The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1919-07-04
Accuse Him of Making State
ments and Creating Infer
ences Absolutely Untrue.
CONCERN RUINED BY HIN
Heavy Artillery Fired at Post
master General as New Angle
to Pneumatic Tube Row Wag-
ing in Congress.

gle to the pneumatic tube row, which
has waged in congress and the post
Office department for several years,
and finally resulted in a victory for i
the postmaster general and his pro-
gram of abolishing the mail tube de-
liveries, is furnished by a letter
made public here addressed to Mr..
Burleson. The postmaster general
is in more or less trouble these days.
His critics are many and range from
great newspapers to Samuel Comp
ers, striking telegraphers, Republi
cans in congress and the Hon. Jas
A. Gallivan, Democratic representa-
tive from Massachusetts.
The latest heavy artillery fired in
the direction of Mr.. Burleson is a
flank attack after the Burleson-Galli-
van controversy. Representative
Gallivan recently arose in the house
Burleson as about the most inexcus-
able and incompetent public servant
eXtant. Mr.. Gallivan rather prayer
fully expressed the hope that soon
his party would get rid Of Mr.. Burle-
son.
Whereupon Mr.. Burleson wrote a
letter to one Representative Buch-
anan, Of Texas, telling his fellow
Texan that really no attention should
be paid to Mr.. Gallivan OF Massachu-
setts; that Mr.. Gallivan was sore be-
cause he owned stock in the pneu-
matte tubes, and so on. Mr.. Burleson
said he deemed 1t an honor to be
criticised by such a fellow as Repre-
sentative Gallivan, who incidentally
is a lighting Irishman" from HUB
Town.
In reply Mr.. Gallivan came pretty
close to using the short and ugly
word. He assailed Mr.. Burleson
again, and the war waxed merrily.
Gallivan said he had sold his small
bit OF stock in the tube company long
before he came to congress, and that
the postmaster general knew it.
Now comes the tube company itself
with a caustic letter addressed to the
postmaster general. 1t backs up Mr..
lGallivan. accuses Mr.. Burleson of
"gloating" over the wiping out of a
IS, 900 900 industry and asserts that
Mr.. Burleson's state OF mind is both
incomprehensible and reprehensi-
BILE"
Since the row over the pneumatic
tube deliveries in the large cities has
been a stormy one from the start. and
since Mr.. Burleson has finally won
out in opposition to the tubes, the
letter OF the tube company makes
spicy reading in these days when the
postmaster general is either being
"cussed or defended" in all sec
| tions OF the country.
Here is the sharp letter from Gil
mer Clapp. president OF the Ameri-
nae. Pneumatic Service company. of
Boston. Mr.. Clapp writes from
Wilmington, Del, and says:
! Hon. A. s. Burleson, Postmaster
General. Washington. ID. c.
Dear Sir: There has just come tn
our attention n letter which you adj
dressed to n member OF congress and
at the same time gave to the press.
in which you saw ft to make state
ments and create differences regard
ing this company and its business
which, as postmaster general, you
should know to be absolutely un
true.
Whether or not congressman
| did or did not own stock in this com
pany is quite beyond the question {:
particularly since il is a matter OF
record that he stated upon the floor
OF congress that he did at one time
own a small amount of stock and had
sold II before he came to congress.
"The point in question Is that in
this letter you attempt. by misstate-
ments OF facts and by half truths far
worse than misstatements OF facts.
to make IL appear that a legitimate
engineering business in which sew
eral thousand stockholders. at the re-
quest Of the postofice department