Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-05-23
REPLIES TO TULLOCH
Statements of Auditor Castle
and Controller Tracewell.
CONTRADICT CHARGES
REPORT OF A LARGE DISALLoW-
ANCE DENIED.
Explanation of the Treatment Of Ac-
counts in the P. o. Department
MIR. Gilmer's Work.
CONTRADICT CHARGES

Controller Tracewell of the treasury and
| Auditor Henry A. Castle for the Post Office
| Department today submitted to Postmaster
, General Payne their replies to the Tulloch
| criticisms of Post Office Department admin
| istration. The auditor takes up in detail
the criticisms Of Mr.. Tulloch which related
| to the auditors office, making reply TO each
| one of the five criticisms In doing this
| much light is thrown on transactions of the
Washington city post Office during Postmas-
ter Willetts administration with reference
| to the transaction of the Porto Rican Office
The answer of the auditor in full is as fol-
| lows:
Il am in receipt of your letter of the 10Th
instant inclosing extracts from commune
cation from Seymour H. Tulloch. wherein
statements are made to which you call my
attention as being calculated, If true to
bring discredit upon the office over which 1
preside. l willingly embrace the opportunf-
~ to make reply. Although the law, by
piaclng our bureau under the jurisdiction of
the honora BILE Secretary of the Treasury
makes the exercise of its functions indie
pendent of your department. you are Justly
concerned with any reports that fmpugn
its integrity.
hehections on the Auditors Office,
me statements containing reflections or
CRITICISMS in regard to the auditors office.
may be epitomized as follows:
l. That an account of Postmaster VIII
lett OF Washington. D. C., which had pre-
viously been allowed by the auditor 1my-
self) was revised by the controller of the
treasury, resulting in letter from the
controller 'disallowing between $50 600 and
Sio,eo0 for the quarter in question
Ihat salaries OF certain employees of
the washington post Office were paid on
separate vouchers instead of the regular
pay roll.
3. That many departmental disburse-
ments were paid out of the funds OF the
local post office
f. That no effective measures were taken
to collect an alleged shortage of $500 from
one Sherman P. Bristow.
%. That certain employees of the Wash
ington post office performed no service.
L may say in advance that Mr. Tulloch
shares In a prevailing Misrepresentation as
to the functions of an auditor. He holds
that Official to responsibility I'm keeping
other officials correct and honest and
In determining as to necessities of the sery-
ice. This would be fatal to any admin
istrative freedom by the head Of depart
ment
THE Supreme Court OF the United States
stated well-established principle of law
in deciding that an accounting officer has
no power to revie.. revise and alter items
of expenditures and allowances made upon
the judgment and discretion of other off,
GERS charged with the duty of expending
the money or of making the allowances
Bearing this limitation in mind, many of
the expressed and implied criticisms of the
auditors office negative themselves at a
glance.
Postmaster Willett's Account.
1.-The most serious of the criticisms is
that which relates to the settlement and
subsequent revision Of an account of Post
master Willett, which incidentally involved
alleged irregularities in Porto Rico during
our military operations.
Two appropriations were made for mil
itary postal service aggregating s500,000 for
the first two years The first appropriation
bill gave the department unusual latitude,
and the second used equally comprehensive
language: Fort postal service in the terri
tory held by military operation In
Guiding postal service for all military camps
or stations. to be used in the discretion of
the Postmaster General, 100000
THE wide discretion thus given shows
that Congress intended to exempt these dis
bursements from many of the ordinary reg
ulations. Men could be employed. COM
penSation fixed and expenses allowed as
circumstances demanded. The postal bust.
ness of Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philip
pines was handled through the postmasters
of New York, Washington and San Fran
cisco. This was unusual. but perfectly
legal. Every expenditure made was au-
thorized in advance by the department;
every voucher had been approved by al
assistant postmaster general and actually
paid by postmaster weeks or months be-
fore its presentation to the auditors Office
for allowance with quarterly account.
Many expenditures were unusual, and a
few of them We're by us held to be illegal
and diSallowed AS to whether the service
was necessary or the compensation ey-
travagant. the department was the sole
judge. But 1t is significant on this point
that of the $oOUo appropriated only s2i9,-
66655 was actually expended in two years.
the balance. of more than one-half, being
covered back into the treasury.
Every item believed to be illegal was
diSallowed by Office. The most expert
enced clerks in that line were assigned to
these accounts, and doubtful questions were
considered by the auditor or acting auditor
in person.
Mr.. Gilmer's Investigations
Some months after one of the quarterly
accounts of the Washington post Office re-
porting $50 y9602 in expenditures for all
purposes. with several thousand distinct
items, had been settled, Mr.. T. w. Gilmer.
representing the controller of the treasury,
withdrew the same for revision as author
iZed by law. He was new to postal work
and raised many entirely irrelevant ques-
tions in the letter of April 26. 1899. asking
for explanations (Which Mr. Tulloch err
roneously cites as a letter from the con-
troller disallowing' certain amounts). Ho
had, however, advantage we did not
have, in copious hints from Mr.. Tulloch,
former cashier OF the washington post
Office as to various supposed irregularities.
unknown to us. The expert consumed four
months in revising this account, during
which period all the voluminous papers
constantly needed by US were held in the
controllers office at the treasury building,
to our serious Inconvenience.
''One after another the objections were
abandoned by Expert Gilmer overruIe'
by the controller (who had secured from
the officials pledges that the irregular prac-
tees exposed by Tulloch the discharged
cashier, would be discontinued). until the
amount ultimately disapproved was re-
duced to $932S6.
'The oficial Certificate of Differences
Upon Revision No. 1924. dated August 81.
1S99 is now before me. 1t Is written and
initiated by T. w. Gilmer and signed by
Controller Tracewell. Its total of $932.S6
is the sum of their tentative disallowances.
"But Mr.. Gilmers letter pointed out that
several of the items might legally be PAID
from other appropriations The defects
were cured by new vouchers. and The cred
its allowed These aggregated S4s1s6.
Another item. SIPS for surety bonds for
postal employees detailed for duty to Porto
CONTINUED On Eleventh Pagel