Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-02
P. 0. INVESTIGATION
Officials Reticent as to Re-
suits of Observation.
NO CORRUPTION FOUND
IN NADMINISTRA-
TI0N AND HOW IT GREW UP.
-
NO CORRUPTION FOUND
Separation of Free Delivery From
Rural Free Delivery a Remedy
Which Has Been Suggested.

| The officials of the Post Office Deartment
| who are engaged in conducting an inves-
| tigation Of its affairs are keeping a very
/ close check on their utterances regarding
| the result OF their observations. 1t is i'm
| possible at the present stage of the in
| vestigation to obtain an authoritative
| statement from any Of those who know
what is going on. The fact that the en-
| tire office is being observed closely Is not
denied, nor Is any attempt made to conceal
the fact that reorganization OF the work.
ing force is not unlikely. but where and
| when this reorganization will begin and
| what 1t will be is not known and cannot
| be known, according to those in charge
! until the Postmaster General returns and
his report of the investigation is made to
| the President.
This would pace the date Of the publica-
| tfon OF the results of the investigation at
| least two months Off. In the meantime there
| are numerous contectureS to the scope
or the Investigation. These conjectures
have given rise to rumors OF more or less
| alarming character, which those in author
| ity either do not consider worth denial or
nave not taken the trouble to Investigate.
| IT Is not believed that any corruption has
| been found in any of the bureaus of the de-
partment. But it is believed, and has been
| practically admitted by one of the officials
.,tat e1,Iavagance mas existed In the ad-
|
| be curtailed.
| The Different Bureaus.
| The Post Office Department is divided
| into four bureaus, each of which is presided
over by an assistant postmaster general.
| The first assistant postmaster general has
far more important business under his
| Jurisdiction than any of the other assist
ants.
| 1t is admitted by all familiar with the de-
| partment and the department methods that
there is far too much work imposed upon
all the assistant poStmasters general SO
that in making the statement that the first
assistant has more important work under
him than any one Of the others, it must not
| be supposed that there is an endeavor to
create false impression as to the work
| of the other assistants. All of tie bureaus
are centers of activity all the tire and the
work Of all Of them is important to the
general whole. AS the business of the de-
partment has grown and the duties of the
various heads of the bureaus have multi
piled the work Of the first assistant post
master general has increased in undue pro-
portion He has immediate supervision over
the division OF salary and allowances, the
division of free delivery. the division Of
post office supplies the division of corre-
spondence the money order division and
the division of dead letters.
1t can be readily seen that the super
vision of all these divisions entails labor
that it is hardly possible for one man to
DerfOrm.
chiefs of these divisions to exercise a GER
tain amount of executive and administra-
tive authority was therefore adopted.
When rural free delivery was inaugurated,
increasing the force of the free delivery
division to more than twice it's size and
entailing an increase in work on the d.
vision of salary and allowances. IT IS ap-
parent that the executive power or the Oh
vision chief was much increased. 1t Is
claimed that it became impossible for the
first assistant postmaster general TO exer-
else the complete control contemplated py
the law over these two divisions ana 90
iustice to the other divisions under his au-
thority 1t therefore resulted that the au-
thority of the chiefs of these divisions In
creased until gradually they became al
most independent Members OF congress
and the heads of these divisions conferred
directly to the exclusion of the head OF the
| bureau in which they were placed.
This system was in violation not only OF
all precedent, but of all system or business,
and the present first assistant postmaster
general decided that it should be abohsned
and the authority restored to his once
where it belonged 1t was not mater y,
official jealousy, it is stated, but was Simply
an attempt to centraliZe the adminlstra-
ton and to correct an evil that had sprung
up in the department In the natural course
Of events and one with which the depart
ment would be called upon to deal sooner
or later.
What Has Been Found.
II has been found, 1t is said. that the
business methods of the two divisions. and
more especially of the division of rural
free delivery, brought about an eXtrava-
CANT expenditure and led to the adoption OF
a system Of administration that, 1t Is De-
lieyed, was not entirely called for. 1t ts
claimed that the work of the rural free
delivery has been costing the government
too much money. 1t is not denied that
heavy expenditure was necessary at the
tl,< ctnyn hltf 4 10 a
that as the system has passed the exper'-
mental stage and basis OF operations has
been established 1T Is no longer necessary
to continue the lavish expenditure nor the
large. force of inspectors, special agents,
&c. that have been employed by the d.
vision.
A Separation Suggested
The remedy which. it is believed, will be
found by the investigators. and which has,
to a certain extent. been forecasted in
published reports. is the separation Of the
rural free delivery from the free delivery
division and the establishment Of the for
mer as a new division. 1t is claimed that
the rural delivery service bears no more
relation to the city free delivery service
than the money order business does to
the registry system. Therefore there Is
precedent for the separation of the services
which would relieve the strain on the head
of the division. in which both are now In
cluded Should the rural free delivery be
made separate division it is believed that
the investigators will also recommend Its
sepa ra ton from the bureau under the first
assistant postmaster general and its at
tachment to the bureau presided over by
the fourth assistant postmaster general
1t is pointed out that the fourth assistant
has charge of the fourth-class post Offices
with which the rural delivery service deals
almost entirely, and that its affairs could be
more easily managed through the fourth
class post offices than through the division
TO which 1t is now attached.
Some officials of the department believe
that this is what will be the outcome OF the
investigation and that the findings OF the
investigators will be along these lines NO
ore Of those who have expressed views on
the subject will conceal the fact that
throughout the department generally this
would be very popular step.