Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-17
Central Labor Union Enters
.x4s the Field Today.
SEVERE CRITICISMS
MAIL EoUIPMENT DIVISION NOW
UNDER FIRE.
Statement Of Committee Appointed to
Investtgate-A1leged Favoritism
and Incompetency.

A new element has entered INTO the III
vestigation being made by order OF Post
master General Payne In the several divi-
sions of the Post Office Department. Or
ganized labor of the city. as represented
by the Central Labor Union, is the new
power to be reckoned with in the matter.
A special committee of the Central Labor
Union was appointed some time ago by
President John NJ. Hammerstrom to inves-
tigate and report on a number of COM
plants and charges against certain meth
DDS and actions in the mail equipment divi-
sion of the Post Office Department. .
The outcome of this committees work
has been framed into statement which
will be presented by the special committee
to Postmaster General Payne this after
noon. -rt. ....s..
The report very strongly criticises Second
Assistant Postmaster General Shalien-
berger. and charges of favoritfsm fncOm-
potency and nlismanagement are preferred
against certain officials of the division re-
ferred to. 1t is broadly asserted in the re-
port that it has been impossible to secure
redress for the alleged acts of injustice
which have been done; The charge is made
that mail bags that did not conform to the
specifications and also bags that were de-
fective and had been condemned had
nevertheless been accepted by the division
A numebr of instances of alleged discrim-
iration against certain employees and in
favor of others are cited by the state
ment. A point is made of the fact that
when the machine operators were reduced
from 81 per diem to $1.15 per diem the
salaries of the superintendent and some
other officers were increased from $3.50 to
800 per annum, and that official refused
to allow the operators to petition for the
restoration of their former wages
Charges of incompetency and favoritism
are made against the management of the
mail-lock repair shop. one of the in
stances of alleged lack of economy cited
by the statement being as follows:
"On April IL, 1901, work was commenced
upon lot of several thousand of new box
locks, and Andrews and Clark, in their Gus
tomary way of misguided economy, direct
ed the fitting of these locks, using one sec
ond-hand tumbler in each. these tumblers
having been taken out of old locks con-
demned. This was done at tremendous
waste of time and labor furnishing up old
tGmblerS and the locks went out and were
distributed. The customary period for box
locks to remain in service is from four to
SIX years, but UP to January /, 1902 fully
80 per cent of this lot of locks returned
came back on account of broken and worn
out secondhand tumblers. This necessi-
tated taking down the locks and rebuilding
them with the use of new tumblers. which
should have been used in the first place.
The enormous waste of time and labor in
volved in this questionable way of doing
business is such as to need no comment, as
the locks only performed eight months
service before requiring rebuilding when,
in fact. they should have remained in use
1or from six to nine times that period with
out attention. This is all a matter of rec
ORD IN the department and can be readily
certified to-"
The charge is also made against the fore
man or the shop that he had suspended
rule so'
In summing up the statement says that
the events as disclosed by the investiga-
ton of the committee point conclusiyeIy to
the existence of ring in the m
ment bureau.
Progress Of Investigation.
There were no new developments today
in the actual work Of investigation of al
legged scandals in the Post Office Depart
ment. 1t will likely he month, at least
before the inspectors will be far enough
along with the investigation to make
tangible report 1t may be even longer
than month.
Postmaster General Payne. First Assist
ant Wynne and Fourth Assistant Bristow
are each maintaining a rigid silence as to
what the Investigation has disclosed up to
the present. AS in all such cases, there
rumors galore
Post Office Inspector Waters, who was
appointed to take temporary charge of the
division of salaries and allowances made
vacant by the resignation of George w.
from Denver, where he went a week ago
to attend the funeral of a son.
The report current that the actual over
hauling of the work of the division began
on the arrival of Mr.. Waters Is incorrect
MIR. Waters began the Investigate ton of that
division almost Immediately after his as
Stunning charge at the time of Mr.. Beavers
departure.
While Mr.. Waters was In Denver there
was a cessation in the work of investigat ting
the affairs of the division. All the con-
tracts. leases. etc. not made on the recon-
mendations of the postmasters, will be
carefully considered. and to do this will
necessarily take some time.
Postmaster General Payne called atten-
ton this afternoon to the fact that the
recommendation of Mr. Henry A Castle,
auditor for the post Office. in his annual
reports regarding alleged pressing needs
Tor more modern methods in handling and
auditing the business had nothing to with
the Post Office Department
Postmaster General Payne, discussing the
statements of Mr.. Castle this afternoon,
said:
Tine auditor for the Post Office Depart
ment Is an official of the Treasury Depart
ment and not an official of the Post Office
Department.