Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-03-07
MORE POST OFFICE SCANDALS
Chairman Overstreet Presented Long Document To-Day It Has to Do With Senators and Congressmen Who
 Have Been Active in Salary and Rent Affairs.

chapter in the pOstOffice investigation of last summer was revealed to-day when. Chairman Overstreet, of the house committee on postOfices and post roads, laid before the house of representatives a closely printed dOcu- ment Of 21S pages recOunting the in- stances on file in the postoffice depart ! ment ill which members of the senate and house of representatives have used their influence" with officials of the pOstoffice department. with more or less success. to secure increase in sal aries of postmasters, additional clerk hire and advantageous lease of build ings for postofice purposes.
 The report is made by the unanimous vote of the members of Mir Over streets commission, in response to a resolution calling for information, in- troduced by Representative Hay of | Virginia. As the information accom- panies the report, the committee recon | mends that the resolution lay on the table. Some of the transactions involving members of congress recorded in the report are held to be technical viola 1 tions of the statutes, others are pro- l nounced byb members who have read l the report as clearly censurable, while | in the majority of cases it is held that 1 members in making their recommenda- r tions to the department expected noth- l ing not in harmony with the rules and
 practices Of the department.
 Three cases are Set forth in which
 members of congress own buildings l which are leased to the governm ent
 for postofice purposes.
 The details of these cases are given
 by Fourth Assistant Postm aster- Gen.
 eral Bristow in a communication to 1 Chairman Overstreet, as follows:
 Section 3,739 of the revised statutes l provides: No member of or delegate to
 congress shall directly or indirectly himself, or by any other person in 1 trust for him, or for his use or benefits, l or on his account, undertake. execute, l hold or enjoy, in whole or in part, any contracts or Eagreement made or en- tered into in behalf of the United l States by any officer or person author | ized to make contracts on behalf of l the United States.
 The statutes further provide: All contracts or agreements made in viola
 tion of this section shall be void. Yet in the face Of this statute, Bea- 1 vers has made contracts with mem l bers of congress for the rental of prem ,ises. either in their own names, the l
 Der of their families"
 l Geneseo. N. Y.-The postoffice at this 1 place was located in 1886 in a building
 owned by Hon J. w. Wadsworth. At that time MT Wadsworth was not a
 member of congress. twas advanced l from third. to second class July l, 1901. 1 While 1t was a third class office no
 contract was made for the lease of the building. but the postmaster was al- lowed $29O per annum for rent, with
 an allowance of $60 for fuel and light,
 making S35O in all. When the office became second class a lease was made, dating from October 1, 1901. At this time MT Wadsworth was q member of
 congress. The building was improved to comply with the requirement. of the department for a second class office; the annual rental was fixed at S550 including equipment. heat and light The proposal was made by w L. Solmstead. wno is said to be the agent of MT Wadsworth. The property stood in the latters name September
 p, 1903. It does not appear from the
 report of the inspectors and informa-
 tion secured by the department that
 the rental is excessive or the allowance
 is in anyway more than should have
 been made.
 
 ises at this place were leased from J
 election as q member of congress- ir 1898. at an annual rental of $1 300 That lease expired April 1 1900. Or
 December B, 1899. MT Bowersock submitted proposal to renew the lease for a term of five years at tho , same annual rental. After a confer ; ence with officials of the first assist ant postmaster generals office, MI } Bowersock withdrew his proposal submitting one from his daughter Mrs Hortense E. Hill. and the lease : was executed in her name on terms : before mentioned. The record shows the title to premises in question was vested in MT Bowersock. The annua rental is the same that it was fo! many years before Mir Bowersocl
 was elected to congress and the post
 office has been located where it now is
 for about thirty years.
 Station A, Winsted. Conn.-The postofice premises at this point are owned by George l.. Lilley, M. c , Original lease, which was made before
 MT Lilley was elected to congress, ex
 pired April 1, 1903. The entire blocl
 in Which the office is located was ther
 leased to MT Lilley to Charles $ = | NewcOmb, and the lease to the post l office department was made in his name, though the title 70 the block be fore mentioned appears to remain il
 MT Lilley. The rent is practically the
 same as under the former lease. "In none of the above cases does il
 appear that the government has palc
 an excessive rental. I referred tt
 these cases in my report, not because
 there was any fraud indicated in the
 business transactions, but solely be cause such contracts appeared to be
 in violation of the statute above men
 toned"
 The history of 161 cases is given il
 the report, wherein members of con
 gross figure in getting authorization for clerk hire in excess of the amount the officeein question was entitled to ] according to the secret method em ployed by the department to determine the merits of the case. Many of the C increases were only temporary and have been discontinued. A tabulated 1 statement shows that in S2 instances l whore red,1ptjons have been made