The San Francisco call., 1903-09-27
POSTAL SCANDAL
STILL IN COURT
Erwin Explains Why He
recommended the
Time Devices.
Richardson Receives Four
Thousand Dollars and a
Block Of Stock.

Another day will conclude the judicial
investigation by United States Court
Commissioner Heacock into the Federal
indictment charging J. w. Erwin with
conspiring to defraud the United States
Government by inducing it to make an ex-
elusive contract with the Postal Device
and Improvement Company for the pur-
chase at an eXhorbitant price of time in
dicators for street letter boxes Mr.. Err
wins examination was concluded before
noon yesterday and at noon the examina-
tion was continued until 10 a m to-
morrow.
The result of Mr.. Erwin's examination
was the establishment Of the following
facts: That Daniel S. Richardson, super
intendent of the San Francisco postoffice
and president of the Postal Device Com
pany, had interested Mr.. Erwin in the
time indicator and had induced him to
accompany Richardson to Washington,
D. c., for the purpose of introducing him
to postal officials and of getting them in
terested in the invention, which Mr. Err
win saw would be Of vast benefit to the
service; that his expenses while engaged
in such work were paid by Richardson;
that he received fifty shares of the old
Montague company stock from Richard
son as a present; that he subsequently,
exchanged these fifty shares for 100
shares of the stock of the Postal Device
and Improvement Company and received
from that company 500 additional shares
as a reward for certain Improvements
that he had made in the mechanism Of
the machine: that Erwin did not know
that he was doing anything wrong in rec
ommending the adoption of the improve
ment by the department and never knew
that August w. Machen and George w.
Beavers held any stock in the company.
RICHARDSON TO THE FRONT.
United States District Attorney Wood
worth placed Mr.. Erwin on the stand for
further cross-eXamination. Beginning
with his departure from San francisco
with Richardson, Mr.. Erwin testified as
follows:
Mr.. Richardson and I left San Francisco on
the evening of November g. 1S99 arrived al
Washington on the 11th and remained until the
2lst During that period we stopped at the
same hotel together. but were not together all
the time. l attended TO my business and he to
his. l did not devote, all told, more than three
days to Richardson and his device. met
Machen and Beavers and presented this device
to them. 1t spoke for itself and thought it
would be good thing for the service. Machen
expressed his approval OF II in general terms
and several weeks later contract was entered
into with the Postal Device and Improvement
Company We had discussed the usefulness of
the device two three occasions This is
the only device in which 1 ever had an interest
in bringing TO the attention of the department
and do not know Of any method for introduc-
ing such a device to the Government, except
that all contracts must originate with the First
Assistant Postmaster General, who, at that
time, was Perry 5 Heath. Mr.. Machen had
the approval of II, but Mr.. Beavers had nothing
TO say or do about it, because the device was
not Tor the use OF his department. 1 have no
personal knowledge that Mr. Machen made a
report to Mr. Heath. The first order was for
1000 devices, was dated January &c. 1900. and
was signed by Mr. Allen chief clerk to the
First Assistant Postmaster General who had
the power ito act in the absence Of his supe-