Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1903-06-11


the other always treating q suspicion
as certainty the public were AT a
loss what TO think.
The truth lies unQueStiouably in the
middle OF this stretch The depart
ment is not honeyComhed With cor
rupt conspiracies, as some OF the hos
tile journals have proclaimed under
big headlines; neither is it free from
wrongdoing, Its personnel contains
about an average lot OF human beings
The same proportion of iucortubtihle
and straightforward men and women
obtains there as in any community or
as many thousand souls. So does a
like proportion Of Self.seekers and
.bribe-taNers. and brethren whose chief
sin is weakness. Here and there the
pending investigation will bring to
punishment someone who has enriched
himself by taking advantage Of his
position to compel contractor 10
make terms with him, or who has
promoted one clerk and ignored au-
other from interested motives; but
most of the officers and the rank and
file of the employees will undCuhted-
ly come out Of the ordeal unscathed,
Mr.. Machen's Good Record.
Mr.. Machen, upon whom the cal,
cium light has been turned most con-
stantly of late, came TO Washington
under the second Cleveland admins
tration, directly from the Toledo post
Office. Postmaster General Bissel had
been looking for some time for new
superintendent of free delivery-the
free delivery system being then con
| fined to cities of a certain size and I'M
portance. Machen lad been super
| tntendent of carriers in Toledo, under,
stood the good and had points of this
class of subordinates, knew how to
handle them, had tbs statutes by heart
| and possessed a rare executive faculty
With all his faults, he has been a
most efficient administrative officer
He was a democrat hut his apparent
|noupartisan fairness soon won him
general favor.
In those days the rural free delivery
system was unknown, except as a
pretty dream. Postmaster General
I Wauamaker had thought that some
! thing might be done with it. and q
few members of congress had taken il
iup as fad, putting it upon about the
same footing with the postal savings
bank idea, But report which lies
before the writer as he pens these
lines shows what Machen thought OF
the scheme in 1894, when he was first
safeguarding the public interests in 0
federal office
The time and attention Of the Of
fcers Of this bureau were so engrosse(
in reducing the expenditures on &C
count of the free delivery service. al
ready established that no consider
alton could be given the question o
rural free delivery.
This was in response to an appropri
alton of $4,000 for experimental pur
poses; and the paragraph ended will
the suggestion that two per cent. O.
the money the rural system would cos'
when established could be "eXpendec
on reasonable and economical lines il
improving the postal system as now
organized" with more benefit to the
people at large" In 1895 the expert
mental fund had been increased L
] $4,000, but still it was uneXpended
"Rural free delivery may be usefu
after a while" said the report of the
year, Gin the more densely populated
states, but even then the benefits
derived under most favorable condl
tions would not be proportionate tC
the immense amount Of money re
quired to maintain the service" The
fact was, the democratic administra
ton did not favor the experiment, an6
Machen's opinions we're what were eX
pected from his as a subordinate.
The Entrance Of MIR. Heath.
So matters went on tn the McKn
/ ley ADMINISTRATION came in. Perry S.
Heath its first assistant postmaster
general, with the instinct Of a born adj
vertiser. cast about him for something
which should make his term of office
memorable The idea Of free delivery
of mail at farmhouses in remote re
gions appealed to his fancy He
tackled 1t with great energy. The far
mers had not taken to the idea at first
| with especial warmth. as 1t threatened
to interfere with their immemorial
custom Of going to the crossroads
store for their letters and chatting
there with their friends. But Heath
was bound that they should like it,,
and Machen. ever ready TO fall in be
hind the chief of the moment became
his most enthusiastic bush-bcater.
The departmental report for 1893 con,
tanned ffty-four pages Of printed
text and dozen or more halftone en-
cravings and maps entirely devoted to
this subject, and the appropriations
were already advancing by leaps and
bounds They have kept up this gait.
For the service which started then
with $4,000 the postmaster generals
estimates now call for $12.00o.0oo and
the end Is nowhere in sight Even