The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-06-18
Assistant Postmaster General BfStOW Gives Results of
 Investigation
IRREGULARITIES FOUND
 IN MANY DEPARTMENTS
Postal Inspectors Have Unearthed 5ewildering Array of crookedness and Have Evidently Done
 Their Duty We'll.

Washington, June 17.-Postmaster Gen eral Payne today made public the reply of Fourth Assistant Postmaster General Bristow to the charges of Seymour w. Tulloeh. former cashier of the Washing ton city postoffice regarding the ire 1 gularities in the postal administration, and also reports of the inspection and in- 1 vestigation of the Washington postoffice 1 by inspectors between June 30. 1899. and July S1, 1900. together with the transcript of the Tulloeh charges made some years ago. and the conclusions thereon then reached by Postmaster General Charles Emory Smith. These papers constitute by far the most significant documents yet made public, and are the result of a sweeping postal investigation. The reports show the existence of many irregularities during the period involved. The inspec- tor who investigated the Irregularities re- port that the files of the postoffice cashier show direct orders from superior author ity for the disbursement of all the ques- tionable items cited. The inspector urged that the responsibility for the many ily legal appointments, the payment of twe salaries to one and the same person, and the disbursements of thousand of dollars for which practically no service was per- formed, be placed where 1t properly be- longs. and the many abuses corrected. In a summary of the several reports the postmaster general says:
 TuIIoch Charges Against Mckinley. "The charge of MT. Tulloch is in ita l net TCI[ tp1a Postmaster General Smith. President Me- Kiniey is not living; Postmaster Smith who carried out President McKinley's pol icy has answered for himself. With re- gard to the present management of the Washington postoffice and the conduct of any and all men charged with wrong do- ing, who have been in the postal service under the present administration. thor ough and searching investigation is now being made."
 The postmaster general says:
 Ut will be seen that the whole subject was taken up by Postmaster General Smith and investigated by him. At the same time all matters referred to in the charges affecting the payment of bills, accounts and financial dealings generally, were under investigation by the comp troller of the treasury and all the expen- ditures referred to were allowed by the auditor and comptroller; with the excep- tion of s160"
 MT. Payne quotes the recently publish- ed reply of MT. Smith and adds that these papers are now published "in order to complete the public understanding of a matter, large part of which has al- ready been published The papers are | filed without action, for the reason that l they relate to the business of prior ad- mInistration. The subject matter of com | plaint is four years old and all action 1 hereunder was closed over two years l ago"
 l The documents made public today show 1 that on May 1 last Mir. Payne wrote a I letter to MT. Bristow. calling attention to the published interview with MT. Tulloch | and asked MT. Bristow what truth, ir | any, there Is in the statements and par ticulariy upon that part which speaks of your connection and that of the postof- flee inspectors
 MT Biistow's reply in full. dated three | days later, Is as follows:
 5ristow's Reply.
 Tn response to your inquiry of May l, 1903, as to the truth or falsity of the as- sertlons of Mir s. w. Tulloch that ap- peared in an interview by him in the Washington Post Of that date l beg to hand you herewith abstract of three reports made by the inspectors on the condition of the Washington postoffice. The first marked Exhibit A refers to transfer of the postoffice to Hon. John A. Merritt, incoming postmaster, by MT. James r. Willett retiring postmaster. which occurred June 3O 1899. At the time this inspection was in progress, as nearly as I can remember, Chief Inspector Coch- ran and Inspec ctor-in-Charge Smith called upon me, and advised me that the inspec- tors had discovered many irregularities of serious nature which seemed to be au- thorized by the department. After dis- cussing the matter al length with them l directed that a report relating in gen. eral 70 the transfer be submitted in the regular way and copies of the same re- ferred to the various divisions or bureaus of the departments.
 During the progress of the investiga- tion I was advised by the chief inspector that MT. George Beavers, chief of the salaries and allowance division, had sug- gested to one of the inspectors that when he came to certain appointments in some of the stations that appeared irregular he had better make no reference to them. as they had ben ordered personally by the postmaster I told the chief inspector to instruct the inspectors to report the facts as they would in any other inspections; that I did not believe the postmaster had knowingly authorized any Irregularities.
 "Capt. W. B. Smith. inspector in charge. submitted a special report on July as directed. an abstract of which is here with submitted marked Exhibit B. This report disclosed what seemed to me glar- ing Irregularities and I submitted 1t per- sonally to the postmaster general sug- gesting at the time it contained matter to which I thought he would want to give his personal attention.
 'Referring to the statement that had demanded thorough investigation of the Ic.,4in,., so,,.,+. p,c.,