the custom for clerks In the dead
letter office to attend these sales and be-
come purchasers. and although such prac-
tees may have been known by their i'm
mediate supervisors, yet 1t was never
brought to the attention of the department
in any official other manner. There is
no proof that Mrs. Browne or Mr.. Albert
committed any fraud upon the government
or the public in their conduct, or that they
articles Of value not enumerated in the cat
alogue, or that the government was in any
way the loser by their action. The post
office authorities say 1t Is evident that the
attendance of clerks in the dead letter Of
flee at these sales is improper. having a
tendency. IL known, to discourage bidders,
who would naturally suppose such clerks,
having special facilities for knowing the
contents OF packages, would thus obtain
the desired ones, while the undesirable
would be left for the public to purchase.
Chief Liebhardt Of the dead letter office
denies all knowledge Of the wrongdoing, and
told the inspectors In his examination. that
he had turned over the matter Of annual
sales to the chief Of the property division. 1t
appears to have been generally known
among the clerks in this bureau and the
system had been so long uninterrupted that
many believed they had an inherent right
to take advantage Of their special informa-
ton at these sales. For years, in fact,
whenever a sale has been made Of the ar
ticles which had accumulated. the clerks
in talking among themselves were accus-
toned to laugh and say: The clerks on the
inside will get all the good things They
know every package and what 1t contains"
The investigation developed among other
thing a pool among the clerks. Knowing in
advance the contents OF q certain package.
handsome doEies. a combination was form
ed and one was commissioned to make the
purchase, the three agreeing to divide the
doilies.
Practice Going on for Years.
For years this practice has been going on.
and there is no way of estimating the loss
to the government. It was indeed seldom
that the public was '1et in on any of the
good things, and 1t had to be content with
the small things which the combination had
no use for. One old-timer who had attend
ed these sales for years became acquaint-
ed with the post Office clerk. and now and
then outbi6 him.
There was an amusing incident at tho
last sale. Package 90S was put up and de-
scribed by the auctioneer as containing
"cheap clothes brush. razor trop, pearl PEN
holder, work bag, pocket book, cards, mu-
sic ETC." The post office clerk was very
desirous of possessing this package. so
was one of the post Office inspectors detail
ed to watch the sale. The bidding started
off with a rush. and after several had en-
tered the contest and retired, 1t narrowed
down to the clerk and the inspector. me
latter had no limit and promptly raised the
clerk each time, calling out his bid in a
loud voice. He made the auctioneer hear
him, and finally, after the package had
been run up to several dollars, 1t was
knocked down to the inspector. The cheap
clothes brush proved to be a fine hair brush
with engraved metallic back. the pearl PEN
holder was gold mounted and contained
gold pen and the term etc included
fine leather music roll and one silver SOU
venir spoon.
Reforms to BE Started.
It is generally agreed the system which
has been in vogue for SO many years needs
radical Improvement, and 1t is the pur-
pose of the first assistant postmaster gen.
eral, Mr.. johnson, to start Immediately
much needed reforms. Some system Will
be devised in the preparation Of the cata-
Ioeue for the annual sale which will elmi-
nate the possibility of any bidder knowing
n advance the contents Of the packages.
In Behalf of the Accused.
Three of the clerks charged by the In
spectors with completely In the scandal ap-
oeared before the first assistant postmaster
general last week. The friends Of tho
clerks affected called upon the post office
authorities and urged that no further ac-
ton be taken against them. One promi-
nent politician argued that the clerks had
no rules to guide them in the case, and
they did not believe they were doing wrong.
Many clerks in the department share this
belief One Of them who has been con-
nected with the Office a number of years
said It was her Impression that the clerks
had been doing this thing SO long they
really believed they had right to con-
tinue it. and that she did not believe they
were conscious of wrongdoing.
First Assistant Postmaster General john
son said this afternoon that a reorganiza-
tio,, ~ ha daad letter office would follow.