Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-05-30
.ToDemandThat
.BurLeson Gust
James Blakslee
Senate Postoffice Committee
Will Formally Suggest on
Monday That His Usefulness
Has Ceased
NY RALPH SMITH.

| WASHINGTON, May FIT is re-
garded as practically certain that the
| postofice committee or the senate Will
formally suggest to Postmaster General
Burleson that Fourth Assistant Post
master General Blakslee has demon
strated his uselessness as government
official. and it is confidently expected by
members of the committee that Mr..
Burleson will concur in the view, as a
result of which Mr.. Blakslee's connection
with the department Will cease.
| The committee will meet in executive
session Monday morning to determine
definitely upon this contemplated course
of action as a result of the letter which
Mr.. Blakslee today admitted having
written in which he charged that the
postoffice committee had surrendered to
the influence of a railroad lobby, with
respect to the postal appropriation bill.
While members of the postoff1ce COM
| mittee are unwilling to concede that
| Postma ster General Burleson may re-
| fuse or fail to carry out their sugges-
| tions respecting the severance of his
| fourth assistant from the government
service, 1t may be stated that the
members of the committee will unhest-
tatingly take their complaint directly
to the president 1 nthe event Burleson
insists on retaining Blakslee.
! 1t is understood that the postoffice
committee of the senate unanimously
concurs in the judgment that Blakslee
is subject to contempt proceedings in
| the senate for his acts in impuging the
motives of the United States senators
who constitute the committee. 1t is not
! likely, however, that contempt proceed
ings will be instituted pending the re-
suit of the committees suggestion to
the postmaster general respecting the
dismissal of the offending official.
CAUSED MANY COMPLAINTS.
The difficulty in which Blakslee now
finds himself as result of the offensive
| letters will prove almost as interesting
. the people Of Georgia as it is to
t~sose in Washington. who are imme-
diately involved in the controversy. No
official of the government in recent
| years, not barring former Postmaster
| General Hitchcock, whose administra-
tion raised a storm of protest in Geor-
gia, has made himself so offensive to
| the members of congress as has the
fourth assistant postmaster general
Both of che senAtors and all of the
congressman have been constantly an
noyed by the activities of Blakslee re-
specting rural routes in Georgia. From
every section of the state, and almost
daily, complaints have been received by
the score protesting against Blakslee' S
| DISCRIMINATION and decentralization of
| the service. Under the guise of econ
omy, he has consolidated routes in all
sections of the state; he has abolished
routes and created other routes over
which it was impossible to render any
sort of service. He has thrown many
efficient and deserving carriers out of
positions and has kept the members of
congress in hot water by his defiant at
titude in refusing to respect theif rec
| concentrations concerning communities
with which they were familiar.
Blakslee's activities have not been
confined alone to Georgia. The same
complaint has gone up from all sections
of the country, and in close political
states members of congress declare that
| his activities have been such as to
prove a source of weakness to the party
and to endanger the administration in
the November election:
| Blakslees attitude toward members of
congress and towards patrons of the
rural free delivery has been so defiant
that on several occasions Senators Smith
and Hardwick and members of the house
have almost come to blows with him
concerning changes which he had made
in rural routes. He has utterly disre-
garded their recommendations and de-
mands, except in isolated instances, and
gia indicate that the rural service is
more thoroughly demoralized under
Blakslees administration, than was the
railway mail service under the Hitch
cock regime.
Blakslee was as defiant before the
Ipostoffice committee today as he has
been in his dealings at the department.
He succeeded only in arousing intense
hostility Of the members of the senate
| by his repeated assertions of the right
to free speech as an American citizen.
Senator Hardwick trapped him COM
pletely. He committed Blakslee square,
| ly to his belief in the right of a govern
ment employee to free speech concerning
governmental affairs. Then he asked
him concerning his suppression of the
literary activities" of Fred L. White,
of Buckhead, Ga. Mr. White is a rural
route carrier and an officer in the Car
riers' national association. He conduct
ed a column in one of the Atlanta pa
pers devoted to interests of rural route
patrons and carriers. His writings were
not pleasing to the department, and
Blakslee ordered him to cease his "lit-
erary activities"
Senator Hardwick also forced from
Blakslee an admission that while he con-
tended for his right of free speech as an
American citizen he had forgotten the
offensive letters in his capacity as a
government official and had expended
government funds in defraying the ex-
pense of his propaganda by means of
telephone and telegraphic communica-
lions.
While Blakslees offensive letter en-
lphasizes that the railroads have con-
trolled the postoffice committee, he ad-
mitted, in effect, today, under Senator