Arizona republican., 1903-11-30
Report of Assistant Post
 master General BriStOw
PRESIDENTS COMMENTS
The Seedlings by Bribery and Black
 mail Were in Themselves Paltry but the Aggregate of Them is Enormous. A -Stricter Administration of the
 Laws Recommended.

of Fourth Assistant Postmaster General Bristow on the inve3ti- tigation of the postoffice frauds was given to the press tonight. The brief consists of about 15,000 words. and describes a series of petty rascal ities covering a period of several years and permeating a considerable part of the service.
 At the same time there is given to the press the presidents comments upon the findings of the investigation. A comparatively greater part of the report is given to the irregularities and frauds of Tyner, MaclFen, Beavers and Barrett Most of the important offices of the country have been in volved in one way or another. The report concludes as follows:
 For the purpose of this report. the h.vestiga tion ordered by you on March ' has been completed. In the prep aration of cases for trial where in dictments have been found, ipforma tion may be secured which will ne cessitate further investigation and possibly involve persons not now i'm plicated.
 More than 10 inspectors have been employed, some of them continuously every day since the investigation be- san. The rec ords of 1000 postofices have been examined, and the files of many divisions of the department, covering a period of from six to ten years, scrutinized.
 ''The system of organized cOrrup- tion began in 1893 and continued un- til stopped by this investigation. The amount of money secured by the cor rupt officials and their confederates is small as compared to the total loss to the government. To illustrate: There is no evidence Louis received any compensation from Ault and Wi borg, yet during the first year of his administration the expenditures for canoelling ink increased over $10,000. Tt does not appear that Kempner received money from the manifold company, yet the cost of manifold supplies increased more than $4O,0O0 a year.
 Barrett received but s6.OOO from Arnold. yet that company defrauded the people out of over s3.0OO,OOO. "Machen probably did not receive
 more than S26,OOO from the Croft fas- tener, yet the government has paid approximately s13O,OOO for that device which represents a net loss, since the department continued, by the terms oi | the contract for letter boxes, to pay for the original fasteners. Beavers and his associates received 1 less than $2O,OOO from the automatic cashier. Yet the department expend- ed $74, ,270 for this wholly unnecessary machine.
 "The total amount that the perpe.
 trators of the frauds themselves re- ceived cannot be definitely learned | but it will aggregate between S3OO.- , coo and s4O0,0 while the loss to tho government considering the unneces- sary supplies that have been' purchas
 ed and the inferior quality of those furnished by fraudulent contractors cannot be estimated with any degre,
 of accuracy.
 AS the gross abuses have beer
 brought to light they have beer promptly corrected by the proper de poTtmental officers. Contracts wher, fraud has been discovered have bees annulled.
 1 As q result of the investigatio officers and employees of the depart , ment have resigned and 13 have beer removed. Forty-four indictments hay,
 been found, involving S1 persons, Il of whom have been connected witt
 the postal service. Attached to this re rCrt is list or those who have beer
 separated from the service by resig nation and removal; also a complett list of the indictments and the per
 sons involved.
 | "I can not speak in too high prais,
 of the industry and intelligence of tn,
 inspectors and their loyalty to tn,
 interests of the service. The success O
 the investigation is largely due tc
 them. They have sought the trutl
 with eagerncss and skill. No account
 have been too intricate for them tt 7 unravel nc labor too burdensome tt
 undertake. Under the immediat
 charge of Chief Inspector William E
 Cochran they have worked in perfec accord. 4 list of these who have beer
 employed on the investigation is at { tached t0 this report
 | ''The results of the investigation f demonstrate that all travelling agent cf the department-such as assistan
 superintendents of salaries and allow
 ances, of the free delivery service
 the railway mail service, and the reg istry system and nspectors-shoulC
 be placed under one organization "A number of changes should b.
 made in the organiza tion of the de
 partment in order to provide a nor,
 perfect check on the operations O
 various divisions, and some -estrictiv,
 legislation affecting the divisions O
 salaries and allowance. CT rural fre'
 
 necessary. What the service mos needs, however. is honest. intelligen and vigorous administration. The cor ruption exposed is not due to la1 laws. but to the dishonesty of thos, | who have been charged with the res ponsibility of administering them. "In closing permit me to express .m-