The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-01-19

the duties of postmaster general in a
| little more than q month, then to be
disposed Of to his wisdom.
No bureau chief in many years, and
few department heads Of the govern
ment, have had the power that Joseph
L Bristow has had. Coming into office
eight years ago. Mr.. Bristow was new
and inexperienced He sought the mas
terry of all the details and the intri-
| cacies of his big bureau He succeeded.
/ The frauds in Cuba, and later the pos
/ tai frauds in Machen's and Beaver
| divisions gave him the chance to show
what was in him. He was not wanting.
He discharged his duties.
Under Mr.. Bristow's control, as fourth
assistant postmaster general, have
been these important divisions:
/ The division of appointments-Thi
/ includes the actual appointment Of all
/ the fourth-olass postmasters, and the
presidential class as wei; the bonding
and commissioning of all Of them
The division of pOStoffice inspectors
control Of ell the postofice inspectors.
/ in all its ramidcationS. Inspections OF
Irregularities in postofffces throughout
| the country; preparation of cases for
grand turies and federal trials: trao-
/ ing of frauds committed throughout
the country, and in the department
heTe-au these came directly under Mr..
Bristows control and jurisdiction.
The division Of rural free delivery
This includes the investigation of petit
tons for rural routes throughout the
country; the appointment Of Carriers;
/ the supervision Of this great branch or
the postal service.
The division of city free delivery
This includes the mail service in all
cities of the United States.
With the work to do Mr. BristoW
has had his hands full. and has been
compelled to work overtime. But
nothing has failed in its receipt Of
proper attention. and all work has
been done honestly and Up to date.
Of course in the discharge of these
onerous duties. and included in the
compreh ensive nature of them. Mr..
Brfstow has been brought in direct
connection with the president and
members of congress more than al
most any head of a department or
| cabinet officer. and far more than the
postmaster general himself Senators
and members have consulted him per-
sonaIly in regard to the operation Of
the postal service: its needs and re-
| Quirements; changes, notifications,
etc. The importance of Joseph L.
Bristow in his governmental service
cannot be overestimated-
All this has made him jealousy
watched by other heads of depart
superior officer. the present postmas-
ter general. For be il known that Of
fetal courtesy, Difference. dignity. po-
sition and the like, is a delicate thing
TO nandle IN governmental d1ldlIS III
Washington. "Red tape" and all that
goes with it, amounts to everything in
the country's capital And woe to
him who treads on the toes of his
| fellow ofhciali
Kansas knows the rise of Joseph L.
Bristow. He is pretty well known in
! the state, personally to hundreds by
name and reputation to thousands.
4 Mr.. Bristow Is a native Of kentucky.
He was a farm boy in southern Kan
sas. He was a student at and a grad
uate from Baker university at Bald
win, and the school has no better or
4 truer friend than he He settled IN
| Baldwin, and was chosen clerk of the
district court of Douglas county in
| 1886. He was reelected in 1888. and
| almost innfn ediately to Salina, and en-
gagged in the newspaper business In
| 1894 he made the race for the nom1-
nation to congress in the Fifth dis
| trict. He failed. W. a. Calderhead
winning the place from him by one
vote in the primaries in Cloud county.
The same year Mr.. Bristow was made
secretary of the Republican state CEN
trail committee. Cyrus Leland was
chairman, and Major z. N. Morrill,
\ headed the ticket as candidate for
governor. Bristow's work as secre-
tary of the committee that year was
nothing short of marvellous. Ttreless
and with a grasp of detail, he had no
little to do with the Republican VIC
tory that year.
Governor Morrill, elected. he made
Bristow his secretary. The two years
spent in that Office were not calcu-
lated to injure him any in his future
career. He was one of the few secre-
taries to governors who actually tried
to accomplish something When the
1 S96 campaign came on, he was again
secretary of the state committee, and
that the party was unsuccessful in the
state that year was in no wise the
fault of its hard working secretary.
In 1897 when Major Mckinley had been
elected president Of the United states.
Kansas. which had been first in the field
ceded something good" It was uncer-
tain what it should be- Joe, Smith, OF
closest personal and political friends He
had been with Mckinley in the .prelimi-
Guided a tour Of Kansas, in 1894. Leland
was chairman and Bristow secretary Of
| hs a member of the national committee,
one of the leaders in the Mckinley propa-
ganda. Joe" Smith noticed the tireless
energy and grasp on affairs of the young
secretary Of the Kansas committee He
made a mental note of it. He later called
McFinley's attention to it. When Mr..
Leland and other Kansans went to Wash
ington in 1897, Bristow was suggested for
a place. Fourth assistant postmaster gen
eral was decided upon. BristoW got the
job.
master the details of his Office and postal
affairs in general, Bristow got his first
came M President Mckinley personally
dispatched Bristow to the island to do the
work. Bristow's report was fine bit of
work The Cuban postal business was
purged as clean as Governor Wood had
cleaned the city of Havana physically
The lob was lasting; for the affairs today
| in postal way on that island are mod
eled after the standard set by Joseph L
BristoW.
Then came the investigation Of the sew
eral ''get-rich-quick' concerns throughout
the country. In these Bristow, through
his inspection division, got in his work
again.
In the latter part of 1902 it began to be