The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1913-06-04
INSISTS He MADE
DEPART MENT
PAY ITS WAY
Hitchcock Comes Back at Post
master General BurIesOn
ANSWER CHARGES OF DEFICIT
Former Postal Head Refers to Re-
Gently Appointed Officials as
COMMITTEE of Novitiates"

Silver City, n. NJ, June 4.-On ar
irving here yesterday from the Mo-
COLON mountains, where he has been
spending some weeks, Former Post
masterGeneral Frank H. Hitchcock
was shown for the first time the pub
lished report of the statement issued
a few days ago by Postmaster-Gener-
al Burleson attacking his admins
tration of the post-oifice department.
After reading the charge Mr.. Hitch
cock issued the following statement:
"a committee composed in the
main of newly appointed assistants
having less than three months exper-
fence in postoffice business attempts
in a report to the present head of the
department to discredit the financial
showing made by the postal service
under President Taft's administra-
ton After reporting alleged discre-
pancies that are insignificant when
compared with the great sums
known to have been saved by their
predecessors this committee of novi-
tiates proceeds in its published state.
ment to enlighten the American peo-
pie as to the character of the postal
service they have been receiving.
Their statement is as Inaccurate
as it is gratuitous for the public we'll
knows that never was the postal ser
vice conducted more efficiently or
mail handled with greater precision
and dispatch than in the closing
years of the Taft administration. Dur
ing that administration, nearly 5000
new post-offices were established, de-
livery by letter carrier was provided
in about 300 additional cities and
over 5000 new rural routes aggregat-
ing about $4,000 miles were authoriz-
ed
Notwithstanding these great ex-
tensions of service and the heavy in
crease in expenditures they required,
the post-office department was placed
on a self-sustaining basis and that
was its condition when, on the 4th
of March it passed into the hands of
the newly-appointed officers who
seem thus far to have been exhaust
ing their time and their energy in a
vain attempt to detract from the rec
ord made by the devoted public SER
wants they succeeded.
THE postal committee of a demo
cratic House of Congress endeavored
last year in a similar manner to at
tack the audited accounts of the pos
tai service, but after investigation
that committe was fair enough to ad
nit that the department had become
substantially self-sustaining. The
returns as to surplus or deficit are
made up, not by the post-office de-
partment but by the treasury depart
ment, where all postal income is re-
ceived and all postal accounts finally
audited.
"The secretary of the treasury re-
ported the wiping out of the postal
deficit, and the record thus certified
to in his fiscal report is likely to
stand in history. If the post-office
department would have received
proper allowance for the cost of
carrying franked mail the postal sur
plus would have been much larger
than that recorded, and this is true
after deducting the expense incurred
on account of the postal service by
the treasury department for the free
quartering of certain post-offices in
federal buildings, an expense that is
less than half the cost of the frank
ing privilege. In the fiscal year 1912
more than 10000, 900 pieces of mail.
having an aggregate weight of about
6l,OOO,0OO pounds, were carried free
OF charge under the franks of con-
gressmen and of the various govern
ment establishments. IL postage at
the usual rates had been paid on this
matter ii is estimated that the postal
revenues would have been increased
by more than s20.0O0,OO0.
"In the last administration we an
pealed in vain to a democratic House
for legislation abolishing the frank
ing abuse. 1t is a subject that the
present postal management might
well consider for it affords an oppor-
tunity to save the department mil.
lions OF dollars a year. But judgins
from the committees report as pub
lished in the press, the gentlemen
now in charge of postal destinies
seem more interested in disclosing
the fact that during the four years
preceding March 4 an average Of "a
clerkships per annum remained va
cant in the department
THE United States postal service
comprises altogether more than 300.
600 officers and men. Il is the larg-
est business organization in the
world. II expends annually about
$3.50. 100000 ana now takes in approx
imately that amount in postal re-
ceipts. II requires a high order of
business ability and the closest kind
OF application on the part Of the var
ious officers In charge to conduct a
public service so extensive and on in
tricate.-