The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-05-25
INVESTIGATION A
POLITICAL PLOT
Senator Lodge Is Accused Of Being
Back of the Postofioe
Scandal.
His "Fellow Reformers' Are Said to
Be Quay and Penrose of
Pennsylvania.
Both of These Senators Are "After'
Former Postmaster General
Chas. Emory Smith.
New York ean Special Service.

New York rln Special Service.
Chicago, May 25.--Walter Wellrnan in
Washington special to the Record
Herald, says:
In the guise of reform. a plot to pun
ish and destroy political and official
This is the real scandal In the postoffice
department. Compared with the other
scandal-the alleged wrong doings of
various officials with which the newspa-
pers have been filled for several months
is of minor Importance. In fact the So
called .'orgie of corruption" In the post
office has not been uncovered, and by
this 1t Is fair to conclude it does not ex
list and never did exist. There is the best
of authority for saying that UP to date
the investigation set on foot by the In
triguers who have been trying to pull
down other people, no matter at what
cost or by what methods, has resulted in
a water haul so far as any criminal acts
by officials are concerned. Small irreg-
ularities, some extravaganza, long
string ,of expense accounts and a great
deal Of taking care of political and per-
sona1 friends thru appointments have
been unearthed.. But the "seething mass
of fraud and robbery" which was al
legged to exist in the department has not
been discovered for the simple reason that
it was not there to be discovered.
Senator Lodge, Consptrator.
The chief conspirator in this called
effort to correct abuses in the postoffioe
depart ment is Senator Henry Cabot Lodge
of Massachusetts,. Supporting him are
those two shining lights in the cause Of
reform and good govern1ment-Senators
Quay and Penrose of Pennsylvania.
Their principal instrument is First. AS
sistant Postmaster General Robert J..
wynne whose appointment was secured
thru Senator Lodge. The chief weapon Of
the conspiracy has been the press, which
has been persistently and Systematically
fed with 'innuendo and suspicion mas
queradtng as news. The principal aims
of the conspiracy are:
To drive out Of the public service
Machen and Beavers, officials who fell
under the displeasure of Mr.. Wynne and
refused to bow the knee to his ambition
Ito be the boss of the postoffice depart
ment.
& To smirch the administration Of Charles
Emory Smith. former postmaster general.
and thus satisfy the longings of his polit-
zeal enemies-Quay and Penrese,
To involve Perry Heath. formerly first
assistant postmaster general and thru
him. if possible his political sponsor,
Mark Hanna, who Is most cordially hated
\ by Lodge and Quay.
Is To make so much trouble for Postmas-
ter General Payne that he may be driven
from office, leaving Lodge in possession
of the field as President Rooseve1t's chief
political adviser and affording an oppor-
tunity for the promotion Of Lodges man
Wynne to the postmaster generalshtp, or
the appointment of some other tool of
Lodge if Wynne should not be regarded as
big enough for the place.
Origin Of the Plot
It is not to be supposed that the whole
plot came full f1edged from a single
Matching. Instead it has been matter
of evolution. The first step was the ap-
pointment of Wynne as first assistant
postmaster general. Wynne is a clever
fellow, very popular, with a good deal of
cunning and pleasant manners He had
for several years been one of Lodges
syndicate Of newspaper boomers, and for
his reward was given this place in the
government service. Several other news
paper friends and boomers Of Lodge have
been similarly cared for. In fact boom
ing Lodge thru the press and getting q
fat government job therefor has become
a recognized industry in the District Of
( Columbia.
Few vacancies arise in the departments
here In federal offices in New England
or in the consular and diplomatic service
that Mr.. Lodge does not apply for. It is
an axiom among members Of the cabinet
that he "goes for everything in sight .
He does not land all Of the appointments
Occasionally some other senator gets
som ething but Lodge gets twenty times az
much as any other man In public life
The Junior senator from Massachusetts,
famous as the scholar in politics." an6
'the civil service reforrner,' believes III
making hay while the sun shines. and his
friend Mr.. Roosevelt Is in the White
House. SO far as Mr.. Lodges newspa.
per appointees are concerned they are
good men and just as worthy and At tc
draw public salaries as any one else, SC
long as they behave themselves.