The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1911-06-15
POSTMASTER GENERAL
HITCHC0CKS ECONOMY.

By c Il TaYener, Special Washing.
ton Correspondent OF The Times.
Washington, June l3.--Thirty-nyc
dollars wastcpaper baskets, S21~
desks aud $500 tables were some Of
the little economies effected by Post.
master General Hitchcock in fur.
/ nishng his red room" and "brown
/ room offices. These and other
striking examples of Republican
Icut.to-ihc-qui,k economy were re-
yenIcd in testimony taking before
} the House Committee on EXprndi.
lures in the post Office department.
Mr.. Hitchcock saCtioned the cX-
pcndturc Of $500 in refurnishing
three rooms. ~ 900 of which went to
/ furnishing the Postmaster Generals
private Office alone, Circas sian wal
nut furnishings especially designed
and manufactured TO special order,
and specially designed carpets and
/ drap"rics furnished the nucleus of
/ this expenditure.
All supplies were bought without
suhjrcting the lucky dealer who -.
cured the contracts to competition,
. IL lltN lllll W ltlf MS Illltt anu So
cure al order upon the treasury.
/. Five hundred aud forty dollars pur-
H chased two mahongany davenpurts
for American royalty; $3.50 brought
in two arm chairs; So produced Il
table; $50 purchased n second desk,
and SlGO third. \ WARDROBE to
hang coats in cost 500, ono rug
was purchased at SIS3.7j. Another
4 F..... : H..
with pillow cost Uncle Sam 500.
dfaporics in one room, 5000. Par
.quotry flooring in one room, SIS.
Telephone table, l4. Table with
black marble top, $i4. One book
ease, Sl6. 1t cost the people $50
. to "scrapr" the woodwork IN the
B. private office preparatory to new
finish. Three hundred and twenty
two dollars bought "A "Doten. Duuiou
decoration" on the walls of the pri-
waite office.
Such was the measure of Mr.
Hitchcock economy In matters per
tanning to his own pcrso. al comfort.
In matters concerning the employees
.uf the gOycrnmcnt--the railway mail
clerks for instancc-hc followed en-
tirrly different lines of procedure.
Mr.. Hitchcock figured it out one
day that 10y making three mail clerks
do the work Of four, he could make
IA record for economy. The already
oyor-workcd railway mail clerks
were driven beyond the limit Of en-
duraucr. Conditions in the west,
especially in the Tenth division, be-
came intullcrable. Open rebellion
broke out on the Pierre.TraCy line,
the men refusing to do the extra
work imposed upon them. Ten men
were suspended. Then five of them
were reinstatcd, but refused t. re-
turn to work without their ussoci-
ates. This aroused the whole north
west. The clerks met in mass meet
ing ut st. Paul, MINI. They are
now forcing the Postmaster General
to relent IN his plan to economic by
overworking the railway mail boys.
Strange workings of the Hitch
cock economy bump caused the Post
master General to pay the fun year
salary OF 5000 t. A. W. Lawshc,
third assistant postmaster general
while tn" later sojOurned In New
Mexico recuperating in health and
looking after the interests of the
republican party, but performing no
government service whatever.
Still another example of Hitch
cock economy was his appointment
of pseudo "lamc duck commits
sion" Of four of his intimate friends
and staunch political supporters to
90 on sort of Holy Grail conquest
ut the governments expense. The
commission investigated thine re-
corders" in every large city in the
country, managing to disburse in
expenses 81 1904.