The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-06-12
NO GUILTY MAN WILL ESCAPE.
AN AUTHORITATIVE STATEMENT
on THE POSTAL SCANDALS.
The Investigation Is to BE Pursued to the
Furthest Possible Limit. and No Polite
ical or Personal influence Can Save
the Guilty Ones From Punishment.

the Guilty Ones From punishment
WASHINGTON June lin view OF the
various conflicting publications emanating
from Washington touching the scope and
probable results Of the investigation into
the Post Office Department scandals, an
authoritative statement on the subject
may be of interest and serve as an assur-
ance to the public that If those in authority
In Washington are not stopped by some
power higher than that Of the President
OF the United States no guilty man will 90
unpublished.
1t was in December last that President
Roosevelt first had the matter Of the alleged
corrupt practices of Post Office Department
officials brought to his attention. and at
tina. time no positive evidence was produced
Representative Loud of California, chair
r--a NJ t!s Committee on Post Offices, and
Post Roads, was one OF those who talked
freely and often to the President on the SUBJ
iect He and others were so confident that
there was something rotten In Denmark
that the whole matter was gone over be-
tween the President and Postmaster-Gen-
0ssl Payne, in the light of the meagre facts
then obtainable.
At that time the storm centred about
the head OF August w. Machen, chief OF
the Free Delivery Division Of the First
Assistant Postmaster Generals Office. Cor
ruption was said to exist as natural result
Of the opportunities given to Machen In
the large appropriations made by Congress,
which put an unlimited amount Of patron
age at his disposal, Postmaster-General
Payne was then strongly of the opinion
that Machen was not guilty of actual cor
ruption. although there was general
feeling that he might have used the great
power Of his Office to help his own friends
and those of Congressman and politicians
generally.
Mr.. Payne was not alone in this opinion,
because Senator Lodge who has since
been somewhat influential in bringing the
real rascalties of the Department to light,
and other prominent men in and out OF
Congress, both Republicans and Demo-
Gratis, joined in the belief that Machen
was an honest. although perhaps a reckless,
official Moreover, the members Of the Civil
Service Commission, who as a body had
knowledge Of Machen and his methods, from
fact that he was a member OF the Civil
Service Board of the Post Office Depart
ment added their weight to the testimony
In Machen's behalf.
The insistence OF various people, how
ever, was so strong that in February
Postmaster General Payne and the Presi-
dent came to the agreement that where
there was so much smoke there must be
some fire, and they determined upon an
Investigation. Owing to the fact that
Congress was about to expire and the rush
of work very great. both at the White House
and at the Post Office Department, it was
for few weeks, and then came up the
question who should conduct 1t, 1t
was not deemed best to ask First Assistant
Postmaster General Wynne to make the
investigation, as it was his office which
was chiefly involved in the alleged scandals,
vice of outside parties to turn the work
over to Fourth Assistant Postmaster
General Bristow, who was known to be
man who would do the job In thorough
manner.
Now that the investigation is on it will
be pursued to the furthest possible limit,
and the President and Postmaster-Gen
Payne are determined that before the
inquiry, is ended every man connected,
directfyor indirectly with fraudulent trans
other branches OF. the public service will
be In Jail or under indictment. No ex-
ception will be made, even IL some guilty
man is found who happens to be friend
or prot4ge OF the most powerful pu bic
man in Washington or out of it,
The latest sensational report to the effect
that the beginning Of the Post Office De-
partpnent scandal was a conspiracy on the
part OF certain big men of the Republican
party, working in collision with Machen,
Beavers and the other grafters In the De-
partment, to put money in their pockets
with one hand and with the other put money
into a fund for establishing and maintain
ing political machine designed to prevent
the nomination Of Theodore Roosevelt
as the candidate for President. is pro-
nounced absurd by those who are compe-
tent to say.