The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-06-27
EX-POSTMASTER GENERAL
SEEKS TO EXPLAIN
omith writes Letter to Payne About the Irrecu
iarItIes in the Department

PhlldGslp.iIa, June Z6.--Former Post
master General Charles Emory Smith
las written the following letter 70
Postmaster General Payne regarding
the charges that have been made
against certain workings of the Post
Office Department:
IN view of the partial publication of
the letter of Fourth Assistant Post
master General Bristow on the social
cd Tulloch charges and Of the accom-
panying reports of inspectors made +o
him in 1899 and 1900, deem it incum-
bent on me for a right public UNDER
standing to make a further statement
supplementary to my letter of Nav 81.
and to present the papers in their prom
er relation.
Appended to this letter, and to be
treated as a part of it, will be found
first, a complete copy, marked Exhibit
A, of the itemized statement of the Tul-
loch charges. as submitted to me at
the time they were made: second. in
parallel column, complete copy lex
cept as indicated in the text marked
Exhibit B. of the confidential report
of Inspector charge Smith, which is
the main document accompanying Gen.
Bristow's letter; third, a complete copv
marked Exhibit c. of the report which
came as a result of the examination
made when the Tulloch charges were
submitted, and which embodies the
answer, and the explanation of the
transactions referred to.
1T 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 state
ment was submitted to me. The in
spector's report was submitted to the
fourth assistant. 1t was the business
of the inspector to find whatever seem
ed to call for explanation; it was left
to the Postmaster General to find the
explanation and the truth
This was done by probing the Tul-
loch statement when it was presented
All of the transactions described as ir-
regular were examined and a report
was made to me which took them UP
item by item and groups of items and
gave the facts and the explanatio in
each case. To this report, which APP
pears below as Exhibit c, direct par
ticular attention. If its statements
are correct, then on most points it's
explanations are satisfactory Its ac-
curacy in all it's specific aVerments has
never been impeached in any quarter.
On the main points it is believed to be
beyond successful challenge.
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 mill
tary roll. Second, the bond premiums
of military postal clerks were paid for
good reasons which are plainly set
forth and which had the approval of
the Controller. Third, the purchases of
Porto Rico supplies were made from
the regular department contractors
named under competition and at regu-
lar contract prices. Fourth, the
vouchers for expenses of department
officials travelling on official business
We're made as required by the audi
tor. Fifth, the lease of the Washington
postotfice was shown to be entirely
justified. Sixth, the apparently double
payment of those employed in examin-
ing letter carriers claims is fully ex-
planned
These points embrace all that are
specified in the charges, except the
items relating to appointments includ-
ing the individual cases of Larner and
o. H. Smith, and thus the matters
open to question are reduced to the APP
pointments which all told involve thir
teen clerks and seven cleaners. Even
this is not an irreducible minimum, for
several of these appointments. as
shown in the explanatory statement,
were perfectly right and beyond any
question.
More than one-half of the inspec-
tors report is taken up with a minute
and detailed statement as to the cases
of Larner and O. H. Smith OF the lat
ter l had no knowledge and say moth
ing. OF the former 1 have some recol-
lection, as it was the only one of the
cases that was appealed to me. Larner
had been appointed a military postal
clerk for Porto Rico by the first assist
ants bureau. He went under a promise
from that bureau of compensation at
the rate of 81, 400 year. About that
time I fixed the general compensation
OF clerks in Porto Rico, as l was en-
powered to do by law, at $1,000 year.
When Larner returned he refused to
settle his unsettled account on that
basis, and appealed to me. He insisted
that he had been promised $l.4O0, and
l found on inquiry that this was true.
| ordered that he should be paid what
he had been promised, as / had right
to do. Out of that question of rate ana
out of the question of the actual length