The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-08-01
INTO The POSTAL PIE
GRAND JURY NAMES NINE WHO
PUT THEIR THUMBS.
INDICTMENTS ARE RETURNED
AGAINST MACHEN AND HIS AL
LEGGED CONFEDERATEs.


PENDANTS Must Answer Those
Against Whom the Bills Were
Found and the Grimes with
which They Are Chnrged-HOw
the Indictments Say the Schemes
to Defraud the Government Were
Worked.
Washington. July 31.-The postofflce
investigation developed another sensa-
ton to-day. the federal grand jury re-
turning seven indictments, involving
nine persons for alleged conspiracy and
bribery in connection with postal at
| fairs.
August w. Machen. for many years
the head of the free delivery service,
was named Jointly with others in four
of the indictments.
The other parties were William Cor
| don Crawford, who was deputy auditor
for the Postohice Department from
June IL, 1893, to Sept. 15 1897, and is
member of one of the exclusive clubs
of this city: Leopold ] Stern of No.
North Gay street, Baltimore George
y. Lorenz of Toledo, formerly prom
inent government Official and Martha
j. Lorenz, his wife: John T. Cupper
Mayor of Lockhaven, Pa: William C.
Long, an Ohio man. who has spent
much time in this city in recent years.
and an intimate friend of Machen:
Maurice Punkel of New York city, and
Thomas w. McGregor, a protege of
| Machen. who was a messenger at the
beginning of Machen's administration
of the free delivery service, and in re-
cent years has been in charge of the
supplies for the rural free delivery
service.
Service of Warrants.
Crawford voluntarily appeared in
court soon after the indictments were
returned and furnished $4,000 bail,
and McGregor likewise gave $4,000 bail.
Long was arrested at his home, where
Deputy Marshal Springman found him
in bed He was released on $4,000
bonds. His was the only local case
in which a bench warrant was is
sued, owing to the voluntary action
of the others indicted
i Machen was not re-aFrestedss under
the new indictment. as he gave bonds
in $4,000 under his Indictment several
/ WEChS d6Os anu the huLnOFlItGS IGlI
this was sufficient to ensure his APP
| pearance.
| Warrants have been issued for the
| out-of-town parties indicted, and their
arrest is expected within the next.
| twenty-four hours.
The grand jury has not completed
the work laid before 1t by the postal
investigators, and other indictments
| may be expected later on, possibly
within week or two.
1t is understood that two additional
cases against one of the parties In
| dicted to-day a former prominent bu-
! reau official, are being inquired into
by the grand jury, and that the acts
| of another former high official of the
| Postoffice Department already under
] indictment by the Brooklyn grand jury,
are being investigated.
Machen Named Jointly.
Four of the indictments name Ma
chen jointly with others. Machen, !
Cupper and Long are named Jointly in :
one indictment for violation of the
conspiracy section of the Revised
Statutes. The Indictment sets out
that between July /, 1897. and July l,
| 1901 Cupper induced Maehen to give
him the contract for furnishing ma
| terials for and employment in the
painting of letter boxes, Cupper pay
ing Machen commission of ten cents
a box, Long acting as an Intermediary.
Another indictment against Stern,
| Long and Machen, based on alleged
violation of the same status, charges
that Stern entered into contract
with the government to furnish letetr
carriers satchels and letter collectors
satchels>for the free delivery service,
| the satchels to be supplied in each case
| with a leather shoulder strap. The
! cost of each of these straps to Stern,
in complying with his contract, would
amount to twenty-five cents. The in
! dictment charges that Machen, in his
| official capacity, was to procure Shout
! der straps at the expense Of the
| United States and deliver the same to
! Stern to be used by the latter, in the
performance of his contract in order
that Stern might save twenty-five
1 cents on each satchel delivered to the
/ United States. 1t further charged
| that a portion of the saving to Stern
| should be retained by him and the res
J idue paid to Long, to be divided be-
/ tween Long and Machen.
Rake-OR on the straps.
third indictment jointly names
William Gordon Crawford, August w.
| Machen, George E. Lorenz and his
! wife, Martha J. Lorenz, both of To-
/ ledo, o., for conspiracy. Crawford rep
resented the Postal Device and Lock
| Company, which received the contract
| for furnishing certain of the letter
! carriers satchels. The contract called
| for shoulder. straps for the satchels,
which, the Indictment charges We're
never furnished by the contractors, be-
! ing supplied instead by the United
| States under Machen's orders, although
| the contractor received pay for them
For this concession, it is charged that
| Crawford paid to Machen, through the
| Lorenzes, about 30 per cent. of the
| amount received from the government
Maurice Runkel Of New York city.
| Thomas w. McGregor, formerly
| in charge of the supplies for the fu-
| raj free delivery service, and recently
| indicted in Baltimore under another
charge, and August w. Maehen are
| named jointly in another Indictment
| for a similar transaction. The indict-
ment alleges that RunkeI paid sums
| to Machen and McGregor aggregate
ing about $4,000 to Machen and $500 to
| McGregOr.
John T. Cupper, the Mayor Of Lock
Haven, Pa, is charged in a separate
indictment with paying Machen a
bride Of $500 In August, 1900.
Long also is indicted separately for
| paying a hUibe, both these bribery
cases being in the same transactions
| involved in the conspiracy indictments.
Crawford was separately indicted for
| presenting a false claim for satchels
1 by charging the government and re-
| ceiving pay therefor for shoulder