Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-07-26

paper friend. which letter, although it
bore his name on the envelope and was
properly stamped, was neither deliv-
cred nor returned to him. He then wrote
| another one and registered it, and this
| letter was opened.
Thomas F. Flaherty, secretary of the
Association of Postal Employees. told of
experiences Senator La Toilette had
under previous administration, when
several hundred of his letters on a sub
ject connected with postal administra-
tion had been opened.
When Postmaster General BurleSon' S
letter was read to the committee, re-
ferrng to him as a discharged postal
employe. Mr.. Flaherty told the COM
mittee of the details of his separation
from the service.
He said that after ten years service
in the San Francisco office, with an
unstained record he was elected secre-
tary of the postal association. 1t was
then the custom to give such employees
extended leave of absence. In such
circumstances he accompanied a Chi
cago congressman to the Office of AS
sistant Postmaster General Roper in
behalf of an employe of the Chicago
office who had been recommended Tor
demotion of 500 a year. heated ar
gument had followed. and several hours
later he was notified that the employe.
recommended by the inspectors merely
for demotion. had been dismissed, and
that he, too, WAS to show cause why he
should not be dismissed.
The complaint against him was that
he had said at the hearing that he had
seen in the San Francisco office clerks
engaging in what was then a general
practice, putting association notices in
the general mail, the act for which the
clerk was denoted. 1t was charged
that he himself had done the same
thing, whereas his place in the Office
made 1t physically impossible for him
to have done SO.
Mr.. Burleson's Letter.
Postmaster General Burleson's letter
to Chairman keating follows:
Since l have been Postmaster Cen
eral it has been the rule to give no
attention to statements made by dis
charged postal employees or lrresponSI-
BILE persons. l have read that a charge
was made yesterday before your COM
mittee by a discharged postal employe
that inspectors have, by my direction.
been sent into the districts of members
of the House who voted against certain
legislation urged by the department
for the express purpose of getting
something on the member which would
be of future service to the department.
OF course, this charge is without the
shadow of truth upon which to rest,
and whereas your committee is without
jurisdiction to deal with such matters,
l feel that in justice to the member of
Congress and the inspection service
that it should be not only promptly
denied. but, inasmuch as your COM
mittee has allowed the false statement
to be made, you should not rest con-
tent with permitting the name of the
injured member to be impaired in conf
dence, but the whole matter should be
fully exposed, so that it's falsity can be
at once established. There is a record
in the department of every investiga-
ton made by the inspectors. which in
cludes those ordered by me. as well as
those originating from other sources.
and this record is open to you as a
member of Congress"
The committee has not fixed a date
for another hearing.