Sunday morning globe., 1901-09-01

] the secretafyShlp, three years ago, Par
sons can depend on every officer he
needs for all his purposes. He can fire
In travelling expenses $780," at his
pleasure. Everything goes This is
/ proven by the last two annual reports
Of the associations financial officers. |
which show the associations expenses
to have increased alarmingly Of late !
years.
At the Toledo convention the first
disorganized effort to get after Par |
sons was an ignominious failure. To |
the opposition caucus" his friends |
/ gained easy access He became the ag-
/ gressor and at the opening Of the con-
/ yention, posing as an injured innocent, |
i'm open session he lampoOned the op- |
/ position and welcomed attack The |
press Of the country ventilated the |
/ whole aifair-Parsons' side of It. |
/ Later, i'm executive session, both sides |
were heard When the secretary sub |
mitted the indictment with its numer-
GUS counts, Parsons naively took him |
off his guard by asking: Does the sec |
retary believe any Of this money stuck |
to my fngers?" The answer was "no."
/ Not a delegate inquired where it went
to, where it stuck, and the secretary
was to have so much assistance from
the floor, from those who had urged
him to lead in exposing the corruption.
T. The secretary collapsed. He said no
more. Dazed he left the convention,
to return only once the following morn
ing with some books. In the mean
time the night had been spent with
some Of the would-be leaders promi-
nent in the opposition" No more was
heard or seen Of the secretary at that
convention. Some of the opposition"
climbed onto Parsons band wagon.
Just before the next convention
(Scranton, September, 1S99) an audit
. ing committee discovered the old sec
retary had failed to turn over to treas
ury a check for 81 051.50 received from
Parsons New York branch during the
previous convention as per capita tax
from the branch for term ended June
30. 1898. The New Workers stopped
payment on that check when the abb
81 sence Of the secretary at Toledo was
, noted No new check was ever issued,
D and President Parsons own branch to-
day owes S1,O515O (plus 10 per cent?
, for per capita tax for the term ended
) June 80. 1898. The Chattanooga con-
. vention may define the legal standing
. of that branch 1t would be hard to
/ figure the amount Of fines that branch
. has escaped paying At the San Fran
, cisco convention Parsons trampled on
, the constitution to permit his branch
! to escape the fine then due. Just on
the eve Of the Scranton convention the
, old secretary was informed Of the au-
, diting committees discovery by its
I chairman. who said the only place for
. an explanation was at Scranton. The
secretary went there i'm a state Of mind
, |verglng on insanity Parsons promised
! him five minutes on the floor-all that
, was asked. He broke his promise, and
the disheartened eX-esecretary was
:, again a mental wreck Couldn't talk
D.. five minutes to the organization he had
d physically. financially and mentally al
: most ruined himself in building up;
A., had saved in 1890 (by the New York
] conference) from going the way all
! previous efforts to organize letter car
? riers in the United States had gone!
That conference would never have been
/, held but for him. and the association
would have died aborning at Boston,
q July, 1890, but for that conference.
Before leaving Scranton, he paraded
: a letter from Treasurer Conners dated
J. Sept. q, 1898) from which the follow
, ing is taken: "Now, in regards to what
, YOU sent me: that check from Nc
, Carthy. S1,051 so; payment on It was
a stopped before received it, and since
! I came home (from Toledo I sent 1t
q back to him asking him to make me
out a new check, but up to date have
not received an answer. The money or
J, ders I sent to Washington etc.
The New York branch being in bad
! standing, no member of 1t was eligible
! for office.
Z, In the long past efforts made by the
u organization for beneficial Legislation
u failed. but harmful legislation was pre-
Z vented. In recent years, with five times
-' the expenses Of the past, the salary
e bill has not even come out Of commit
IL tee of either House or Senate On the
J. contrary. because Of Parsons insulting,
20 threatening language to the committee
8 of the House of Representatives on
F. Post Office and Post Roads, he was
s practically ordered out Of the room.
A wear ago and more the Eight Hour
d Law was amended in the p o. appro-
S priation for the fiscal year ended June
j. 30 last That amendment could nave
been "killed" in the House by a single
d Member raising the point Of order on
It its being new legislation, which, ac-
It cording to the House rules, can not be
3, incorporated in any of the annual ap-
o propriation bills. Before 1t became a
e law It was a bad thing-this tinkering
with the eight-hour law. Afterwards
8 1t was a good thing and creditdherefor
It promptly preempted and now that 1t
b, is no longer operative (having been de.
c. clared by the law officer Of the P. o.
t. Department dead with the fiscal year,
e for which the appropriation bill con
r tanning said amendment proWded)
there is again cause for Joy.
l. Tweedledee and Tweedledum, we
1 must conclude. Our task is an unenYi'
q able one. Not a word is placed here
in malice. Every statement Is true;
a more could be said; more can be dis
I. covered by an elected auditing commit
,. tee. elected from the floor OF the Chat'
.s tanooga convention.
n Our sole purpose Is to warn the car
v. riers of danger to their organization
\. in continuing to entrust its AFFAIRS In
u unworthy hands. We know the DIM
"A cultv of a Chattanooga remedy; we
"A know the ramihcations and food supply
"a OF the disease. But Il is not constitu
In tional; It Is not chronic; 1t Is not IN
4. durable. Cut Il out before It eats
,e further into the vitals Of the national
le body.
)r Letter carriers who read this, and
ID whose local association is represented
Il by proxy at Chattanooga, should wire
he their proxy instructions as how to vote