The Washington herald., 1907-05-23

New YORK, May Z.-Ge0Tge Bruce Cor
telyou, when ne was holding down an OBJ
scure desk as a clerk in the New York
post-ofiice, never could have foreseen the
demonstration he was 10 get tonight at
dinner rendered to him AT the Hotel
Astor by more than 500 postal employees
Of this and other States. He was cheercd
time and time again 10y the postal men,
not only throughout his speech. in which
he reviewed some Of the achievements
OF the post-ofice but also when Charles
Emory Smith, former Postmaster Gen
eraL spoke Of him as "a Cabinet officer
Of all the places, and asked them if his
career had ended yet. Then there were
loud cries Of no" and Mr.. Smith re-
sponded:
You have made the answer"
There were several notable oUtbursts OF
cheering at the dinner. one of the occa-
sions, when the big ballroom rang. came
when Mr.. C0rtelyou talked about the duty
Of postmasters first 10 be good citizens
and join the President or governor in
fighting the battle for good citizenship.
should Line Up with Governor.
Turning toward Timothy L. Woodruff.
who sat within one place Of him, Mr.
Cortelyou said
Here in this Empire State Of ours
there has been no opportunity greater
than the present for an exhibition. of
these qualities; for an exertion of this in
fuence"
1t didn't take the post-office men "a sec
ond TO see what Mr.. COrtely0u was driv-
ing at, and az this invitation TO back up
Gov. Hughes as they took it. they rose
10 their feet and cheered, Just as they did
a moment later when Mir Cortelvou
spoke of some of the appointments of
President Roosevelt The dinner was az
ranged by the Presidential postmasters Of
this State and their staffs. the post-office
inspectors. and the Railway Mail Service
heads. Almost every postmaster in the
State was there. ana there were also
present men holding down the same Job
IN New Jersey and Connecticut.
The crowd was too big for the ballroom 4
TO hold and overfowed into some of the /
smaller rooms. Postmaster Wilcox sat
master General Smith at his right. with I
another ex-Postmaster General not far
aWay-Gen. Thomas L. James. Among 1
the others at the head table was Con I
gresham McCleary. of Minnesota.
Talk TO PostmaSters.
Mr.. Cortelyou in his speech reviewing 4
some Of his efforts made while he was at
the head Of the department. referred 10 /
the change made I'm the appointment Of |
fourth-class postmasters. which. he said. /
was no longer a reward for political ac- /
tivity. He also quoted from an address /
he had made while Postmaster General. /
warning them not to take part in faction /
al political strife. Continuing. Mr. Cor
telyou said.
And now let me speak directly to the
postmasters, who hold a peculiarly close
relation 10 the department and 10 the pao-
pie. In many cases a postmaster is the
only representative of the national gov
eminent in a community. How impor
tant IL IS, then, that he should not only
keep a model Office but that his influence
In his community should be thrown upon
the side of law and order and decencv
and good government, whether they be /
typlhed IN the person Of a President or
governor or mayor, or other constituted /
authority who is fighting the battles OF
good citizenship
Patronage dispensed on the old sordid
lines Is a curse to any administration or
any party. But reforms to be practical
must be reasonable. No true rcformer
VIII decry party organization and lust
recognition of party service believe.
therefore, in rewarding party service and
IN opening the door of opuortunitv IA
Every worthy aspirant for public station.
but the motto should be: Merit first. polf-
lies afterward
Integrity of Department.
In these days, when We hear so much
IF deiinquencies in private business life
md when such sharp criticism has been ,
iirected toward certain features of n1,r
postal affairs. it is well to remember '
hat, just as in private life. we often fail {
o discriminate between the good and the :
'ad. when, in truth. we forget that busi-
less in the main is honestly conducted. :
70, as TO many features Of government :
work, We fall into the same errors. In a
pite OF defects in the postal service IL =,
s very significant fact that the regis 1
~ service, after half a century of cv- .
5tence shows for the fiscal year ended .
une 81, 1904 a percentage of loss from .
ii causes. including burglary, theft. and :
re, Of only $1,000 of ] per cent. Some
rivate business enterprises may in GER
ain directions yield better financial re-
lrns, but they cannot show a higher
] 4