The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-12-01
REVELATION SICKENING RottennesS Shown Up by BriStoW. ia n ] .lt-. i9 ,.. .f REFLECTION ON HEATH Secretary of National Repub-
 .lican Committee. ! Believed That Congress VIII Decide to Undsraks an Investigation
 of the Pos,..ace De-
 partmeut.
 W H - '.
REFLECTION ON HEATH HEATH
' Advertiser Bureau
 Colorado Building,

Advertiser Bureau,
 Colorado Building,
 Washington, Nov. %. A more ssickening revelation of odicfai totfeuneas than that disclosed by the Bristow report of the investigation of the corruption in the Postoffice Depart fnent never shamed g people.
 ] The star route frauds which scandal ixed the Republican party. in the seven ties were pecadilloes contrasted with the more recent wholesale successful con spiracy to rob the government of unac. countable thousands which has possessed the Republican administrations Of the Department for the last few years.
 If Congress does not institute re- searches of it's own into the general thievfng. 1t must be because of the ma jority are utterly indifferent to thefts of public money.
 The reflection upon the Secretary of the National Republican committee. Perry Heath, now editor of a Salt Lake news paper, is a terrific arraignment The National Republican committee meets in Washington. Dec. II. Whether Heath will be here and resign Is general question. He says he will hold on till new committee Is chosen. It is now be- leved that Congress may undertake an investigation of the Postoffice Depart nent. '-''''''ff-l
 As Washington readers delve into the series of stories of postal frauds the sem sation of revulsion grows wider and wider and deeper. A number of prorni- nent Republicans seen today were gravely reticent, evidently regarding the situa- ton too serious for present discussion. The case of Perry 5. Heath. secretary of the Republican National Committee, Is regarded as especially peculiar, On ac- <~lA aNnss ETm sa for Heath, 1t is impossible to nnd ad- mfnistration officials who wifi discuss the position of the latter in. the light. of the 2 damaglns statements noncerning him mnda in the. BrietQw report. They .Sli agree haWeyex. sH view q tlse cgqees con necti6n which tIle xepnt< AN(nb s4eB }s tween Esats and teftain kt6 sauieitk sssE Elcps n she R0StoIslee DspkstnenE tA&t the Republican party cannot afford to carry Heath on the Natipnal Commit tez. If he does not voluntarily resign before the meeting of the National Con- mittee in December, 1t is believed he will be dropped. One of the members of President Roose- Velts cabinet said that Heath did not strengthen his case any by his reply to the Bristow report, which was contained in dispatches from Salt Lake this morn tng. The reply was characterized as Q
 
 charges were based upon personal dislike for Heath, but contained no explanation of the intimation that Heath received stock in the company that was selling the Montague indicator to the depart ment.
 What with Major Rathbone and Perry Heath, Senator Hanna, for a popular possibility for President, Is having a hard time with his friends. Will he
 kaA tion as he proposed to do by Rathbone in the Wood investigation?
 Miller-Johns Verdict.
 The recent acquittal of Miller and Johns who were tried in Cincinnati on the charge of alleged conspiracy to de- feat the purpose and intent of the pos tai laws. has created the impression that the government has a very slender chance of convicting those under lndict- ment for similar alleged offenses. It is the prevalent opinion that these cases will hang fire until the opening of the next Presidential campaign, in which event if the Department loses them, the effect will be far from beneficial to the administration.
 As the Miller and Johns case was con- sidered to be the strongest the govern ment has. it was brought to trial first as a test case, and the fact that the defendants were acquitted has caused considerable discontentment and dissat- iefaction in the Postofice Department. It will be remembered that when the dis closures were first made known Post master General Payne advocated quiet in- Vestjgation, believing that the less pub hcity given the matter the better the results that could be obtained. He ad- Vised the removal of these suspected of wrong-doing, and cautioned against mak- ing public the charges and the informa- ton in regard to them which the Depart ment had in hand. Those associated with him in the department thought diff ferently about the matter, as did Presi- dent Roosevelt, who, 1t Is said. approved vigorous prosecution of the scandals, believing that better results could be ob- tained from the fullest ventilation of the charges, and that no stone should be left unturned to bring the accused to a speedy trial
 At one time 1t was thought there would be an open rupture of official re- iations between MT. Payne and those as- sociateG with him in the department The result Of the departments course in the matter was the indicting of large num- Der of persons including business men, officials and ex-of1cials of the depart ment most complete and thorough investigation was made. the cost of which Is estimated at considerably more than $250.OOO. As the cases have not come to trial as yet, and as much expense will be entailed on this score, 1t Is req sonable to presume that before the cases are finished the whole affair will cost the government over half a million dol lars.
 It Is a singular fact that all of those whom indictments were returned against, only the cases of Miller and Johns have been brought to trial. The case against 4. W. Machen, formerly Superintendent of Free Delivery, has been postponed from time to time by the prosecution, al- though his attorneys have endeavored to secure a trial for him for some time past The Government has also failed to bring to trial Harrison J. Barrett and former Attorney-General Tyner, accused of con- Bpiracy, both of whom are anxious to ap- pear in court. It Is understood that the prosecution has abandoned the idea of bringing the cases against the two Mot