Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1903-06-13
SATURDAY EVENING, JUNE 10, 1908.

THAT FRAUD and corruption exist IN
the government departments In wash
inoton has been known for years and the
magnitude of the corruption is being
shown by developments in the recent
postofIice scandals, but the extent to
which the government and the people
have been and are being robbed, will
probably never be known, as there is
strong influence at work in Washington
to cover up the rascality of many of the
officials concerned. The following ex-
pose of the postofice methods, from the
Washington correspondent of the Phila-
delphia Record, will show how the Post
Office Department is conducted
When Postmaster General Payne re-
turns to his desk after bis excursion
TO the marriage of Miss Ruth Hanna,
he will again lie confronted with the in
sistent demand that he shall make pub
lie the reply of Joseph l.. Brlstow,
Fourth Assistant Postmaster General, to
the charges of Seymour w. TullOch, for
81 wears cashier Of the Washington city
nostofice. Postmaster General Payne
has published the replies of Charles
Emory Smith, former Postmaster Gene
raj Perry ). Heath former First As
sistant Postmaster General, and Johr a.
Merritt, postmaster of Washington.
These we're all denials of Tulloch's
charges. The reply of Bristow, submit
ted more than two weeks ago, has not
been made public. Postmaster General
Payne says he "may' give it out when
he publishes the official report OF the in
vestigations as a whole. That means
that there is possibility OF the
report coming out next August or
September, for the investigations will
not be complete before that time.
The fact is that Postmaster General
PAYNE is afraid to give out Bristow's
reply. ItcOmpromises his dear friend and
associate on the republican national COM
mittee-Perry 5. Heath. Bristow's re-
port is not v0luminOus. 1t consists OF
two sheets of typewriter manuscript,
not more than 600 words in all. But
with it Mr.. BristOw filed two exhibits.
These exhibits are detailed reports of
investigations of Heath, made some four
years ago. They show that practically
all of Tulloch's charges are sustained.
They show that Heath was in the post
office ring, and that when he says, as he
did in his letter to Payne, in reply to
the Tulloch charges, that he "assumes
fully responsibility for every act OF his
administration, he assumes responsible
ity for some rather remarkable transac-
tions. So far as Heath is concerned Tul-
loch charges that Heath appointed poll
ticians right and left to the pOstol SER
vice and used the Washington city post
Office as a dumping ground for them {;
that he tried to force Frank Platts bond
ing company on the department; that he
lobbied for the purchase of an expensive
house to house collection box; that he
packed the Cuban postal service
with friends, who had sinecures ;
that Oliver II. Smith, friend
of Heath, from Muncie, Ind,
which is the native town of Heath and
of Neelev. the Cuban postal thief, drew
two salaries and spent his time reading
newspapers that various women were
carried on the rolls by Heath's orders,
who were listed as scrub-women and did
no scrubbing but only drew their salar-
les; that Heath transferred postal &C
counts to the Seventh National Bank in
New York, of which he was stock
holder at the time it failed; that one of
the women Heath put on the sinecure
list was the daughter of Dr. CLAWS, who
represented a steamship line in Wash
ington, and who gave Heath and his
family passage to Europe and return;
that Heath constantly violated the civil
service rules and showed gross favor
itism in making appointments; that two
women were paid on individual vouchers
by order of Heath and that one woman,
the sister of Mrs. Abner Mckinley, held
a place and did nothing but draw her
salary; that there was a general scheme
to unload political favorities on the
Washington city postOfice, and that
Heath was fully cognizant Of everything
that was going on in the divisions of
Machen and Beavers.