Evening star., 1925-01-02
SKIP. 0. OFFICIALS
LAID Off IN PROBE
Part in Plot With Two Con-
gressionaI Employees to In
fIuence Bill Charged.

Two Washington residents. clerk
at the Capitol. and six post Office off
cfals in six cities were suspende
from their positions following an in
vestigation by post office inspector
into charges that money was beinl
used to influence postal pay increas
legislation. These facts were re
Vealed by Postmaster General Harr,
S. New, in a statement made publ
today.
L. H. McDermot. 1913 Harvard
street, one of the local men. wa
discharged as assistant clerk of tn
Senate post office committee. Th
other, Frederick c. Riedesel of 126
New Hampshire avenue, clerk of tn
House post Office committee, resigned
because of what he termed "unpleas
ant notoriety" connected with the in
vestigation.
Six Held High Posts.
The six post Office officials Were
suspended from duty. They are al
members of the executive committed
of the National Association of Posta
Supervisors and held some of th'
most important positions i'll th'
postal service. They are:
Peter McGurty, acting superintend-
ent of mails. New York City, In the
service 81 years; James NJ. Greig
postal cashier at Boston, with Il
years service; Peter Wiggle. acting
postmaster of Detroit, "a years serV-
ice: Harvey NJ Title, assistant post
master of Springfield, Ohio, % years
service; j. ]. Fields, superintendent
of mails at Louisville, 35 years serv-
ice, and William SAMSON, assistant
superintendent of delivery at Chi
cago, So years of service.
The investigation by the post Office
inspectors came on the heels OF ar
interview between Postmaster Genera
New and President Coolidge. The
statement by Mr.. New revealed for the
first time facts in connection with al
investigation of charges involving
postal pay legislation. The Depart
ment of Justice, through Attorney
General Stone, announced that no law
lad been violated. Employees of Sen
ate and House committees under the
law are not included in the definition
of Officers of the United States
against whose acceptance of money
are directed certain penal statutes,
Traced Back to March.
Postal Inspectors c. II. Clarahan OF
New York and r. NJ. Bates of Mil
to make the investigation. The re
suits were contained in joint report
The report implies that the initia
activities inquired into had their in
ception in March. 1924, when Nc
permot requested that four post office
supervisors assist the congressional
committees in preparing a bill fol
salary increases of post office en-
ployes.
rT1,a povt nHce napartD,ar+'c rafusa
to detail these men without request
from the committee was met with
Vice Chairman Paige's request that
McGurty, Title, Ransom and Fields
be assigned TO help the committee
little then was president of the Ma
tional Association of Postal Super
viSorS.
Shortly after they reached Wash
ington McDermot approached them
with a proposition that they employ
him. whom all knew personally. as
the associations paid representative e
In Washington, according to the re-
port, but they advised him such an
arrangement could not be made so
long as he was in the employ of the
Senate committee. 1t was agreed
however. according to the report. that
McDermot would be paid $125 per
month as correspondent of the Postal
Supervisor. a monthly publication of
the association.
Called Shield for Payment.
This arrangement, the report
charges, was simply veil to shield
the payment, according to a letter
from Title to McGurty, since McDer-
nit wrote only one article for the
publication.
McDermot, dissatisfied with the
promise that he would be employ ed
at $4,000 a year as soon as he sep
arated from the Government service,
proposed another plan, according to
the report. His suggestion, accord =
ingly, that the association assess it's
5000 members SO apiece was decided
upon, with the understanding that
two thirds of the amount thus raised
was TO be devoted to furthering sal
airy legislation and the remainder to
running expenses. Approximately S5,-
400 was raised.
\ row in the executive committee
resulted from the arrangement to
record receipts on the associations
books together with records of dis
bursements to McDermot, with the
result that Wiggle proposed a plan
which settled dissension by arrang-
ing for each member of the commit
tee being advanced a certain amount,
which was to be paid to McDermot
Report on Payments.
The report showed that from July
% to August Il, members of the
executive committee paid $25S5 to
McDermot, vouchers explaining ex-
penditures being annotated as for ex-
penses incurred in this city for work
relative to salary legislation.
All the postal supervisors without
exception GAINED it was McDermot,
who suggested his employment, and
they hesitated to antagonize him be-
cause Of his close connection with
ithe pending salary bill, fearing he
would then oppose fair salaries for
4 supervisors, and for this reason they
i.acceded to his requests" the fnspec-
ilors report stated
~ 1he associations executive commit
tee made a present OF $1,000 10
Itiedesel, who had furnished them in
formation from time TO time. Fergus
Is. Ellsworth, secretary of the associ-
alton and now assistant cashier of the
milwaukee, post office, made a franI,
statement to the inspector and stated
mat the $1,000 was purely a gift and
was not solicited by Rjedesel, Cor
B leSpohdehce OF members OF the execu-
Il i've committee indicated, however.
mat Rledesel knew he was to receive
the present before ii was made.
First Clue to Cose.
The first clue. to the tran eactio,,
was disclosed when AIcDern7ot bnS
came dissatisfied with the sIov,,oe.
with -