Bisbee daily review., 1911-04-30
Hitchcock's P. O. Politics
 Will Be Probed

tons, and how much in speech mak- ing and campaign arguments?" is one Of the questions which the house postoffice committee is asked to de- tsrmine in its sweeping investiga- | ton.
 If the committee should find that | the political machine which the
 Postmaster general is supposed to | be perfeoting is such that it inter feres with the duties of public ser ' wants, thon the committee has the ] jurisdiction to recommend suitable reforms. and. if they are not forth
 coming, the democratic house will ee in no mood to countenance in-
 creased appropriation for the post office department. or to have pa
 tience with Q postal deficit.
 The Saunders resolution is des- tined to stir up trouble. The Virginia
 member, in speaking of it today, said
 The time has come for an inyes- | tisation. l have been watching con
 ditions in m. own state, and have
 come very important revelations to
 make to the committee. l know that
 there are postmasters in my state who are seldom seen about their of fees. They are off in charge of campaigns, rounding up votes. mak- ing political arguments, or laying plans for the future. The work is left to subordinates.
 Another Grievance.
 Tt is also time that the house
 should inquire into the promiscuous
 continuation of offices. Under the
 Hitchcock plan. offices are aban-
 doned or moved on the word of a | republican referee. who sometimes lives a hundred miles or more from | the community affected. Every few days, the postoffice department will {, order the discontinuation of a post | office, moving it from one commun- ity to another, all because political | expediency demands such a move. in my opinion. The conditions that ex- ist in other states?
 | T do not know to just what ex- tent this political machine has pro | gressed, nor the reason for the | strange things that are happening, but one of the most important things ! that the committee on postoffices may turn it's attention to now, is wholesale investigation Of the pecul- far state of affairs.
 q have ascertained that many . Otl nNrg,. of political organizations in their ! neighborhood, that the office is held i in conjunction with and because of their political influence. and that this has an influence in the ap- rointments. Such conditions should not be tolerated. If the postoffice committee begins to investigate this subject. they will find many reforms that can be instituted
 South Cats Plums.
 It has been noted of late that, as the date for the next national cam paign approaches, the postoffice de- partment is very active in the ap- pointmeuts in the south. Seldom day passes but that a number of fourth class poStmasters are named in the southern states, and many of these nominations are changes. The subtle hand of the postmaster gen eral, already on the hunt for Talt delegates in 1912. Is believed to be behind -he avalanche of nomiua tions and changes.
 The postoffice department seems | to be particularly under fire these days. Resolutions have already been introduced in the house authorizing an investigation of Mir. Hitchcock's ! conduct Of the office along general ! lines. One investigation has already | been authorized by the democratic i leaders. This has to do with the manner in which appropriations for the postoffice departms8t have been ! expended. In addition, Sase house al ! SO proposed to ascertain fl the de | partment has discriminated against the rural free delivery service, the mail carriers, who want to organize,
 as a whole, which is demanding
 better pay and shorter hours. Now
 comes the resolution. directed par
 ticularly toward the political as-
 tuteness of the postmaster general,
 and his apparent inclination to turn
 the postmasters of the country into
 political agents for the republican
 party.
 Santa Cruz Crops Good. 1 William F. Ralcom of Tubac is in