The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-03-18
INDIANA CONGRESSMAN
OPPOSED To SWELLING
COST OF POSTAL SERVICE
Overstreet Will Fight Proposed
Increase in Pay of Third-Class
Office Clerks.
CRITICISM IS RESENTED
Senator Beveridge of Opinion
Congress Will Be Ready to
Adjourn About April IS.
Special to the indianapolis Journal.

Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
WASHINGTON, March 17.-There will be
a fight over the question of increasing the
compensation of clerks in the third-class
postoffices Chairman Overstreet. OF the
pOstoffice committee scents in the sugges-
ton a danger more menacing TO the ex-
penses of the postal service than are some
of the schemes for enlarging the costs or
the rural free delivery system. The furry
in the House over the postal report, and
the disclosures regarding the efforts re-
quired for postmasters to obtain their share
of the allowances for additional clerk hire
has produced a wave of sentiment
which, the postoffice committee men,
bers say, is likely unless checked
to involve the government in expenditures
which are not warranted by the public rev.
enues and are not contemplated in existing
law. 1t is claimed that if once this clerk
hire allowance is fixed upon the government
there is no telling where it would end. and
the clerk hire in all the small postoffices
would amount TO millions of dollars an
nual expenditure. by the government. The
committee admits that provision should be
made for emergency cases, but they will
oppose vigorously any plans to pay clerk
hire directly in third-class offices.
Friends of Representative Overstreet re-
sent the criticism that has been directed
against him and the postoffice committee
in connection with the Bristow report.
They assert that the course of Chairman
Overstreet in submitting the document to
the House had the approval of Speaker
Cannon and the other leaders. Mr.. Over
street has had to bear the brunt of de-
bate in defense of the committees course
in this connection and in the opinion OF
his friends in the Indiana delegation the
criticism of him is entirely without jusu-
fication.
Senator Beveridge, Senator Aldrich and
other Republicans who saw President
Roosevelt at the White House to-day
expressed the opinion that April Is would
find Congress ready to adjourn. 1--WE could
adjourn before April 15,' said Senator Bev-
eridge, 'but there is doubt in my mind
that we will be away by that time at the
outside, possibly earlier But for the furry
in the House over the postal affair we would
be ready to adjourn before April 15.''
Mrs. Eva Summons, of Indianapolis, has
been recommended for appointment as an
army nurse by Senator Beverage.
John G. vanatta, of Brookston, is among
the Indiana visitors here.
Leonard Carver, of Noblesville, has re-
turned to Washington.
Rural carriers have been appointed in In
diana as follows: Sunman Chris. w. Voss.
Chris. Boopkeey; Clay City, Benjamin f.
Goshen, Effie A. Goshen; Monroeville,
George w. Jones, Charles Roy; New Castle.
Joseph A. Kerr, Frank Keer.
I
An amendment suggested by engineer Of
fcials of the War Department will be in
corporated in the pending bill authorizing
the Southern Indiana Railway Company to
construct a bridge across the Wabash at
Terre Haute: 1t will provide that the
ulaton to be prescribed by the secretary Of
war. The bill will be passed in this form.
-
Representative Cromer started a lively
| fight in the House to-day against the
amendment in the postal appropriation
making available $3.50 to bear the ex-
penses of the United States delegate to the
| international postal congress TO be held in
| Rome. He offered an amendment reducing
| the amount to 5000. which was adopted.
William A. Frost and Frank Blums, of
| Brazil, have been designated by Repre-
sentative Holiday for appointment as
| guards at the St. Louis exposition.
+
| The Fletcher and Indiana national banks,
of Indianapolis, have been approved as re-
/ serve agents for the First National Bank,
| of Greencastle; the Citizens Central Ma
tional Bank, of New York, for the Fetch
| er National Bank, of Indianapolis; The
| National Bank of North America, of Chi
| cago, for the Citizens National Bank of
| South Bend, and the Columbia National
| Bank, of indianapolis, for the South Bend
| National Bank.