The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1903-06-03
Former Assistant Postmaster General
on Tulloch's Charges,
ANIMUs OF ACCUSATIONS,
1t Was, MIR. Heath Asserts, an At
tempt TO BIaelSmaiI Him Into Re-
tanning the Cashier Of the
Washington Post ONCE.

General Perry S. Heath in reply to the
charges made by S. w Tulloch of this
city, formerly cashier Of the Washing
ton city post Office. The letter is as
follows:
thank you for your courteous letters
OF 18th and goth inst calling my atten-
ton TO certain assertions of one s. w
Iullochi eX-cashier of the Washington
post office, and also the statement of a
Mrs Winans, formerly of Ohio. who Is
quoted as saying that she was carried
upon the rolls Of the Washington Office
with the understanding that she was not
10 render service to the government
II Mrs Winans did not render services
equivalent to the compensation she re-
eelYedi her superior officers were deceiv-
ed. did not know the woman when she
was appointed and had no personal inter-
est in her. Her name was among the
large number always on my desk. and
recall that she was well recommended for
a position. / did not and could not at
tempt to personally ascertain whether
persons appointed TO position in post Of
hces rendered satisfactory service. / do
remember that this woman became a
nuisance about the post office department
and that | refused to see her She was
reported TO me by my chief clerk as being
pGLaAalthA III DEF demands Tor prOmOtlOn
or more desirable work. She at least pre-
tended to my chief clerk so he reported
TO me, to perform services warranting
promotion or better compensation.
By the same token, upon the same line
Of comment employed BY Tuloch nearly
Il not quite all Of the transactions OF the
executive departments ia Washington
could be called into question and improper
motives could be assigned Necessarily
could not follow the details Of the work
Of post office clerks: / was compelled 10
trust my subordinates and to rely upon
postmagters, We had a change OF adj
ministratien, a war. the Americanizing OF
immense foreign service and the taking
over Of vast eXpanses Of new territory
but ! mastered as many details as posi-
BILE and I proudly hold myself RESPONSE.
Bile for an that / did, for the humble part
/ took Ia the work Of the department
I never appointed any person 10 any
position or retained any one Ia any posi-
ton, at any time, with any sort Of notion
or idea that he or she was not to render
fun and honest service to the government
for the pay received. The intimation that
there was an honorary roll" upon which
persons were placed for political or per-
sonal or other purposes than good serv-
ice Is pure invention. 1t is lie out OF
whole cloth, as are most OF the imputa-,
tons Of Tulloch. If any persons were SO
appointed or retained, 1t was through
their own dishonest designs
There was period extending over
many months when many more men were
demanded for services in Cuba. Porto
Rico and at military camps In our coun-
try than we could supply We drew
through larger post offices for men from
classified service, receiving many bur
when responses from post offices ceased
to be sufficient we drew names from APP
plicants outside classified service and con-
sclentiously selected those whose capabil-
ity and character we deemed best estab-
lished. In this hurried work OF appoint
ments and hurried dispatch Of men and
materials TO scenes Of action some mis-
takes were OF course made, some conf
denees as TO integrity blasted, but thesu
things occur and will so long as men live
] made a visit to Porto Rico when the
Spanish form Of postal service was taken
over and placed under our system 1 ana
not seek the trip and never made more
disagreeabie one or one where I rendered
better service or made more sacrifice
For every dollar expended vouchers were
rendered and accounting was made
made trip to the Pacific slope I believe ii
the spring of 1893 I'll connection with condi-
tions existing in post offices AT Portland
Tacoma and Seattle incident to the ham
ding Of the Alaskan mails and local con-
SEHkAlMN iIF WfflGh q SlflCl accounting
was made Possibly Tulloch did not sem
these trips necessary but doubt IL he
has the slightest conception for what
they were made Of what was done upon
them
Personal References to Heath.
There are two personal references to me
in the Tulloch assertions that | desire to
mention briefly, and the Others / viii
pass over as unworthy OF mention or for
reply from those who have had later ac-
cess to the official records, for these incl
dents occurred four or ave years ago.
Complaints were made to me by clerks
in the post Office department or the Office
of the auditor for the treasury that an
employee of the latter named elmer FREE
quently entered their rooms and In
surly, offensive and peremptory manner
demanded records and carried them away
without leaving any receipt or simply
helped himself and when receipt was re-
auested snubbed the clerk making the re-
quest. ] was asked by our clerks to re-
quest and did request Of treasury off,
cials that Gilmer be instructed to act like
a gentleman and to protect clerks in the
post Office department by leaving receipts
for all records taken by him from the de-
partment A displaced document would
naturally subject the responsible clerk TO
censure if not indeed charge Of dishon-
esty What purpose Gilmer had in carry
ing these records from the department
do not pretend to say This incident had
no connection with Gilmer's work as au-
ditor.
The other reference relates to Tullochs
displacement from the position Of cashier
IN the Washington post office. The first
distinct recollection have Of Tulloch was
shortly after the induction Of Postmaster
Merritt and the appointment Of a new
cashier. a number of Tulloch's friends
called upon me singly and asked me to In
tercede for his reinstatement. After
had steadily declined to make any inter-
cession one or two more men called and
advised me as matter Of politics and
prudence to have him reinstated. ] was
advised that ruiloch had been collecting
evidence Of improprieties IN the post Of
flee and that IL he were not relnstated lii
would expose them that ! would be madt
to suffer and McKinley'S administration
would be scandalized,
I remember to have stated TO one Of
these importunate friends that could
not conceive how an honest and conscien-
tious employee OF the government would
want to remain IN a position whore wrong
was being done much less to be reinstated
under such conditions, and that as he had
been a sworn officer Of the government
and had not to my knowledge reported
these alleged Irregularities / could and
would not in conscience recommend him