Omaha daily bee., 1903-05-30

for the quarter ended September 90 1seS.
amounting to some $4,000 or $4,000. were
not such In reality They were demands
made by him tor explanation as to certain
items in the account which his expert ex-
amlner had some doubt about. amounting
70 very considerable sum. and the OBJ
jections were finally withdrawn
The reply OF Postmaster General Charles
Emory Smith will be given out Sunday.
Fourth Assistant Postmaster General
Bristows reply. which will be made public,
according to Postmaster General Payne,
denies that he ever asked for investiga-
tion Of the once Of the first assistant post
master general. 1t is probable that some
temporary arrangement will be made with
the canceling machine contractors in case
the investigation continues beyond July l.
The contracts have been held up and the
manufacturers are making inquiries on tho
subject,
Salaries to he Reduced.
AS result Of the thorough overhaulins
Of the rosters of the postoffices throughout
the country, Postmaster General Payne
today announced his approval OF instruc-
tions reducing the salaries of assistant
postmasters at. fourteen second class post
offices to so per cent of the salaries OF
the respective postmasters.
Among them are Cairo, ILL.,; Clarinda, Ia;
East St, Louis, Ill, and Ponce and San
Juan, Porto Rico He has found thirty-six
officials in the postal service who hold Of
fees under designations not authorized by
law and directed that their positions be
changed to conform TO the law governing
them They were in New York, Boston,
Brooklyn. st. Louis Washington, Los An
geles. Louisville, Chicago and eight other
offices. .-
Among those designations not authorized
by law are "superintendents of stations, "
auditor of stations inspector of sta
tions," etc. Violations Of the law which fix
the maximum salary OF clerks in second
class postoffices at $1,000 year, except in
the case Of assistant postmaster, will be
corrected at LeadVille, Colo, and three
other places.
The investigation just closed showed eight
postoffices at which in all thirteen clerks
received more than the salaries to which
their designated positions as assistants"
enttle them, and in these cases the post
master general has directed that the
salaries he accordingly reduced Most of
these excessive allowances were made dur
ing the administration of George w. Bea-
vers, who suddenly resigned as superin-
ltnuFnl VI anu dllOHdhSNS
diatey after the investigation of affairs of
the Postoffice department began.
Samuel n. Croft, who was arrested We'd
nesday for completely in the Machen brib,
cry case, appeared today before United
States Commissioner Taylor and renewed
his bond of 5000 for his appearance June 9.
when he and his brother will be given a
hearing.
The rolls of the third-class postof1ces are
now under Investigation and the authority
for the compensation of the employees of
every third-class postoffice in the country
! ls being carefully examined.
Postmaster General Payne made the fol-
lowing statement regarding the changes
announced today:
In the case of the fourteen offices where
the assistant postmaster is paid in excess
of 80 per cent of the salary OF the postmas-
ter. the action was taken to secure uni
formity and better administration.
The law provides that In irst-class post
shall be not to exceed 50 per cent Of the
salary Of the postmaster, but this does not
apply to assistant postmasters in Offices OF
the second-class hence this order.
The total amount saved to the govern
ment by this order will be $500 a year. In
seven offices where there appear to be eight
persons who were receiving more than the
law allows for the positions which they oc-
cupy, there may be some explanation OF
this fACt. bur In any event an Oruer mas
been issued reducing the compensation to
the amount authorized by law.
In other offices there are persons en-
ployed under designations not known to the
law. There is no doubt of the activity and
the efficiency Of these persons and they are
properly employed but wrongtully classlned
on the payrolls and the postmasters have
been instructed to change their designations
to the proper title.
smith Gives Information.
Former Postmaster General Charles EN-
ory Smith, who is to make an address at
Arlington tomorrow, arrived in Washing
ton early this evening. He spent a consid-
erable portion of the evening in consulta.