Omaha daily bee., 1903-04-14
POSTAL INQUIRY SEARCHING
Payne Sinks Probe Deep in Endsavor to
Settle Department Scandals.
AMERICAN COMMANDER SAVES CHINESE
Discovers Rebel Plot, Plans Defense
with Britons, French and GER
mans, Notifies omcIaIs and Dis
cOncents COnspiratOrs.

WASHINGTON, April 1S.-Postmaster
General Payne this evening announced that
the investigation into postoffice affairs
would be continued and that any parties
found guilty OF wrong doing would be dealt
with summarily.
The statement follows;
During January and February informa-
tlon and reports reached me which l
deemed It for the public interest to in
yestigate, and ! personally gathered such
Information and facts as would enable the
proper officers of the department to under
take thorough investigation as to the
truth OF these reports. l directed Fourth
take the proper steps through the In
spectors' division, and he was instructed to
proceed promptly and with vigor.
The investigation will continue and II any
wrong doing is disclosed the guilty parties
will be summarily dealt with. If the sys-
tenn or method of doing business in the
department Is faulty the proper remedies
will be applied without fear OF favor.
IT is proper for me TO add that l laid
before the president the information which
l had in my possession and that he fully
approved the action proposed.
office. department is made subject to the
investigation under the postmaster gem
erals direction and every division will be
probed thoroughly and the inquiry be made
as thorough as the departments most ex-
pert inspectors can make It.
At the same time no immediate changes
changes will depend largely on the report
made by Fourth Assistant Postmaster Gem
time may necessitate some deviation from
this policy.
The ONCE of the assistant attorney gen.
eral for the Postof1ce department lie among
the bureaus included in the general inquiry
and until the investigation is completed It
is probable no successor to assist Attorney
General Tyner will be named.
1t will be several weeks before the post
office inspectors will be able to complete
their work. When they have finished Mr..
Bristow will prepare a comprehensive re-
port, some points of which will probably
be withheld from publication.
American Commander Saves Chinese.
Quick action and common sense treat
ment Of a critical situation by an American
naval officer in China recently saved the
foreign residents In the province Of Kwong
Tung from falling victims to a plot which
was directed primarily against the Man
churian dynasty.
While this attack was averted by the
precautionary measures Commander F. J.
Drake, commanding Monterey, with the as
sistance of the English gunboats sanpi-
per and Britomaret, the French gun
| boat Avalanche and the German tug
| Shameen, the coalition known to have
fomented the trouble extends to several
provinces. Oficial advices received both al
the State and Navy departments show, in
clude that reactionary measures on a scale
far larger than is admitted either by for
eign representatives or the Chinese gov
| ernment have been planned by the rebels.
! Hearing that force of rebels with Hung
Chun Flu, a native of Wal Chow, had
| planned an attack on the viceroy and Chin
ese officials of Canton during the celebra-
| tions of the Chinese New Year, on January
2S and 20. Commander Drake prepared tC
defend the foreign residents. An armed
force of 5000 men had entered Canton rsey-
eral days before and was hiding with sym.
pathizers. Commander Drake first com
pleted his plan of defense for Shameen, and
then oficially informed the consulates and
Chinese officials Of his preparations. The
foreign commanders offered. their co-opera.
tion and plans were perfected to meet any
trouble.
Instead of visiting the holy temple in the
inner city the viceroy and officials, con
trary to long custom, remained in their re-
spective yamens, securely guarded. Man!
arrests were made that night in which som,
conspirators were implicated, and large
amounts Of stores we're seized in houses ant
shops. Many other indications of the IN
tended attack were found and the officiali
agreed that the rebels abandoned their plo
only because Of Commander Drake's discov
cry and the prompt action taken by hin
and the other foreign commanders,
Rain spOiIs Egg Rolling.
The Easter egg rolling on the Whit,
House grounds was a dismal failure toda!
because of rainy weather.
As Archie Roosevelt has the measles th
usual gathering of cabinet children AM
other small friends at the White Hous
for the egg rolling today was omitted. Mis-
Alice Roosevelt left here tonight for Ashe
Vile, N. c., for a weeks visit to Mr.. an
Mrs. George Vanderbilt at Biltmore.