The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1912-01-11
P. 0. INSPECTORS
TO Be PR0BED
Said to Have Been Incompetent and
Therefore Dangerous.
J. W. JAMAGIN TO Be WITNESS
Was Victim of Their BIunders
While Postmaster at Cedar
Falls-AIleged Shortage
Never Existed.

Never Existed.
Washington, d. c., Jan. 9.-Several
Iowa postmasters will be called be.
fore the congressional committee on
post office expenditures, which is in.
vestigating methods in vogue by post
office inspectors, so it is stated in
Washington. Judge II. NJ. Towner, OF
Iowa, is one of the committee. Judge
Towner has been discussing the post
office inspector system with various
Iowa postmasters and has secured in
formation, it is said, which will lead
to the issuance of several subpoenaes
The probe was started to get at the
bottom of the mode of procedure in
the Lewis case at st. Louis.
According to reports, ]. w. Jarna.
gin, postmaster at Cedar Falls, may
be summoned as one of the first wit.
nesses from Iowa when the investi
cation starts.
In the latter part of June Inspectors
Patterson and Stewart made an eX
animation of the condition of the post
office at Cedar Falls. They devoted
three days to the work and after com.
plotting the task startled Mr.. Jarnagin
with the statement that his postal
funds We're short about $3.50. No fig.
ures We're submitted nor was Mr.. Jar,
nagin given an opportunity to verify
the work of the inspectors, but, in.
stead, he was threatened with imme.
date arrest for embezzlement unless
the amount claimed was produced at
once. This Mr.. Jarnagin did. The
inspectors talked upon the streets of
the alleged shortage they had found,
submitted to an interview by a re.
porter for a democratic newspaper
and even told of their alleged findings
to prominent citizens of Waterloo be.
fore Mr.. Jarnagin had been appraised
of the alleged shortage, so il is said
here.
Never Was a Shortage.
On July 1, three days after the find.
ing of the alleged shortage, an in.
voice was taken of the stock on hand
in the post Office at Cedar Falls, pre-.
paratory to making the quarterly re.
port. When this work was complet.
ed the postal funds were found to be
correct, and Mr. Jarnagin so notified
Inspector Patterson and telegraphed
the fact to the department at Wash.
ington. This led to supplementary
report by Mr.. Patterson in which the
claim made by Mr.. Jarnagin or some
of his friends had smuggled into the
postal funds an amount sufficient to
make good the alleged shortage. To
this additional charge Mr.. Jarnagin
made vigorous protest to the de.
partment and as a result he was au
thoriZed to procure the services of
some disinterested person, who, with
the assistant postmaster at Cedar
Falls. should go carefully over the
funds, check up the expenditures,
scrutinize the checks and the depos
its and verify the claims made by Post
master Jarnagin. Mr.. Jarnagin Sc.
lected Mr.. J. N. La Barre, assistant
postmaster at Waterloo, an expert
accountant of many years successful
experience, and after devoting con,
siderable time to the work, making
a thorough examination of everything
the claims made by Mr.. Jarnagin
were substantiated in every particu.
lar. 1t was found that no shortage
existed or had existed.
Committee Asks For Facts.
1t is understood that the congress.
siOnal committee has asked for all of
the facts in the case and it is very
probable that Mr.. Jarnagin will be
subpoenaed to relate the details of
the examination, the threats made by
the inspectors and the modus opran.
di of reaching conclusions without
the warrant of facts and the general
trend of the damaging report submit
ted to the department. There is not
a postmaster in the United States
that is secure from the Vaccinations
of incompetent inspectors, If develop
ments bear out early indications.
Shortly after the examination of
the post office at Cedar Falls, Inspec.
tor Patterson was reduced to rail
way mail clerk and directed to report
for examination at Leroy, H., but
failing to do this he was dropped from
the service. He was new inspector
in that territory and had taken up his
residence in Waterloo in May.