The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-05-17

S, HMh removal He gives letters bearing on
iiI ii5 IsnoVal, and extracts from maps pub
Lsned In various parts of the country and
sHeais IN glittering generalities in critics.
fs ns ex-fostmaster General Smith. He re-
Iels 10 vouchers and payments OF certain
people which he claims to have been illegal
anu makes pretty severe attack on the
controller OF the treasury. He makes some
Ielerence TO the alleged smothering OF the
examination OF accounts OF the local post
once, Dut offers no new evidence nor any
documents TO substantiate his allegations.
certain accounts"
Postmaster General Payne made an ex-
ttsnued statement of the Tulloch charges
lnls evening. He said as TO the charge that
physicians were carried on the rolls of the
Postofnces without authority, that there
nSad nad Deen fifteen or twenty such cases in
tne United States. This was a matter of
administration policy he said, and entirely
"itnin the province Of the postmaster gen.
eTal, but that he himself last autumn re-
sulcted the employment of physicians to
postoffices whose revenues aggregate ST.
10000 a year.
Mr.. Tulloch'' continued the postmaster
general, says the trouble commenced in
the Cleveland administration. under POST
master General Wilson. He instances the
purchase of file case by the salary and
allowance division which was paid out of
the Washington postoffice fund, under or
oers or Mr.. Shepard then chief of the
salary and allowance division. This may
nave been irregular, but certainly the gov
ernment was not cheated. Mr.. Tulloch
makes assertions regarding the depart
nent calling on its minor officials TO be
bonded by bonding companies, but ends
this charge by saying that the competition
etween the compa MES soon made the fees
nominal. He refers to the house o-house
OF letter of commendation for the
scheme written by Postmaster General
wilson, but the letter does not show that
Mr.. Wilson had any interest in the scheme
He refers TO the return postal card scheme
of the Economic Postage Association which
was never adopted, and insinuates, We are
I nf
Mr. Machen recommending the plan
Mr.. Tulloch refers to the salary and al
lowance division OF the department, with
out whose approval nothing could be done,
saying the ring consisted of the head Of the
division. the first assistant postmaster gen.
eral and the postmaster general Well,
tnoSe were the only ones who had any,
thing to say about such matters anyway.
He says that some was carried on
TWO pay rolls, but the laws specifically
provide that an employe can draw from
two pay rolls If properly authorized, If his
aggregate salary does not exceed $3.50. He
says another man, borne on the rolls OF
employed in the free delivery division.
That was irregular, but the government
got the service: Mr.: Tulloch mentions al
legged JunketS of officials and employees, who
went to Cuba and Porto Rico to install the
postal service there. Now, how does Mr..
Tuiloch assume TO pass on the question
whether these gentlemen simply went on a
Junket? He refers to man who was ap-
pointed to a place in Porto Rico, but who
got drunk in New York on the way. Well,
once in a while a postmaster defaults and
gets drunk, and is dealt with according to
his desert.
Mr.. Tulloch has made the statement
that the Cuban administrative troubles are
as nothing compared to Porto Rico. There
mas been only one case of wrongdoing of
one administrative official in Porto Rico
and that was a clerk in the Ponce post
office, who defauted about 5000. The
government got what IT could and this
record prevented this man getting into
laf On Tha laft
the auditing of accounts in Porto Rico
The administration of affairs in Porto
Rico, during the time he mentioned, was
on an emergency plan and like all such
matters might have. taken some time to
get In smooth running order Mr.. Tulloch
refers to appointment of laborers, char
women and cleaners .evasions of the
ciyil-service law. These places were not
in the civil service. He says that they
either performed no duties at all, or often
did work along lines not authorized. We
are now Investigating charge that three
women carried on the rolls as charwomen
performed no such services.
Mr.. Tulloch says that the finance clerks
drew more money than they ought to have
drawn under the law Most of these men
priation for Porto Rico. We will investi-
gate this matter. 1t is also charged that
most of the postofflces in Porto
of Mr.. Tulloch's removal We had
to employ natives there and some not
natives. and in view of conditions that con-
had an administration as smooth and clear
as in the States
Il want to say here that any irregular
| tiles complained of in the Washington
/ postoffice were investigated at the time by
| postoffice inspectors who made report 10
| the postmaster general. They found ir-
regularities, but robbery defrauding
| of the government Ex-Postmaster General
! Smith and Postmaster Merritt, of this city,
state in their letters to me that they cor
rected the evils complained of
! as their attention was called to them.
! "All that indicates any wrongdong in
/ the Postoffice Department or in the Wash
| ington pcstoffice involving loss to the gov
ernment or the integrity of an official will
/ be investigated by Mr.. Bristow. but L am
not going to investigate stump speech,
! or the question whether the postmaster of
Washington should be Washingtonian
whether Mr.. Tulloch should have been re-
moved. The postmaster had a perfect
| right to remove Mr.. Tulloch. Much has
been made of the statement that Controller
| Tracewell called off of the from
an inspection of the Washington postoffice
/ accounts because ii was alleged that ne
| was striking what might be called pay
/ dirt Controller Tracewell, in his letter
/ to me, says the inspection had been fully
! completed before the taken off
| and that his report was already in and all
| the information wanted had been got.
4 Mr.. Tracewel says he himself inspected
| the New York postofice accounts"