The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1903-05-15
|NE HAS LARGE
TASK on HIS HANDS
kust Make the Postoffics
apartment 5eIf-s Supports
| ing Affair.
|L'c DEMANDS THIS
Lie DEMANDS THIS
Until 1t Is Accomplished Viii
,ere Be Confidence That Ex-
'travaeances Of the Depart
ment Are Ended.

travagances Of the Depart
"a ment Are Ended.
l. shington, May IL. -Postmaster
fal Payne declined to receive the,
Papcr correspondents this after-s
Promptly at 4 o'clock on each
noon the postmaster general has
VIZ open the doris and submitted to
Newspaper heterogeneous. But the
HI leave of absence granted a. W.
Men. superintendent of free deliv-
has apparently disconnected the
&naster general. Machen is home,
ned to his room. Bristow is not
Fitted to talk for publication. All
|nformation which has been given
has come from the postmaster gem
Il So long as the merry persiiiage
Ehich the postmaster general in
fed While Gliding the newspaper
&~spondents with their inability to
Re good their charges of Irregular
in his department was the only
lre of the 4 o'clock meetings it was
elcome hour to the head of the Ge-
Ement. Bristow alone kept his w
49, sAhtA %tA Va LIS AlloPSSAcl
+ not idle. The Developments
b not been to General Payne's lik-
He secuted the idea of p%ostoffce
gularities. He told his friends that
sonal j~ealousies and disappointment
e at the bottom of all the charges
CHI hade been preferred. Today
leral Payne Is confronted with the
essity of a complete reorganization
postofice department. New men
be put in control of the more inn
tant bureaus. and new methods Of
lsacting the business of the depart
must be introduced. Upon Gen
Payne viii rest the responsibility
making the postoffice department
elf sustaining organization.
Four Important Removals.
our important removals or suspen-
Is have already been forced. The
receipts of the country r in ex-
of $~130,000,000. The divisions over
oh George w. Beavers and August
Machen presided expended annually
half of this sum-. Machen alone
$4,000, 600 at his disposal. Beavers
gned rather than face an inyestiga-
|. His division purchased the post
,e supplies. Machen announced when
charges We're preferred against him
t he would not resign under fire, but
I'D fight it out. His friends say that
weeks he has been under such d
w strain that his collapse was
ed by his family. 1t is not believed
t up to this time General BTistow
unearthed any scandals in Machen's
artment upon which criminal prose-
,ons could be based. But it is an
n secret that his expenditures have
n reckless. AS the business and
ulation of the country grew the
anues of the postal service have in
ased at almost a geometrical ratio.
matter how fast the money came in
as expended, and each congress has
n called upon to make larger appro-
ltions for a deficit. The public de-
ned an improved postal system and
I expenditures We're branded as
tie system of auditing accounts and
ctically no checks have been i'm
ed on the head of any department.
S year more than $4,000, 900 was
ected to come in and it is estimated
s14o,0o0,OO would go out. The de-
,pments prove that in handling the
eminent stamps there has been
ry opportunity for fraud. If the
eminent has not been defrauded it
been solely because the officials
been honest. There Is not, ac-
ding to the auditor for the postoffice
artment, any plan in operation for
cking these accounts and lever has
n. The Irregularities which have
confessed by the resignation Of
.vers and which are implied in the
lporary suspension of Machen deal
h the expenditures of the vast sums
money at the disposal Of the division
allowances and the free delivery di-
on.
Could Save the Deficit.
he evidences of waste and extrava.-
ice in these departments have con-
ced those c%onversant with develop
hts that correct business methods in
departments would have resulted in
;uficient saving to have prevented
postofice deficit. The increased
lpensarion of letter carriers for ru-i
routes would not have been sUf1-
1T to have caused a deficit had good
mess management prevailed.
With the revelation regarding two.
)ortant divisions staring him in the
e the postmaster general has in
ased the scope Of General Bristow's
estigations to include all important
toff1ces in the country. An 1nvesti-
ion upon such a mammoth scale has
'er been attempted in any depart
Mt Of the government. One post,
ster general has followed another
permitted the vast and increasing
enues to be expended without effort
evolve a comprehensive system or
ok accounts which would guarantee
lection to the government. This
the present postmaster general
his successor will have to do. 1t
ans for Postmaster General Payne
shift from politics to bust
ST.
Though Machen, superintendent of
, delivery, has been granted a leave
absence" pending investigation and
a. G. Christiancy, assistant attor-
to the assistant attorney general.
also out on a leave of absence" it
accepted here that neither will re-
n to the duties of his office. If no
dence of q more damaging character
forthcoming the proof of extrava-
ice in Machen's department will
Ike his "leaNe of absence" permanent.
AYERS resignation was for all time
| Tynor, the assistant attorney gen
/, was removed.
If the Safe Hadn't Been Robbed.
'he probable separation of Chris,
ncy from the service is in nowise