The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-10-23
POSTAL OFFICER RESIGNS.
MIR. PAYNE MAY ORDER HIS SUM-
MARY DISMISSAL.
W. II. LandvOigt, Former Superintendent
Of the Registry Division. Charged
with FavOring the General Manifold
Company In Ordering Manifold Books.

With FHvOring the General Manifold
Company In Ordering Manifold Books.
WASHINGTON, Oct % William II. and
| voigt, chief of the classification division OF
the Post Office Department, and for twenty
nine years an employee, of the postal SER
vice, to-day rendered his resignation to
Postmaster-G General Payne, to take effect
| at the latter's pleasure. Mr.. Payne has
| not yet decided whether he will accept the
| resignation or issue an order summary
diminishing Landvoigt for his connection
with the General Manifold Company OF
| Franklin, Pa. Of which Representative
Sibley of that State is the principal stock
holder. and which for some years has held
contract for furnishing the manifold
books used in the registry system.
One Of Supt. Landvoigts sons is in the
employ of the Manifold Company. and his
case ia in other respects somewhat similar
to that OF former Superintendent Metcalf
Of the money order system, who was re-
Gently indicted for his connection with the
frauds in postal contracts with the Wynn
koop-Hallenbeck Crawford Company OF
New York, recently contractors for postal
money order books.
Landvoigt, who was formerly super
intendent Of the Registry Division, was
also charged with favoring the General
Manifold Company by ordering greater
quantities of the manifold books than was
! necessary in the transaction of the bust
| ness Of the registry system. 1t was charged
| that the cellars OF several large post offices
are filled with thousands Of these books,
| which are now worthless, having deterior-
ated through dampness and long storage,
and it was said that supplies of these books
were sent to small post offices where there
was little if any registry business.
The dismissal yesterday of c. B. Terry
clerk in the supply division. because
as stated in the official explanation given
out at the department, he made false
affidavit" aroused great interest at the
| department, and it Ia not improbable that
this action by the Postmaster-General may
open up the way for a searching investiga-
ton Of the railway mail service. under
Second Assistant Postmaster General Shall
| lenberger, and the only bureau Of the postal
service not overhauled by Mr.. Bristow in
| his recent Investigation.
Terry asserted in aftidavits furnished
| to the Postmaster-General some time ago
that Masten he'd offered to get a promotion
for him on payment Of a certain sum. He
refused to pay the money, and alleged that
Masten thereupon had him reduced and
dismissed. 1t is matter Of record that
Terry appealed to President Roosevelt. and
that, after hearing his side of the case, the
President ordered his reinstatement.
| Some time later several women clerks
employed in the same division with Terry
| came forward and volunteered the informa-
| ton that Terry had offered to get promo
tions for them upon payment OF certain
sum. Upon this .gratuitous testimony
Terry was dismissed for making "A false
| pt tn1
Terry has influential friends, however
among them Representative Hemen'
way Of Indiana, chairman OF the Appro-
priations Committee Of the House Of Rep.
resentatives who has publicly stated that
he believes Terrys statements with regard
| to Masten to be true In every particular
and that he intends to see justice done
| Masten is at present a superintendent o.
the railway mail service, the place he occu
pied before his appointment as Chief Cleri
| to the First Assistant Postmaster. GENERA
when the attempt at bribery is alleged Il
have taken place.
and clerks in the Post Office Department
at Washington have been recommends
| for dismissal by Bristow, and action by th'
Post master General is expected shortly
! There is an evident disposition on the par
! of the postal authorities to make the dis
| missals recommended in the Bristow re
port by piecemeol. believing that this will
not have such harmful effect upon the
i public mind as would result if the changes
were made at one time.
The President he'd a long conference
! to-day with Attorney-General Knox and
| Holmes Conrad and Charles j. Bonaparte
| special counsel for the Government In the
! postal frauds cases. A part Of the Bristow
report and the Conrad Bonaparte, repor t
which are soon to be placed in the hands OF
the President, is expected to be given out
same time that President Roosevelt makes
his contemplated public statement covering
the general scope and results OF the post
office inquiry.
it was said on authority this morning
that the Conrad Bonaparte report makes
no recommendation for the dismissal OF
any person employed by the Government
but simply submits facts brought out by