Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1903-09-17
SIX TRUE BILLS
ARE RETURNED.
indictments in Postal Fraud
Cases Charge Conspiracy
and Bribery.
FREE STOCK FOR EMPLOYEES
Beavers and Machen, II Is Said, Own
Blocks of Certificates Under AS
sumed Names in Company That Sc
cures Special Privileges.

Washington, Sept. 14.--United States
District Attorney Beach has made
public the names Of six men named
in the seven indictments returned by
the federal grand jury on charges of
fraud against the postofiice depart
ment.
The list is as follows:
George w. Beavers, former chief of
the division Of salaries and allow
ances, postoffice department.
August w. Machen, former general
superintendent OF the free delivery
system, postoffice department.
James w. Erwin, former postofice
inspector, with headquarters in San
Francisco.
George II. Hunter, part owner in
Columbia Supply company, New York
city. - ....
Isaac S. Mcclellan, part owner in
Columbia Supply company, New York
city. ...
Eugene D. Scheble, dentist, of Tole-
do, Ohio, interested in firm of May
bury & Ellis, Detroit, letter-box manu-
facturers.
Text of Indictments.
Beavers, Machen and Erwin are
named jointly in one indictment for
conspiracy to defraud the United
States. Another indictment is against
Mcclellan, Huntington and Machen
for conspiracy to defraud the United
totn CIT to, -, CT tha
same three for conspiracy to commit
bribery. Scheble and Machen are in
dicted jointly for conspiracy against
the United States and again for con-
| spiracy to commit bribery. Another
indictment is against Mcclellan and
Huntington for bribery, and the last
is against Machen singly for accept
| ing brides.
Supply Postal Devices.
All indictments are based on trans
actions relating to the supply of let
ter and package boxes and devices.
The indictments against Beavers, Ma
chen and Erwin charge that the Pos
tai Device and Improvement company
of San Francisco, formerly the Mon
tague Indicator and Letter Box COM
pany, was composed almost entirely Of
western postal employees and that in
1889 it set aside 1000 shares of stock
| for forwarding its interests"
Armed with this authority, the pres
ident, Daniel S. Richardson, accom-
panied by Erwin, is said to have come
to Washington. Erwin was then a
postoffice inspector. He introduced
Richardson to all the postoffice offic-
ials in Washington, and Beavers,
Machen, Heath and others examined
the device. An order for equipping
2,0S9 letter boxes with the device fol.
lowed.
Federal Employees Own Stock.
| About this time. at suggestion
from Beavers, concurred in by Mach
en-, the name of the company was
changed. Montague, whose name fig
ured in the old corporation, is post
master Of San Francisco.
| 1t was then arranged that all post
Office officials should disappear from
it's management. Beavers and Mach
en- became the owners of blocks Of
the stock. both under assumed names.
The company was then systematic:
ally relieved of it's obligations in the
way of paying freight, Grating, paint!
ing and printing cards for the device
it was furnishing.
| Out of the 1000 shares of stock set
aside the most went to postoffice Off.
Gals. The president of the company
afterward came to Washington again,
with the request that an increase be
made in the compensation the CONF
pany was receiving for it's device!
This request was granted. Dividends
were afterward paid on the stock.
| Orders Too Many Boxes.
The indictment against Mcclellan
and Huntington for bribery alleges
that Machen procured the payment of
$1.25 additional to the contractor on
each of the package boxes for a de-
vice to lift them higher from the
ground. 1t is asserted that the sum
should not have exceeded rs cents,
Mcclellan is accused of agreeing to
pay Machen so cents from each S1.25.
The indictment against Scheble and
Machen alleges that Scheble became
interested with the firm of Maybury
C Ellis of Detroit, of which Maybury
is mayor, in securing contracts for
furnishing letter boxes. 1t is claimed
that in pursuance of a scheme to de-
fraud the government Machen in
duced the department to order letter
boxes for the rural free delivery SER
vice in quantities far in excess of
what could be used, and, in his Off
cial capacity, approved the bills for
them.