Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1903-07-02
TUILOCH CHARGES.
ExPOstmaSter General Smith
Replies to Them.
Eae Defends His Action In All Main
Points Specified In the Charges
Against Him - Payment of
Military Clerks Approved
by the Comptroller.

/ EMORY smith, WHO WIS Suctecutu as
| postmaster general by Mr.. Payne,
made public yesterday his reply to
the charges made by Mr.. Tulloch in
| connection with the postotlice inyesti-
| cation.
philadelphia. June %, 19O3.-Hon.
| Henry c. Payne, Postmaster general.
| Sir:-In view of the publication of
! the letter of Fourth Assistant Post
master General Bristow on the So
called Tulloch charges and of the
accompanying reports of inspectors
made to him in 1899 and 1900, ! deem
/ ii incumbent on me for Il right public
| understanding to make a further
| statement, supplementary to my let
/ ter of May -. and TO present the
| papers in their proper relation.
ut will be seen that the Tulloch
statement and the inspectors report
are practically identical. At many
| points the language is exactly the
same. 1t is as if they were written
/ by the same hand. The Tulloch
| statement was submitted to me. The
| inspectors report was submitted to
| the fourth assistant. 1t was the
| business of the inspector to find
whatever seemed to call for eXplana-
| ton; it was left to the postmaster
general to find the explanation and
| the truth.
This was done by probing the Tui-
| loch statement when il was present
! ed. All of the transactions described
| as irregular were examined, and
/ report was made to me which took
| them up item by item and groups of
| items and gave the facts and the eN
| plantations i'm each case. To this re-
| port | direct particular attention If
| its statements are correct, then on
most points its explanations are sat
| isfactOry.
"TheSe main points may be thus
summed up, each in sentence: First,
names of military postal clerks were
/ put on the general roll till the mill
/ tary appropriation became available;
| then they were transferred to the
military roll. Second. the bond pre-
miums of military postal clerks were
| paid for good reasons which are
/ plainly set forth and which had the
/ approval of the comptroller. Third,
| the purchases of Porto Rico supplies
were made from the regular depart
ment contractors named under com
/ petition and at regular contract
/ prices. Fourth, the vouchers for eX-
| penseS of department officials travel
| ing on official business We're made as
required by the auditor. Fifth, the
/ lease of the Washington postotIice
was shown to be entirely justified.
| Sixth. the apparent double payment
! of those employed i'm examining let
| ter carriers claims is fully ex-
/ planned.
These points embrace all that are
specified i'm the charges, except the
/ items relating to appointments, in
Guiding the individual cases of Lar
ner and o. II. Smith, and thus the
matters open to question are re-
/ duccd TO the appointments, which. all
/ told. involve thirteen clerks and seven
/ cleaners. Even this is not an ire.
/ ducible minimum, for several of
/ these appointments, as shown in the
/ explanatory statement. were perfect
/ " right and beyond any question.
Il wish to accept the largest meas
IRE of responsibility which belongs to
/ me in connection with ell these mat
| ters. but it seems due 10 fairness to
state certain facts. The war against
| Spain. declared three or four days
{
! 1898. That was the very day on
| which | was sworn in as postmaster
general. My first daty, before even
/ familarizing myself with the de-
partment was to make immediate
/ provision for the letters of the scat
/ tered army of 100000 men which was
promptly raised, followed by pro-
! vision for the full mail of the islands.
I |stvt haI t.,l1
ed for more than a year. The depart
ment force had been organized, and,
| of course it was properly accepted
as it was found. When the immedi
! ate duty i'm hand wlS taken up il Wl
/ discovered. curiouSly enough, that
| there were absolutely no records of
/ the military postal service in the
civil war There were no known
preccdents We had nothing to guide
| us We had 10 make our plans. The
determination of the general plan
and policy deyolved on the postmas-
ter general. The execution of the
details deyolvcd on the first assist
ants bureau. We had At first no spe-
cial appropriation, and so had To meet
the requirements out of the regular
appropriatiou. Afterwards, when the
NIittldl unIlltI lbNl'i h''hlIf bhhlllr
able. we had TO recoup the general
appropriation i'm order that the rcgu-
lar service might not -utTcr, These
things we're effected in part through
the Washington office, and orders
were given which subordinate Of
fciuIz neither did nor were required
to understand,
at Is my purpose 10 address YOU
4 f..ft ..F Q .t..t
Vice commission ou the subject, but
that win more properly form sop
uutr communication, The minor
and mimportuut report Of Inspector
Z. Little. madc ju 1900, I shall deal with
i'm different way Respectfully
your,
"CHNIES EMORY SMITH"
tuttrd Out NauN u,n.
New York june 20. The building
TRADES war was renewed yesterday
when a urIeuHfiuu from fHr uruu-