The evening world., 1903-06-01
Secret Service Men Try To
Smoke Out Mysterious
Individual Who Gouges
the Government in Sub.
Station Rentals.
sN0 GRAFT" SAYS VAN CoTT.
Uncle Sans Rents Higher, He
Explains, Because Landlords
Have to Provide Heat and
!, Light and Fit Up the Places.

Acting under instructions from Wash
.fngton, Secret-Service detectives were
working to-day to discover the identity
Of the John Doe" in the administra-
fton of the local Post-Ofice department.
This John Doe is a more mysterious
person than his relative in the police
grating game. His system is protected
by the legitimate business method Of
renting a place that Is to be made a
sub-staion of the Post-ofice. and then
turning it over to the Government at a
leased rental hat will bring him any
where from $1,000 to 5000 a year profit
for ten a
h system is simple. All that Is
necessary to carry It out proftably is
h political pull. and this particular
John Doe appears to have It, as is
shown by h exorbitant rentals that
the Government pays for stores to be
used as sub-stations OF the Post-ofice.
Wan Colt Says He Doesn't Know.
Postmaster Cornelius Van Colt to-day
denied all knowledge Of a John Doe in
the Department. He also declared that
he had nothing to do with the selection
of sub-stations other than to recon-
mend the selection OF a place in some
neighborhood.
After I have designated the place
for a new substitution" Mr.. Van Colt
Badd in explanation. IT send the facts
10 Washington with the amount OF
rental
1.-THE reason that the rental for our
sub-stations is higher han other stores
In the neighborhood is that the lessor
haa 20 ~ the p1ara m hnat - ava nrn-
vide for all of the sanitary arrange
ments. Take a station where there are
forty or fifty carriers. The man who
leases that place to the Post-Office De-
partment has not only to put up the par
t%itions, light 1t with electric lights and
keep 1t in repair. but he must also pay
m extra water tax on the water that
tho carriers use.
Defends Higher Rentals.
Now. why shouldn't tina man re-
oeive a higher rental than his neighbor
who keeps a haberdashery? The neigh
Dor perhaps does pay a thousand or
two thousand dollars a year less rent.
but he pays for his WI lighting. heat
ing and water. He also has had to fit
up his store.
Take for Instance sub-station o., at
No. 10 Fifth avenue. We pay $12. 200 a
year rental for that place. 1t has been
said that the normal price of rental
should be $4,000 a year. Why, 1t cost
the owner of that property not less than
$4,000 to fit the place up for a post
office. He certainly must have some in
come from his investment.
ut is" the same everywhere else- and
] court the fullest investigation into
this matter. I,never heard OF any John
Doe getting what is termed graft out
OF the renting of places for the sub
stations. 1 wish ! could.
Doesn't. select the Places.
who selects these places. On my rec
ommendation. inspectors from Washing
ton make a thorough investigation OF
the premises selected; 1t Is really on
The lease of Station r. up across
the bridge. is about to run out. AS in
ten years. l believe the rental we pay
for that place is 5000 a year. Inc
owners laughed at our proposition to
tate nearly doubles in value in ten
years n 1t does, too. 1t is impos-
sible for us to get the same places
pined.
I'VE haven't a carrier station now
between the main Post-Ofice and the
carriers down in Wall street. We can
not get a place for a reasonable rent.
Many Of the sub-stations were hired
under the administration of Postmaster
Dayton. when the Department selected
drug stores for sub-statlons II got rent |
free and the druggist paid a clerk to
sell stamps in the hope of doing better
in the future. Now we pay some OF
them $500 a year.
at IL charged that there was some
thing wrong about the leasing Of sta
ton ], at One Hundred and Twenty
fourth street and Eighth avenue. It Is