Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-22
BriStow Calls Postmasters to
His Assistance.
SENDS GENERAL ORDER
REORGANIZATION OF THE POST
OFFICE DEPARTMENT.
Believed by Some That Mr.. Payne Has
It in NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Be-
ing Pushed

Some idea of the magnitude, of the in
vestigation of alleged scandals in the Post
Office Department may be had when It is
known that postmasters throughout the
United States have been ordered by Fourth
Assistant Postmaster General Brfstow to
forward to him at once complete and de-
tailed statements of the amount OF sup
plies ordered for each, the character OF
supplies the cost of the same, etc.
Postmasters have also been asked to SUD-
NIT opinions as to the needs for their re-
spective offices Of all the things that were
ordered or authorized by the division OF
salaries and allowances during the regime
of Mr.. George w. Beavers. resigned.
From these statements. compared with
the recognized Importance OF the Ounces ~
ia hoped to show, and it undoubtedly WILL
~ there was undue extravaganza, or
whether there was a necessity for the sup
plies thus ordered.
General Understanding Wanted.
MANY of these statements have been re-
ceiyed and they are coming in by hunoreoS
in every mail. 1t should be UNDERSTOOD that
this action of the fourth assistant postmaS-
ter general was for the purpose Of getting
a general understanding of how the analrs
of the division of salaries and allowances
and the division or Tree delivery nave oeoAA
conducted.
The twenty or more inspectors under
Chief Cochran are engaged in investigating
specific charges. and they are SAID 10 as
gregate several hundred-chargeS made by
postmaSterS and employees IN post OHceS, as
we'll as manufacturers of post office and
postal supplies who claim to have been dlS-
eliminated against, successful bidders hay-
ing received information in advance which
practically wiped out competition.
Real Basis Of Investigation.
The charges that have been made. and
which form the real basis of the anvestiga-
ton, are that canceling machines, register
ing clocks, Irvine, wrapping paper. post Of
flee boxes, mail bags, pens, penhOlders, rub
Der stamps. wagons, stationery and all the
manifold supplies of the Post Office Depart
ment were bought in enormous quantities
and supplied at rate far exceeding any
thing needed, and that almost every con-
tract of this description is tainted with
fraud involving a division between the
tracts.
1t is charged that in many cases prices
at which supplies were sold were not exor-
bitant, but the game was worked by forcing
supplies upon poStmasters and the railway
mail service. requiring them to use things
that were neither necessary nor economical,
although they might seem quite desirable
in way.
complete in any way is the reason that
Fourth Assistant Postmaster General Bris-
tow has made the general demand for in
formation from the poStmasters Of the
country.
Considered as Significant
Postmaster General Payne's order discon-
tinuing the services of the entire staff of
inspectors of canceling machines. which
was told in full in The Evening Star of
yesterday. is considered by those who are
watching the investigation as extremely
significant.
The inspectors were borne on the clerical
rolls of certain post offices, but were as
signed to travelling duties throughout the
country. These men were detailed for the
work by Mr.. Beavers.
This was the second peremptory action OF
the Postmaster General antagoniStic to the
work of Mr.. Beavers since the investigation
was begun three weeks ago. the first being
the holding up of promotions in the New
York post office, which were recommended,
it is said. by the wholesale by Mr.. Beavers,
even to the extent of overstepping the ap-
preparation made by Congress for the pur-
pose.
There would seem to be no end of the
complaints that are coming to the Post
Office Department regarding alleged mis-
conduct in the division of salaries and al
lowances and the division of free delivery.
Some of them come to the Postmaster
General himself. others to the first and
fourth assistant postmasters general Mr..
Payne sees them all, and they are turned
over to Mr.. Bristow with the positive order
that they be investigated thoroughly and
completely.
The Postmaster General is quite naturally
annoyed by many stories that have been
sent out from Washington. which. even II
not intentional. place him in the light OF
wishing to hush up the investigation. or
that the investigation is being conducted in
the interest of protecting certain persons in
political life.
Nothing could be further from the truth
The Postmaster General has declared that
the investigation shall stop for nothing.
He has the sanction of the President of the
United States who himself has demanded
that every complaint involving this impor-
tant branch of his administration shall be
Sifted
The administration is determined that If
any one in the Post Office Department Is
guilty OF misconduct he shall be dealt with
srmmarily.
An Effort to Create a Sensation.
An effort to create a sensation over the
visit of Representative Babcock of Wis
consin to the Postmaster General would
seem to have failed in it's mission. Mr.
Babcock. who is from the same state as
Mr.. Payne called yesterday with his son
for social chat. Senator Spooner, al
though in Washington, has not called at
the office of the Postmaster General since
the latter returned from his trip to the
West Indies.
Postmaster General Payne said that there
had been only one member of either house
OF Congress who had shown to him any
particular interest In the investigation
This was n senator. whom he did not
name. and who had asked that he be given
an opportunity TO be heard by the Post
master General if anything were done in
the case OF person at the Post Office De-
partment In whom he was interested
Sunday evening a stranger called on Mr.
Fayne at his apartments at the Arlington
Hotel. and presented to him a paper con-
tanning charges involving the names of
certain post office officials and a certain
member of Congress respecting a contract
with company for supplying a number of
automatic cashiers, from which, it is al
legged $4,000 deducted from the con-
tract price and divided among them.
Only One Of Many.
Mr. Payne took the paper and assured
the stranger that the matter would have