The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-04-16
STUFFED The MAIL
At the Time When the Annual
Weighing Was Made.
CONGRESSMAN IS ACCUSED
OF Helping Out a Friends Railroad
by Shipping TrainlOads of
Bulky Documents.
Now YORK Sss.s Specfas Servssa,


says that there is "a furry in the Office Of
Second Assistant Postmaster General
Shellenburger at Washington. The clerks
accountants and secret service agents are
looking into the matter Of shipments of
mail over Prince Poniatowski's Sierra
railroad in California. Representative
Woods of the second California congress
sional district is personally concerned in
the inquiry, which promises to develop
into an unusual scandal.
Though the postoftice officials are slow
to give out any information in the matter,
lit is known that an investigation is On
foot and that an effort is being made to
ascertain the truth of the charges which
have been floating in the air in San Fran
cisco for some days. 49,
This is the weighing season with the
railroads which have contracts with the
government for carrying the mails. The
more the mails weigh at this time of the
year the fatter the annual contract.
| Now it is charged that in order to
swell the contract rates of Prince Poniat-
owski's Sierra railroad. Congressman
| Woods shipped great quantities of public
documents under his frank to S. D. Fresh
man, one of Poniatowski's partners. AS
the story comes to Washington, these
public documents were stacked up like
cordwood at Oakdale, Carriers, Jimtown
and Sonora. 1t is told that trains were
held for long waits while the ranked doc
uments were transferred from the South
ern Pacific cars to the cars of Prince
Poniatowski's Sierra railroad The
charges are that this shipment by Con-
gresham Woods just at the weighing sea-
son means matter of 100000 a year to
the Sierra railroad in it's contract for car
ryng the mails
Washington has had the idea that the
Tuolumne country. was rather sparsely
| populated, but Congressman Woods sud
! denly has sent on a great amount of mail
| matter under his frank-quite enough to
| satisfy the demands of teeming popuIa-
ton. The records show that he suddenly
forwarded over 800 pounds in one day, and
practically all of it was for S. D. Fresh
man, the partner Of Prince Poniatowski.
Hand in hand with these extraordinary
shipments of public documents to the
mountain constituents of Congressman
| woods comes the story that Prince
Ponlatowski and his associates con-
trlbuted handsomely to the congressman S
campaign expenses when he was running
against 10 D. Sproul of Butte county.
Now Woods is presumed to be returning
the compliment by sending out all these
public documents just at the time the
mails are being weighed. He has de-
veloped strange affection for Poniat-
oWski's partner, Freshman, at this partcu-
lar and peculiar juncture. He is sending
to Freshman Year Books" of 1900. and
sending enough of them for every man
woman and child along the line Of Poniat-
owskis railrCad.-
Singularly enough, when the mails were
not being weighed, Woods sent his 'fYea,
Books seeds and other ranked articles
to X. !. Beardslee, his clerk at Stock
ton. But just when the mails are weighed
for the railroad contracts out go the
heavy Year Books and other documents
to Freshman at Sonora, and they go il
numbers BETTING a numerous and clam
oring population. From the postoffice
records it would seem that S., D. Fresh
man, partner OF Poniat owski and director
OF the Sierra Railroad, has suddenly dis.
covered an overwhelming demand for the
bulky year Books of 1907 in the noun
tain mining region of Toulumne county
California. II the Sierra railroad die
not contribute to the campaign fund O
Congressman Woods that fact could hard
ly have very intimate relation to hi
sudden shipment OF weighty document
over the road. If he had thought the rail
road needed the books for fue! or tract
ballast he probably would not have waite,
until weighing time before shipping them
Still, Washington is skeptical about sucl
matters. Some evil-minded person ha
spread report that Poniatowski had pu
up job to have his mail carrying con
tract fattened by 100000 a year and tha
Woods had stood in to fatten it by ship
ping the big volumes to Freshman in
stead of to his clerk, Beardslee, at Stock
ton. Eight hundred pounds a day woul
help out railroad mail contract grea
deal and go 0volumes of the Year Boo
Of 1907 would weigh very handsomely
Perhaps Freshman might have som
trouble in distributing the heavy tones a
the other end Of the line, but they'd sc
there just the same-and just at the tim
that the weights were being taken for tn
annual mail contracts.
1t is only fair to Congressman Wood
owski or the Sierra railroad helped hill
sending the big volumes to Freshman in
stead of to Beardslee, but expresses hi
gratitude at being able to send SO niue
Six hundred volumes day would un
county, but the fact that so many ar
needed just at the mail weighing time
considered splendid tribute to the une2
Freshman, and to the incessant deman
for reading matter, however heavy, Of tn
California miner Of course, differenc
of 100000 year in mail carrying cor
tract would furnish several election funG
for congressman, but Mr.. Woods declare
the intimation that he received campaig
money from Poniatowski's road is falls
He shipped the documents because the
1 were needed at the mines
The investigation is now on.
|