The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-08-23
WHITE TELLS 1T.
Emporia Editor Gives Inside of Postal
Investigation

In the september numDer OF NC
Clure's Magazine, William Allen White
the man to whom President Roosevelt
gave credit for starting the investiga
ton of the postoffice department, re
views that investigation under the u
tie, Roosevelt and the Postal FRAUDS
In this article Mr.. White tells man!
things which have not been en1tirel,
clear to the public before In his IN
PRODUCTION and in telling what led Il
the investigation, Mr. White says;
"A crooked politician who is no
caught has been respected for ms
Emartness just as a crooked business
man who is not convicted in court Il
too often looked up to by his fellow
men. Public sentiment which wouIo
revolt at accepting the booty OF Jesse
James accepts 'endowmentS' from Dust
ness men whose fortunes are foundeu
on plumber not a whit less wicked anu
politicians. known to take money lot
the non-enforcement of laws, Whicn
non-enforcement results in the loss Oh
human lives, and in misery to thou
sands of people, are permitted 10 move
among their fellows without loss OF
caste. The party system has peeh al
lowed by the people to be the cnleI
Weapon of defense of the rascals
against the people. For nearly 80 years
in America the corruption or PUBIC Oh
'fcials has been growing steadlly worse.
Only at long intervals nave moral rs
Kues stirred the people: and commercial
Issues like the tariff and the currency
being the points of difference between
the parties and have formed party
opinion in matters of legislation; IN
matters executive, men selected by par
ties to administer the laws too ire
ouentIy take the color of the party 5
morals Cor lack of morals) and admins
ter the laws honestly only in the sense
that a business man runs his analrs
honestly-without lying to those with
whom they have business relations.
such officers, holding office by grace of
party. are loyal to party, and have ire
ouently regarded the people as natural
prey, and have looked upon such pubtlc
money as they could pocket without
being ca0ght, as their private perquis-
ties. For ten years public morals have
become so vitiated by the preValIns
code of party ethics that he VINO ex-
poses the public officers in their semi
legalized looting has been viewed as an
enemy of his party. Only within the
past four years has there been growing
among the people any considerable SEN
tirnenr favorable to the public servant
who exposed a fellow servant whom he
caught stealing. But with the visible
growth of moral perception IN matters
political among the people, the lever OF
the party system may begin to act for
the people If this growth is perman-
ent and not sporadic, If the people or
the United States are getting real
moral intelligence about their politics,
and are not merely going through
spasm of virtue, an important function
in government is beginning to show 1t
self. II is the trait of civic honesty.
But when civic honesty is as force
full in America among the whole people,
as the sentiment is against unchaStty, |
for instance, when civic honesty Is
backed by sentiment for which peo-
pie are willing to Sacr1nce their per-
sonal comfort and pay extra taxes to |
maintain, then, and not before, will per |
sonal honesty become the best policy |
for government officials. To bring
about such a condition means more for /
America than the adjustment of tariffs |
or the eSta bliShment of any kind OF
currency. The people seem to realize
this. and just now they are interested /
in problems of production and dlSIrlbu-i
ton of wealth only in casual way. |
The real interest in American politics |
is in the moral uplift in the admins |
tration of the existing laws given to the |
country by President Roosevelt. Inc |
most important manifestation of this IS
found in the way he cleaned UP the cor
ruptfon he found in the poStofhce de- !
partment. That story is one which the
people have not had in as exact detail /
as they should have it to realize what
manner of man they are dealing with /
in the White House.
For nearly ten years a number of
and a few citizens have
known that there was crookedness in |
the postofice department During Nc /
first term 1t was whispered |
among politicians all over the country |
that there were some profitable pick
Ings for some one in the postoffice de-
partment. When the Cuban postal
scandal was probed, politicians all over
the land winked and said the fellows
were getting too greedy and too bold
Clocks and typewriters and cash regis
ters and mail box fasteners were being
dumped into country postoffices too Law
shly for the men who do business in
politics not TO be morally certain that
there was a 'rake-om in it-as the i
phrase goes-for some one. Generally
speaking, when a man has advanced
fr.l
be postmaster of a town of ten thou
sand, and he knows that when a type
writer that he doesn't need, and didn't Il
order, is sent to him from Washington,
and a cash register that he never
thought of needing is dumped on him, h
and a lot of useless rural delivery reg
ster books is consigned to him, and
when the service has to pay so per cent
more than the current price for repaint-
ng the mail boxes which he has not
asked to have repainted-the postmas-
er, we'll along in the craft of politics.
Knows that some one is stealing. So.
Turing McKinleys entire administra-
ion, Republican politicians of high and
Ow degree, seeing the way things were
soing in their local postofices, had their
dea about the condition of things at
and being loyal party
men, kept still. 1t was supposed to be a
preach of faith for Republican to cry i
stop thief on a fellow Republican, or
or Democrat to stop the populations
IF a fellow Democrat And when the
hief is the man above you it takes
considerable moral courage to say any
hing about it. The few postmasters
Who did say anything about the steal
ng found out to their sorrow that si- :
ence is golden.
Naturally the stories of the thieving
n the postoffice department came to :
and senators who are nee
ssarily close political friends of post {
masters. During the three years last !
,ast probably not 20 Republican con-
FRESHMEN and senators did not know of !
he corruption of the postoffice depart {
nent; having this knowledge, congress :
fvided itself into two bodies-the mi
lority. which said nothing of it and {
vent about its business; and the great {
majority of the Republican congress- z
nen, which found out where the crook l
dness was and exactly who was pro- ,
ting by the crookedness, and used this {