Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-09
TIPPING MUST CEASE
SYSTEM EXPOSED IN THE DEAD
LETTER OFFICE.
Promotions Were Made Easy by
Judicious Use of Silver
Coins.

1t is understood that the investigation of
the dead letter Office, which has been made
by inspectors under the direction of Mr..
Bristow fourth assistant postmaster gen.
eral, has been completed, and that their
report will be soon submitted to the Post
master General. The inspectors covering
the work were vickery. Sutton, Farrell, Nc
Kee and Rolfe, and the Office and it's admin
stration had a thorough overhauling at
their hands. Among the matters investi-
gated were the expedition Of the work of the
office by the consolidation of several of the
divisions, the elimination of some features
of the routine work. and the introduction of
a new system of keeping the records.
BY far the most important thing unearth-
ed in the Office was a system of tipping that
has been going on, and which Super1ntend-
ent Lebhardt, after special investigation,
admitted was practiced, but which he coun-
tenanced by saying that it was an ordinary
practice to tip employees of the government
occupying mental positions. The tipping
that has been going on in the dead letter
Office was between clerks handling mail and
the messengers who distributed 1T for them.
A clerk is promoted according to his record
for speed and efficiency. If he can do a
greater amount Of good work during GER
tain time than his neighbOr it stands to rea-
son that he has a better chance for promo
ton In the dead letter Office 1t Is well
known that the most illegible mail comes
from the south-that is, domestic mall-ano
the easiest to handle comes from the north
The census bureau figures bear out this
statement by showing the largest percent
age of illiteracy to exist in the south. III
clerk can, therefore, get northern mail TO
handle and his fellow is forced to take that
from the southern points 1t naturaiiy Ioi-
lows that the man handling the more leglple
mail will do more and better work than the
other.
Since it depends upon the messengers
who gets this mail, and since 1t is IN thelr
power to divide or assert 1T as they please:
it follows that a tip judiciously placed
will get for the giver the best mail ana
he will be able to do more work ana pet
ter work and thereby achieve his promo
ton earlier than his handicapped fellow
who does not know the power of silver
key or who scorns to make use of 1t. rms
practice, according to the results or the
investigation and the evidence of the clerks,
has been of long standing and is explained
as noted by saying that it has long been
a custom in government circles. 1t was,
however, ordered stopped at once and there
may be some drastic punishment meted out
to those who have sought perferment by
this means.
Officials of the Post Office Department
who have heard of the practice are in
dignant that such an explanation should
be fosted on the public as fact when it
is one of the fundamental principles of the
government service that there are no posi-
tons that could be called mental or the ac-
cupants of which could be placed in the
class which is willing to receive tips. Even
the messengers and the char persons are
supposed to be above such practices and
the explanation does not explain. AS
matter of fact it is known that the tipping
in the dead letter office was done simply
in exchange for favorS at the hands of the
recipients, and not at all as a man would
tip a porter at a hotel or his bootblack.
The men who have done the tipping have
profted by the practice and those who
have not seen fit to use their money in this
fashion, or who did not know of the posi-
bilities of such expenditures of a part of
their salaries, have remained where they
were at the beginning, and held TO be care
full clerks, but not fast accurate as
their fellows of the tip system.
There Is a strong likelihood that there
will be some dismssals in the office and
they may find their victims among larger
game than ordinary clerks.