Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-11-30


| tribute fifty shares. par value $4,000.
10 Green to be used for the best in
terests of the company DOremus adj
| mits that Truesdell told him subse-
| quently that the stock was to be trans
ferred to Heath in consideration of re-
ceiving a large order for machines.
Ida E. CrowelI. Truesdelfs secre-
| tary. who was a hookkeeper in the
employ of the DOremus Machine COM
pany from Oct 3. 1900, until August,
1901. confirms many of TruesdelfS
statements. Heath refused to make a
written statement. but said verbally
| to Inspector Simmons that he never re
| ceived any stock from the Doremus
Canoeing Machine company or any re-
muncratiCn Of any kind, directly or in
directly. The evidence against
Heath was alco submitted to the dis
trict attorney. who decided that it was
rot sufficient to warrant his indict-
| ment."
Part Played By Beavers.
OF the operations Of George w.
Beavers the report of Mr.. Bristow
says in part:
in August, 1887, George w. Beav-
ers was appointed chief of the salary
and allowance division. Beavers meth
DDS have been reckless and without
rule or regularity. Increases of al
lowances for clerk hire in postoffices
were made as matters of favor re-
CARELESS of the necessities of the SER
vice. Promotions were frequently
made without consideration of the
merits of the clerk promoted. Long
time leases for postottice premises
were Cancelled and the rent increased
upon the recommendation Of promi
nent political leaders, sometimes
without regard to the rental value of
the premises.
otto F. Weis. clerk in the New
York postCflice. and an intimate
friend of Beavers. an officer of the
Postofiice Clerks association. accord
ing to his own story. collected from
$1,000 to $4,000 from clerks upon the
pretcnse that it was to be used in Sc
curing favorable legislation.
MANY of the clerks in the New
York and New Jersey postoffices stat
ed under oath that they had contrib
uted to Weiss legislative fund under
tie promise of promotion. Frank {.
Hay. Il clerk in the Jersey City post
office, states that Weis told him that
this money was To be paid to Beavers
after deducting the expenses for col
Letting.
at was, however. in offices of the
first and second classes that Beavers
reached his climax of reckless and
criminal waste in the matter of clerk
hire. Clerks were appointed in post
offices when they were not needed.
Promotions were made without con-
sulting the postmasters. Clerks were
placed upon the rosters Of postoffices
and paid when no service was render
ed. Changes were made in the titles
of clerks or employees in offices in or
der TO increase their salary, while the
duties performed would remain the
same.
I'm five first class offices assistant
postmasters have been designated as
| cashiers for the sole purposeof Civ
ing them larger salaries than they
were entitled to under the law. For
ty-eight clerks at first class postof-
fees have been receiving salaries of
from 500 TO $500 per annum in eX-
cess Of what they were entitled to-"
Letter Box Fraud.
Many other instances similar to the
above are cited. Mr.. Bristow gives
the following details of the letter box
frauds which have been made espe-
cially prominent:
One of the most important con-
tracts for free delivery supplies is
that for street letter boxes, These
contracts are let periodically, every
four years. In February. 1898 the
contract was awarded to Maybury G.
Ellis, of Detroit. Mich. Machen be-
came superintendent of free delivery
in the following September. six
months after the contract had been
executed. Maybury states that not
many months after Machen's appoint
ment Eugene ID. Scheble. a dentist of
Toledo, Ohio, called on him and inter
ested him in patent he had acquired
for a new letter box. Maybury agreed