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The Commoner.
VOLUME 3, NUMBER 22.
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THE CHARGES OP FRAUD AND CORRUP
tiou in tho poatofilce department continue
to attract attention. Considerable impatience
among tho people has been shown because of tho
Glowness of the authorities in pushing the in
vestigation. The president seems to share somn
of this impatience. Washington dispatches an
nounce that tho president is determined not to
make any arrangements for his summer vacation
until these charges are sifted and a thorough in
vestigation shall have been made. "Forty per
cent," is an expression that has figured very
' conspicuously in these postofllce scandals. It is
charged that August W. Machen, former superin
tendent of the free delivery division, received 40
per cent of the contracts for supplies in his de
partment and tho Washington correspondent for
the New York World says: "Officials now bj
lieve that '40 per cent of all contracts for sup
plies' was the watchword of those in the post
office department who sought to enrich them
sehes at the government's expense. The percent
age of the bribes given in the Groff Bros, case
and' that of McGregor and Upton Is exactly tho
same. In each instance 40 per cent of the pro
ceeds was turned over to those who influenced
the purchases. . This fact or coincidence will be
tahen as a leading clue by the inspectors and re
doubled exertions made to ascertain how far this
system was carried in buying material for public
use. It is' understood that many instances of
fraud have been discovered in limited contracts,
which were not continuing, where the statute of
limitations prevents prosecutions. The law only
reaches continuing contracts, such as the patent
letter box fasteners, for the purchase of which
Mr. Machen is said to have accepted bribes."
THE POSTMASTER GENERAL WAS LOATH
to push these investigations although he is
now credited with unusual activity. Messrs.
Wynne and Bristow of the postofllce department
have figured conspicuously in these Inquiries. Mr,
Bristov has been the star investigator, while Mv.
Wynne, who is the first assistant postmaster gen
eral, was among the first to declare that "wide
spread corruption" existed in the postofllce de
partment pnd that a thorough investigation would
sustain his charge. There has been considerable
friction between Postmaster General Payne and
his assistant, Mr. Wynne, and it is frequently
predicted that in a short time either Mr. Payns
must withdraw from the cabinot or Mr. Wynne
must retire from the department. No one pre
' tends to si,y how long the investigation will last.
It ia generally admitted that a large amount of
work remains to be done and it is frequently pre
dicted tbat the public is yet to be treated with
Lome genuine sensations.
TMPORTANT RESULTS HAVE ALREADY
1 been accomplished by these investigations.
The Washington correspondent for tho New York
World says: "More than two months have
elapsed since the presont investigation began ,o
bear fruit. It was on March 24 that George W.
Beavers, superintendent of the division of sal
aries and allowances, suddenly and without
womlng tendered his resignation, which was
promptly accepted. The retirement of Mr. Beav
ers under fire was the first intimation that the in
quiry was effective and that corruption would
certainly bo discovered. Mr. Beavers' division was
quickly reorganized ; extravagance in expendi
tures was stopped; a reckless system of promo
tions, originated to pacify politicians and en
ablo them to maintain their home prestige, dis
continued, and many promotions cancelled in com
pliance with law. Nearly 3,000 promotions in tho
Now York city postofllce alone were suspended
ponding tho charge that they had been sold fo,
a percentage on the dollar of increase. Tho
methods by which a congressional appropriation
aggregating millions of dollars had been ex
hausted four months boforo the expiration of the
fiscal year were abandoned. On April 22 James
N. Tyner, assistant attorney general for the post .
office department, was summarily removed be
cause no authorized his wlfo to rifle an official
safe and take away public papers. A recommen
dation that ho be prosecuted is now pending in
tho district attorney's office. On April 25 George
A. C. Christlancy, also an assistant attorney in
tho same office, was suspended nt hn own rP.
quest, pending an investigation yet under way.
On May 25 Daniel V. Miller, an assistant attor
ney for the department, was arrested for accept
ing a bribe of $2,500 in connection with a decision
prepared to permit Ryan & Co., a get-rich-quick
concern, to use the mails. Joseph M. Johns, tho
alleged accomplice of Miller, was also arrested.
On May 27 August W. Machen, who had been
suspended on May 8 as superintendent of the free
delivery division, was arrested charged with hav
ing accepted bribes aggregating $22,000 in con
nection with the purchase of a patent letter box
fastener. On the same day Diller B. Groff and
Samuel A. Groff were arrested charged with hav
ing offered bribes to Mr. Machen. On June 5
Thomas W. McGregor and C. Ellsworth Upton,
clerks in Mr. Machen's division, were arrestel
charged with having accepted bribes amounting
to $8,000 in connection wit . th2 purchase of let
ter pouches for rural carriers. Up to date as a
result of the investigation there have been seven
arrests, one removal, one suspension and one
resignation.
WHILE THE WEST AND SOUTH HAVE
been suffering from too much water, New
England has been going through a drouth per
iod. The Springfield (Mass.) Republican says that
few realize what the loss" means. For instance, it
is estimated that the value of the hay and for
age, cereals and vegetables raised in New Eng
land states during the year 1899 amounted to
$136,000,000. The Republican says that the value
of these products for this year will not reach
more than one-half that amount The live stock
and dairy industry is a very Important one in tho
New England states. In 1899 the value of these
industries was placed at $75,000,000. The Repub
lican says: "Farmers in northern New England
are already beginning to sacrifice live stock be
cause of present lack of pasturage and In antici
pation of a serious scarcity of winter feed. Hay
is risjng to unprecedentedly high prices in Ver
mont and elsewhere. There seems to be no pos
sibility of escaping comparative scarcity and
very high prices for feed of ll kinds, which in
turn will affect tho prices of dairy products In
creasing the cost of living in the cities and re
ducing the consumption of manufactured products
among the farmers." The Republican says also
that "what is true of New England is equally
true of all eastern New Yor': stato and New Jer
sey, where farmers are selling off their live stock
and preparing for a season of great scarcity."
SEVERAL INSTANCES IN WHICH OPERA
tions were performed on the human heart
have recently been reported. The latest instance
comes from London. A London dispatch to tho
New York Herald credits Surgeon Furnivall with
this operation. In this dispatch it is said: "John
Long, a laborer, was stabbed through the heart
in a saloon row, and immediately after he was
brought in Dr Furnivall decided to make an ef
fort to get at the very center of the wound. Long
?nadnl0S MGal 0f bl00d' but hls "to was saved
In the first instance by the blood becoming con
gealed and cosing the wound. The surgeon had
Sh Si0Eniy diSPlaA nthe broast cartilage, tho
ucfif nd th? lungs- At first hG thought the heart
nl awnvU(LhaJG ? remVed' but 0n ash
ing away the blood clots and raising it a little
2!fn!?inUre,Wa8 f0Und' ' ch artery forP3 be
SLnP wifhmmased ?art' and' nrst with catSt,
ffi f "f. sew up the sall wound the
knife had made. Almost immediately there was
an improvement of the pulse, and after seventy
minutes Long was wheeled out c: the operating
proT " a bGd' Wher hG bas conUnued to im-
THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION HAS EN
acted a bill providing for the government of
tne Moros. A Manila cablegram to the Asso
ciated press says that the measure practically
makes the Moro province an autonomous colony
of the Philippines, which tho Philippine govern
ment controls, and creates an appointive legisla
tive council to provide local laws, the commission
reserving tho right to amend or annual them.
The council is to be composed of a governor, sec
t retary, treasurer, engineer, attorney and superin
tendent of schools. Governor Taft will appoint
tho officials. The bill will extend the jurisdiction
of the Philippine courts and constabulary to tho
province and will recognize Moro laws which do
not conflict with American laws. The measure
also directs the abrogation of the tribal laws
creates Moro courts, provides that the Philippine
courts shall try cases between Moro and Chris
tians, gives the province its net customs and for
estry collections and authorizes the council to
abolish slavery. Tne province is divided into five
districts, Sulu, Zamboanga, Lanao, Cotabato and
Davao. The bill provides for partial military gov
ernment and it is expected that General Leonari
Wood will be tho first governor of the Moro
province.
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SOME CURIOUS FACTS ABOUT EGGS ARE
presented by a writer in the Chicago Jour
nal. This writer says: ft is rather curious to
know just how much pressure an egg will stand.
The following tests, given in a scientific journal,
may surprise readers. Bight orumary hens' eg;;s
were found only to give way under a pressure ap
plied all round of between 400 pounds and 675
pounds on the square inch of surface. When the
tests were applied internally to twelve eggs they
yielded at pressures "of thirty-two pounds' to sixty-five
pounds per square inch, me pressure re
quired merely to crush the eggs was between
forty pounds and seventy-five pounds- per square
inch. The average thickness of the shells was
thirteen-thousandths of an inch."
A WELL AUTHENTICATED CASE WHERE
in hypnotism was successfully substituted
for an anesthetic in an operation reported from
London by the correspondent for the New York
Sun. This is described as the first instance in
England of hypnotic suggestion in a serious sur
gical operation. A woman, C8 years old, wag suf
fering from a severely ulcerated leg, and it was
decided that her life could be saved only by tho
amputation of the limb. She desired to be hyp
notized for the operation, dreading the use" of
chloroform, which, it was believed, would have
been dangerous in her case. Dr. Aldrich of Clan
ham, a suburb of London, hypnotized her experi
mentally on several successive days, the hypnotic
trance lasting about half an hour on each occa
sion. All the tests applied proved satisfactory,
and on Wednesday Dr. Aldrich operated upon her
in the presence of two other surgeons and a
nurse. All the doctors were somewhat doubtful
of success and had provided chloroform in case
of emergency. The operation began at 4:50
o'clock in the afternoon. While it was in prog
ress the patient chatted with the nurse and dran
wine. To an ordinary observer she would have
appeared to have been consc:us the whole time.
Nevertheless, the operation was painless, and she
was unaware of what was passing. While oper
ating Dr. Aldrich said: "I am cutting off your leg
below the knee." The patient laughed and said:
"All right, hold my hand. Onesof the surgeons
took hold of her hand, and when he nerves wero
severed the patient gripped the doctor's hand
hard. The operation was completed at 5:10. The
patient was awakened at 5:15, whereupon sha
said: "I have pins and needles.-" There were no
symptoms of shock. Her pulse and temperature
or normal, her spirits are Mgh and she eats
"well.
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ASSUMING THAT MR. ROOSEVELT WILL
be nominated by acclamation by the repub
lican party, a writer in the Chicawo Record-Herald
points out that that distinction has rarely
been conferred upon candidates of any politicai
party. "Tho convention s:stem which" began ro
take shape in the early 0's," says this writer,
left tho field open for spirited preliminary- strug
gles, but one of the exceptions to the rule that
has since become common occurred in 1831, when
Henry Clay was chosen as the standard-bearer of
the national republicans by a unanimous vote. A
little later, in 1832, Jackson was nominated by
resolution at a national dc nocratic convention
after he had secured a number of state nomina
tions under an older system. Van Buren re
ceived every vote at the democratic convention of
1W5 and a nomination by resolution in 1840, and
Clay was nominated by acclamation by the whig
convention of 1844. Tho pc ver and popularity' of
Jackson, -which sustained Van Buren as well as
hlmeolf, and the popularity of Clay explain these
