Arizona republican., 1904-03-14
PHOENIX, ARIz, MARCH 14. 1904
Indiscreet and Sensitive Congressmen

passed, a few weeks ago, an innocent looking resolution offered by Congress
 man Hay of Virginia, it was not sus-
 pected that the said resolution was
 loaded.
 If called upon the postmaster gen eral for information concerning any connection members of congress have had with the frauds in the postonice department. In response to this re- quest. the postmaster generl-or' Fourth Assistant Postmaster Genreal Bristow for him-transmitted a report showing that some hundred and fifty statesmen. of the lower house have
 nonkeyed around the department in one way ,or another. soliciting favors in the way of increased rentals. and SO fcrth. for their constituents. It is directly in violation Of the law for congressman to do any thing of that kind. and that is why the Brfstow re- port hurts. The report shows that this group of one hundred and fifty repre- sentatives comprises democrats and republicans with equal impartiality.
 As a matter of fact, of course. in not one case in a hundred of those men toned by Bristow was there any dis honest intention on the part of the congressmen who are placed in an un- satisfactory light They did simply what ccngressmen have been doing ever since the foundation of the gov ernment-they were obligingly running erraads for their constituents, and had loss sight of the law on the subject altogether On the whole, the situa- ton Is amusing. for the country knows that the average congressman is hon. est. Indeed, the fact is that the graft CTS in either the senate or the house of representatives are very, very few. The house of representatives has lost its head. and the country will merely laugh instead Of joining the statesmen in their anger at the postmaster gem  eral ar l his fourth assistant.
 Seriously, however, the public ser vice will be benefited in more ways than one If this Bristow repcrt shall lead congressmep to be more careful hereafter. Most of the instances cited are like the cases of Congressmen Hates and Overstreet-both of whom are men of unquestioned integrity. My dear Beavers" wrote Representative A. L. Bates, of Meadville. to the post office department official who resigned a year ago, when the investigation began: Am making a stiff fight for reelection, and my opponent lives in Corry. Gerry is asking for favor" This was an increase of s1OO in the rent for the 'postofice, which was in a building owned by the town. This seemed reasonable and just to MT. Bates. but he does not pretend to he Impartial. Am. of course,' he said. especially anxious at this time. as if will help me much"
 Of course. Beavers obliged Bates. The cost was only $1O0, and it came out of the public treasury. We do net pretend to say that the town of Corry was rot entitled to an increase; it had spent lot of money in Improvements to the building, and the increase may have been just and reasonable. But the Corry postmaster could have ex- plained this to Beavers. The depart Inent has lot of special agents and inspectors who are travelling around the country looking into the needs of offices. It got it's increased rent, how ever. through neither channel It got it because MT. Bates was anxious to incur the gratitude of the town Of Corry, because he had influence with the postoffice department official thas a man outside of congress could not have had. and because Beavers was very glad to do a favor to a congress- man, who has plenty of opportunities of reciprocating or retaliating
 The document which MT. Overstreet, of the committee on postofices, has laid before the house contains hun drcds of instances like this, and Mir | Ovcrstreet himself appears in one of them. He asked for an allowance of $50 for a postofice in his state. The record indicates that the service for which the money was paid was never rendered. and the allowance was dis contiBued after nearly year. The transaction was considered by the In- diana congressman to be perfectly legitimate, and it may have been an effort on MT. Overstreet's part to incur the gratitude of the postmaster, or to get some dependent taken care of for a few months.