The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-06-27
Post Once Rebates.

Less than six months ago Congress
was under pressure to legislate against
unjust discrimination by interstate rail-
ways among those for whom they rem
dered services. The avowed purpose
was to compel such railways to treat all
customers alike. not only by fixed and
infexible rate Of charges for all, whether
private citizens or Government officials,
but by statute forbidding furtive dis
counts, reductions, attachments, allow
ances or drawbacks after the service had
been performed.
There were those who felt that the
parties to the contracts ought to be able
to manage them in their own way with
out Government Intervention, but Con-
gress felt the need Of its interposition
to protect users Of railways who could
not, or did not, protect themselves. A
great many people were also convinced
that the Executive Department at Wash
ington had already on its hands more
laws than it could execute with fidelity.
1t now appears that, at the very
time there was the exertion Of pressure
on Congress to prevent discrimination
among their customers and rebates by
interstate railways, there was gigantic
system OF discounts and concessions
going on in tho Post Office Department,
by those rendering services or selling
articles to that branch of the public SER
vice, but with the popularity that in the
case Of the postal business the rebates
were not made, as in the railway bust
ness, to the payer, but to certain agents
Of the payer, who confided the rebates
to their own pockets, and not to the pub
lie treasury.
If in the case OF the railway rebates
they had been furtively and fraudu-
lently made by the railway to the agents,
or clerks, of the traveller. or shipper,
and dishonesty retained by them, the
affair would have had different aspect.
1t may be said by superficial persons
that the President and the Postmaster
General ought long ago to have discov-
cred the rebates in the Postal Service and
put a stop to them, but possibly those
very persons are and long have been,
as housekeepens, the. ignorant and
unwilling victim OF similar concessions
made by tradesmen to gardeners. coach
men, cooks and buffers, with the intent
of concealing excessive prices, false
quantities and defective qualities of
articles purchased.
The detective instincts of a BYRNEs,
and every hour Of the twenty-four spent
at the seat of government, by the Presi-
dent and Postmaster General, watching
and spying, might have been inadequate
for securing fidelity in the execution OF
the great variety OF postal laws, when
their honest execution was thus resisted
by dealers with the Department, and
by those rendering services, willing to
nav bribing rebates to the Post Office
officials.
There should be careful discrimina-
ton in the recent sad exposures by those
who endeavor justly to partition crimi-
nality between the officeholders who
accent rebates in the Postal Service and
those not officeholders who gave them.
There was in 1902 paid out sec, $780,
for transporting the mails, but it is in
conceivable that 40 per cent. rebate,
or any other per cent. on that vast sum
was furtively paid by the railways to
postal officials. There is an obvious
difference between paying rebate to a
private shipper, on the one hand, and
paying a rebate into the pocket Of Post
Office official, on the other hand.