Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-07-23
HEDGES IS REMOVED
Superintendent Of Free Deliv- cry at Washington Accused.
CHARGED WITH FALSE STATEMENTS
Said to Have Reported Himself at Various Places When He Was In Fact at Times HundredA
 of Miles Away.


 In Fact at Times HundredA
 of Miles Away.
 WASHINGTON, July 23A - Charles Hedges has been removed from the of- nce of superintendent of free delivery Df the post office department on the charge of falsifying his diary and loan ing his travelling commission It is charged that he reported himself at va rious places when in fact he was not at those places on the dates mentioned, in some instances being hundreds of miles away
 MT. Hedges, while making no general nenial of the charges, contended that they were not sufficient justification for removal. Erwin H. Thorpe, post office inspector in charge at New York, has been designated acting superintendent Hf free (delivery in place of MT. Hedges. The following Is the official statement of the case made public by Fourth As- distant Postmaster General Bristow:
 Charles Hedges was removed from the office of superintendent of free de- livery for falsifying his diary and loan- Ing his travelling commission He re-, ported himself at various places on public business when in fact he was not in those places on the dates men, loned, but elsewhere, in some instances hundreds of miles distant
 Ion Oct. 25, 1900, he states under oath in his diary that he was at Joplin, Mo-, on extension of free delivery serv- lce,' when in fact he was in Mansfield, O., attending the funeral of ex-Secre- tary John Sherman. On Dec. z, 1899, ne reports himself at San Antonio, Tex, Investigating carrier service,' while in fact he was in Mexico exam ming mining property.
 "In the month of October, 1899, A. W. Machen, superintendent of free deliv- Bry, was sick with typhoid fever, and Hedges was at the department acting IS superintendent. In his diary he states under oath that he was at vari- Dus places New York, Phila- delphia, Bridgeport, Conn; Camden, N. T., and elsewhere, actually engaged in travelling on the business of the free de- livery service Assistant superintend- nnts of free delivery are allowed per Hem of $4 per day in lieu of expenses tor each day engaged actually travel ng on the business of the department. Hedges false statements as to his whersabout on these days were mani- lestly for the purpose of collecting per Hem to which be was not entitled;
 There are many other instances of i similar falsi6cation. The facts were submitted to the postmaster general tome days since, who directed Hedges removal for the reasons above set eorth."
 There were several charges on file against Mr. Hedges, but none of these eonstituted the basis of his dismissal The acts which led to his removal were s discovered by the inspectors in the s9eourSe of their general investigation of the records of the free delivery office. The case has been under investigation & Tor several weeks. Mir. Bristow sum- noned Mr. Hedges and notified him of ais dismissal. MT. Hedges reiterated Ais contention that his dismissal was lot warranted.
 Tn statement MT. Hedges says:
 .tWhile was assistant superintend- mt of free delivery, with headquarters It New York, was called to Washing on to take charge of the entire service while MT. Machen was i'll with typhoid 4 ary as assistant superintendent, while MT. Machen received $8,5oo. It was necessary for me to get the per diem al Dwance to make the services and the compensation equal
 'sIt is charged that the per diem ac- sounts show me at other points, the theory being that, strictly speaking, under the law was not entitled to per Hem when at headquarters. This has Rever been tested, consequently never decided It has been the practice of the Nfiice for the party taking the place of the head of the service to claim per aiem in some form. Tn my case was also supervising the eastern division while officiating as general superintend pnt here. Herbert w. Valentine, now In the New York post office and former .y stenographer there under me, sur rendered private letters and notes tc he inspectors which gave them this information. I used to drop him a line when was travelling to keep him post Dd of my whereabout Valentine is tho one who used this post office commis Eion. 1t was used with the knowledge bf General Superintendent Machen an( of First Assistant Postmaster Genera Johnson. Valentine was anxious to gt put on field work. Mir. Bristow refused to allow the issuance of commission tor Valentine on the ground that h. was a clerk and not an officer. MI Machen, however, held that as Valen line was engaged on the work of tn office his use of the commission wa not illegal.
 ''As to the San Antonio reference, was in Mexico, but not examining mining property. I did not see thi mining property. In making my re ports l never put down towns that had not visited, nor did put down al the towns that visited, as was per mitted to do. Thus omitted mention Ing the Mansfield visit because I ha no official work there, and Joplin wa the last place where had official worl simply prolonged the time on tn list"