Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1903-06-11

tnere is no escape, the reminder is
heard on~every side: AN accusation
is only the beginning of a prosecution,
wait till we hear the defence and the
verdict"
Machen's case has been taken here
as type of the cases that have fur
nished most of the material for the
postofiiee department scandals which
have flooded the press this spring. II
was chosen partly because, as will be
seen, his opportunities expanded with
the growth of the bureau over which
he has held sway for about ten years,
and his story illustrates the way in
which a subordinate may in time come
TO be a greater man than his chief;
and partly because his long immunity
from exposure, in q place which is all
the time in a fierce glare of publicity,
shows how easy it may be to mistake
a commonplace shortening for a
crime, but how hard to prove it one.
Petty Jealousies in the Department.
Then. there is another feature of the
case which cannot be ignored. Mr..
Wynne entered the first assistant post
master generalship with strong sense
of the Importance of that Office and
determination to be the head of 1t.
Two of his subordinates, George w.
Beavers, chief of the salary and al
lowance division and Machen, had
SWING things independently so long
in their respective domains that they
were 10th to go back to the old prac-
tice and submit everything of inn
portance to him. Beavers made up
his salary lists, and decided what post
Offices should rent better quarters,
just as Machen made up his routes
! and set them going, without consulting
Mr.. Wynne This did not suit the
fancy of the newer appointee at all.
He found himself called upon to APP
prove orders and sign letters whose
details he did not understand, and
concerning which he could get no sat
isfaction, if he made any fuss about
it; the matters We're carried over his
head to the postmaster general. In
every way he was made to feel the
comparative insignificance of his posi-
ton as figurehead. The demoraliza-
ton, real or fancied, which he saw
spreading from this treatment of him
thu ough the ranks of the lesser en-
ployes was CALLING in the extreme. He
would go into the room of clerk not
under his immediate jurisdiction, but
on intimate terms with Machen or
Beavers, and find the young man sit
ting with feet on table and cigar in
mouth. neither being removed during
the interview. Stung by these OK
periences, he resolved to make the
chief offenders smart. Beavers he
succeeded in ousting early; Machen
only few days ago. Both will figure
conspicuously in the official report of
the investigation when it comes out.
How Beavers Became Valuable"
Beavers entered the department, as
Machen did, under the Bissell admins
tration. He was brought over from
| the New York postoffice to take the
place of a clerk named Scott rather
4
offensive by insisting on running his
office in his own old-fashioned way.
Scott undoubtedly was often tactless
and pretty close-fisted, but he was
, understood to have left the department
poor Beavers was big-faced and
beaming, free-handed when he felt
like it, confidential with nobody. He
acquired fine house, rode in his own
automobiles and had good time gen.
orally. The public scandals that have
clustered about him and will be
touched on in Brietow's report will
have to do with increased favor shown
by him to the postmasters at certain
offices and coincident willingness on
his part to accept presents from them.
But thus far no proof of crime, in the
vulgar sense, has been laid at his
door. 1t is hard to trace the chain
connecting his receipt of a barrel of
oysters with his increase of allowance
to a postmaster on Chesapeake bay.
People draw their own differences, but
they are only differences after ALL A
direct charge that somebody" in the
salary and allowance Office took pay
for procuring the promotions of clerks
in New York and other cities came out
a while ago. But II was shown that
there was significant relation be-
tween the date when list Of promo
tons was approved in Washington
and the date when the money was col
lected from the victims, so that 1t
would have been quite possible for
some person who had access to a list
to copy it, and then go to each person
named in it, and collect fee from him
on the promise of procuring a promo
ton. OF course, the promotion, which
would have been made anyway, would
come along directly afterward, and the
victim would hug the delusion that it
was his fee that bought it. A large
number of promotion orders have
been suspended on suspicion since this
scandal came up; but whether, If the
fraud were traced directly to gov
eminent officer, it would be punishable
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