Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1902-01-22
Nicely ON THE STAND
Chief OF the Cuban Postal Finance
Bureau Begins to Tell
His Story.
PART OF THE STAMPS NOT BURNED
Kept No Record of Them and Elk.
plains Why-He and Reeves
Confronted.

Havana, Jan. 1S.-The cross-eXam.
nation Of Estes G. Rathbone, ex-di-
rector of posts of Cuba, at yesterdays
session of the court which is trying the
charges growing out of the Cuban post
Office frauds brought out no new facts.
Counsel for w. III. Reeves, ex-deputy
auditor of Cuba, who is also on trial.
endeavored to put the responsibility on
Rathbone for the neglect ON the part
Of Cuban pOstmasters to render month
ly statements. Rathbone insisted that
it was Reeves duty to report irregu-
larities of the kind
Nicely Then Takes the Stand.
G. f. w. Nicely was called and ex-
amined by the fiscal. Nicely said that
he received his appointment from
Washington. and that Rathbone had
made him chief of the finance bureau
of the Cuban pOstotfice department
after the organization Of the Cuban
postal service. He said that when the
stamps were burned a certain amount
was reserved for collectors but that
he did not know how many, and that
after the sales to collectors fell off he
gave the surcharged stamps to Senior
Moya, a Cuban stamp clerk in the
Havana postoffice. instructing Moya to
sell them. He asserted that he took
the money resulting from these sales
and put it in the vault.
Made No Record of the Sales.
Nicely made no record of these
stamps, nor did Moya make out re-
qusition for them. In answer to the
1iscars question as to why he had
made no such record Nicely explained
that in so far as the new issue of
stamps was concerned, records We're
kept in his office of the uenomina lions
sold, in order that he might be in a
position to know what denominations
to order from Washington to replenish
the stock. AS for the matter of balan-
cling the account, the stamps he turned
over to MOya had no bearing thereon.
Nicely said he was charged with the
whole amount OF the value of the
stamps delivered, and that these he
must account for either in stamps or
money, when called upon to do so.
Denies IA Couple of Charges.
For this reason. he said, it made no
difference whether these MOya sales
were recorded. Instead of the stamps,
he said, he had put the money in the
vault. Nicely denied having any inter
est in the Cowan Printing company, OF
Muncie, Ind, and said that he had not
received $1,000 as commission from the
lock-box company that put i'm the lock
boxes in the Havana pOstoffice. He
explained that this company was the
lowest bidder for that work.
Witness Confronted With Reeves.
Nicely was confronted with Reeves,
who reiterated his statement that Nee
ly gave him $4,000 before leaving to
make the books tally. Nicely answered
that this was not so. and said that he
was with another employee of the post
office at the hour named by Reeves in
his statement. At the request of
Neely's counsel this employe will be
summoned to, testify. Nicely said he
drew his salary for the coming month
before he left Havana for the United
States. The defense will contend that
this action showed that Nicely needed
money. and under the circumstances
would not give Reeves any.