Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-12-26
POSTOFFICE GRAFT.
Its Magnitude Only Partially
Discovered.
THE SUBSIDIES TO RAILROADS

OrmatiOn In Others.
The report on the postofiice frauds is
most appalling revelation of the rot
tenness of the department, but the re-
| port is more remarkable for what it
Omits or only hints at than for the ex-
! posures it makes. 1t is evident that
! the raScality commenced the moment
| Senator Hanna handed over the pat
ronage to his favorites after the cor
rupt campaign of 1896. Perry Heath
was made the dispenser of patronage
and the footing at once began. Post
master GeneSll Smith appears to have
been a figurehead who either was inca
pable of administering his office or re-
| fused TO see the corruption that was
! permeating it. The exposure of the
scandals would never have been made
| if the heads of the department had not
disagreed about their respective rights
and the braZen recklessness of Beavers
! and Machen. The reference in the
| BriStow report to the work of sundry
| congressman, inducing Beavers to in
| crease the salaries of their favorites, is
! only limited at, but it was the dispen-
| sation Of these fayors that gave the
| hooters power with those they aided
and forced through appropriations for
double the amount necessary so that
the 'rake-off" could be gathered in by
the conSpirators. So influential with
the committee on postoffices and post
roads had the chief loOters become that
congress at its last session provided for
the raising of the salaries of both Bea-
vers and Machen.
Mr.. BriStow's report is an indictment
| of Postmaster General Payne, for he
says, What the service most needs is
honest, intelligent and vigorous admin
istration,' and he points out the de-
fects Of Mr.. Payne's management.
When this is taken in connection with
the hot air. and other explanations
of Postmaster General Payne when the
first exposures were made. it indicates
as General Bristow evidently believes,
that Mr.. Payne was determined to
thwart any investigation. Yet Mr..
Payne continues by the grace of Presi-
dent Roosevelt Il member of his cabi-
net, and Perry Heath is to continue
secretary of the Republican national
committee. But the greatest frauds in
the pOstoltice department have not been
Investigated, and no hint is given that
they ever viii be. The railroads are
receiving at least double what the law
contemplates for carrying the mails
They received rent for postal cars
enough in one year to buy all the ears
The agents of the railroads are active
in padding the returns of the periodical
weighing of the mails, so that the aver
age is vastly augmented, and the cost
of carrying the same is increased far
beyond all reason. This department of
the poStoffice service is under the SUPER
vision of the second assistant poStmas-
ter general. and if any one is interested
in knowing the vast powers and oppor-
tunities for graft that the law and reg
ulatiOns of the department offer in this
branch of the service it is only neces-
sary to refer to page 93S of the Postal
Guide, under the head of ''Office of the
Second Assistant Postmaster General"
The guide can be found at any post
office, and it will be seen that the sec
end assistant postmaster general can
WELD enormous power for good or evil.
The railroads alone received for the
year 1892 $50. 953, Cos for carrying the
mails. being one-third of the whole ex-
9enditures of the department. The cost
y
handled by the railroads has increased
from .103S per mile in 1873 to 1918 in
1902. And the cost per capita of pop
ulation has been added to in even
greater proportion for each decade. In
1880 the cost was about 90 cents for
each man, woman and child, in 1890
about 80 cents and in 1900 over 80
cents. The basis for these figures will
be found in the Statistical Abstract
OF the United States for 1902. page 459 |
This increased cost to the people,
that the railroads demand and Il COM
placent congress and administration al |
low. for carrying the mail offers large |
field for an honest investigation of the |
Office of the second assistant postmas- |
ter general. If an honest weighing of |
the mails could be had, with no notice |
given of the time when it would oc-
cur, so that padding the amount could |
not be resorted to, an enormous saw
ing would be made If the Republican |
majority of congress would revise the |
law so that a reasonable price for mail |
cars should be made another great saw
ing would follow.
Then there are special subsidies |
for running fast mail trains, which, for
instance, pad the amount paid by the
government for carrying the mail on
the Southern railroad to the enormous
figure of $1,646. 525, when all receipts
for express over the same road were
only $77S,327. The statistics do not
give the number of pounds of mail and
express carried by the railroads, but it
is certain that express matters far ex-
ceeded the mail in weight and yet the
sum paid for the mail was much over
double.
The footing by the railroads far ex-
ceeds all that has been exposed by the
Bristow report, and if President Roose-
welt is really intent on sweeping the
postoffice department of graft he will
find the dirty work has only been par
TALLY accomplished. A partisan in
veStigation would he worthless and