The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1902-05-13

NJ. Tory Oleson. chief Of the admitted
files of the Pension Office. was appointed
from the Second Congressional district Of
Minnesota December Il, 1883 That sec
tion Of the bureau over which Mr.. Oieson
presides contains million and a half OF
more o. pension claims in which allow
ances have already been made. but which
are liable to be called for at any time
fer further action by the Government
To Mr. OleSOn IS due the credit CT such
perfect arrangement that any claim may
be found n the shortest possible time.
The entire fourth floor OF the immense
building Is given over to the storage of
these papers, and in rows Of shelves reach
ing from floor TO ceiling neatly strapped
and label ed bundles are placed. each con-
tanning rom i've 20 twenty claims, and
the whole running in regular numerical
order from one 10 a million and some
thing
Mr. O.eson his 4 finely developed facuI-
ty for order and neatness. and by painstak-
ing work he has minimized to the last
degree the possibility Ct any OF the valu-
able pilpeTs ii his keeping being misIaid
through caTtIessness or being drawn with
out the proper charge being made. Mr..
Oleson by MS quiet aBG courteous manner
has made many friends among his asSO-
attached to his branch of the bureau he
is EerT popular.
Mr.. Robert s Chiffon, chief Of the coz
sular bureau is high and important Of
fcer in the State Department, who has
risen frem the ranks. He commenced
work fer the Government several years ago
rs a clerk in minor division AID has
been steadily promoted to his present po-
siti0n, which he has filed for about
year The consular bureau stands IN close
relation TO the people OF the country, par
ticIIarly the business men, and the Office
is 9 flvoTite place CT inquiry.
The work of the Office is perfectly sys-
tented and the record OF any one Of the
hundreds OF consuls scattered all over
the world can be found on a moments
notiye- Mr. Chilton is a young man and
was reared IN Ohio.
Those eninentIy useful and faithful ser
vitors Of the people. the Postoffoe inspec-
tors, have as their chief a most level
headed and courteous gentleman, Mr. ".
E Cochran The chief knows all the detail
Of the work because he has been there
in an emphatic sense. The records Of the
Office make rather dry reading but there
are thrilling stories Of villainy behind
many Of them Chief Cochran directs
office and the results to the Government
and to the people are not excelled by
the work Of any department
In the memory Of Chief Inspector
Cochran and his men there has hardly
been more memorable case than that
of c. p. Barrett, q South Carolina law
yer, who was convicted about ten years
ago Of conspiracy to defraud the Govern
nnent Barrett was a man of extraordi-
nary ability, and the way he conducted
VIGOROUSLY fraudulent enterprise for sew
eraI years is one OF the striking instances
OF cunning on record
Inspector Fred D Peer worked up the
larger part Of the case and secured the
conviction Mr. Peer was remarkable for
his modrsty and genial manners, and was
apparent the best man to cope with
shrewd and INSCRIPTIONS lawyer who
was we-kfLg behind the scenes. But there
were tt4rty-two cases, each strong enough
TO land the accused in the penitentiary
several years
Barrstf'g scheme was hydra headed
and the traffic in $4,000 worth Of postage
stamps was an incident only
This was worked through the postmas-
ters at fourth-cIass Offices, who increased
their pay largely by selling stamps Every
thing on the market from needles to Gov
bought and paid for with stamps often
q fictitious name was given, and there
would be a big default in payment, and
the seller would have no redress II
stamps could aot be made to 60. money
was used. although sPaTingly, and John
Doe and Richard Roe and other children
of the law figured largely Over hun
dred firms were victims Of the scheme,
and the witnesses at the trial Of the Bar
rett gang came from almost every State.
Nearly all the typewriter firms were
among the victims. and Barrett's Office
was fun Of the machines when the plot
was disclosed
II was said that Barrett was about to
be appointed Third Assistant Secretary
Of State when he was caught He stood
high, and had fine practice as law
yer and was noted FOR his learning and
skill as a fnancier. Many poor dUpes
were caught in the scheme
HorticuIturist L. G. CoTbett and other
officials OF the Agricultural Department,
as well as the people generally. are wor-
rfed about the wild onions AS the locusts
plagued Egypt and the mosquitoes confer