New-York tribune., 1903-06-18
p O. CASE IN GRAND JOhf :
Indictments and Arrests Expected m
Brooklyn.
briggs TO MAKE STATEMENT

.,,o resr,, Of testimony given before the
so6oral GRAND Jury for the Eastern DlstricI ol
o-e,,-Yorlz hv three postofice inspectors III
Frooklvn Yesterday indictments ana SPECIFY al
,es+s in connection with the postal scahudI ai o.
looked for The utmost secrecy surrouhoeo inc
,roceedings and none of the officials "ouiu e' g"
admit that the inspectors had appeared oeloie
the Jury. Still as the witnesses were Ihspe0loi
Oldfeld and Major Little. and Chief inspector
Cochran all of whom have been Worans oii
,oca1 ends of the scandal. and as a federal grand
1urv handles only cases in which the crimes were
committed within the district. it seems that the
affair has narrowed itself to the connnes OF
Rrooklvn which now takes precedence OF Man
haitian in regard to the postal scandal
II Is not supposed that the testimony given
Yesterday concerned Brooklyn postal ofncials OF
employes but rather Washington people whose
.rreeularities concerned Brooklyn, or persons
whose homes are there. The federal offlclals
would say absolutely nothing about the case
Chief Inspector Cochran, who returned to Wash
tngton late last night, said 1T didn't matter
where he'd been for the last three days
District Attorney Youngs declared that the
rnly postal case he knew of concerned an lnde-
cent letter AS TO the testimony Of inspectors
,,b, he didn't know of any inspectors who were
going to testify.
Inspectors Oldfeld and Little are the men
who have been working up the Brandt auto
matte cashier case in connection with Whlch eA-
CONGRESSMAN Driggs's name mas been men
toned Yesterday Mr. briggs had consulta-
zion With his lawyers, after which he would say
nothing except to announce that he would make
q statement to-day.
Postmaster Van Cott has not sent the report
on the forty-eight cashiers" to Washington yet,
but he hopes that when it reaches there the de-
yartnent viii see how necessary those men are.
On Of the inspectors voiced the opinion yester-
day that the investigation in the New-Tork
postoffce would be barren of results. because
no evidence Of crirninaiity could be obtained.
Said he:
The inspectors found that the young woman
stenogra pher mentioned in the investigation, en-
3oyed perhaps unusual prlElleges ana came eS az
that young Mr.. Van Cott did have two business
enterprises that were paying him handsomely. Il
clerks ring up the time clock for them, but there
IS nothing in the department rules against having
Bnothcr ring up the clock fer you. Now, in none o
this IS there anything like criminality- The de
Yartment might discipline the stencgrapher If proof
leave but / have idea that that could not
Se proved Young Mr.. Van Colt might be dis
sonai business affairs. but that would only bt
q reprimand The clerks whose names were runs
slp would deny having asked any one 10 do so fol
In regard to the furnishing of supplies some evi
oence has been discovered. but whether of sufficient
Importance TO lay before any OF the district at
1orneys for the government. has not yet been de-
termined in Washington, and doubt if 1t viii be
50 regarded.
The June federal grand jury was sworn In
yesterday by Judge Thomas. in the Criminal
Branch of the United States Circuit Court, and
syill serve until October J.