United States v. Harold Foster

• Decision Date: 04 May 1914
• Docket Number: No. 838,838
• Citation: 34 S.Ct. 666,233 U.S. 515,58 L.Ed. 1074
• Parties: UNITED STATES, Plff. in Err., v. HAROLD A. FOSTER, Frank E. Winchell, William S. Edwards, and Harry H. Platt
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

233 U.S. 515

34 S.Ct. 666

58 L.Ed. 1074

UNITED STATES, Plff. in Err.,

v HAROLD A. FOSTER, Frank E. Winchell, William S. Edwards, and Harry H. Platt.

No. 838.

Argued April 13 and 14, 1914.

Decided May 4, 1914.

Assistant Attorney General Wallace for plaintiff in error.

Messrs. Philip Rubenstein and Timothy Howard for defendants in error.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 516-518 intentionally omitted] Mr. Justice McKenna delivered the opinion of the court:

Indictment in two counts for conspiracy to defraud the United States, and to violate certain provisions of the postal laws. The object of the conspiracy and the manner of its execution are in substance, as charged in the indictment in the first count, as follows: Harold A. Foster was postmaster of the United States postoffice at North Brookfield, Massachusetts, a second-class office. The salary of the office was fixed by the Postmaster General, pursuant to law and the regulations established by him, at $2,000 a year, the salary being based and ascertained upon the gross receipts of the office for the twelve months next preceding the 31st of March, 1911. The law required the salary to be adjusted annually, and the next adjustment was required to be made by the Postmaster General in accordance with the gross receipts of the office as shown by the quarterly returns of the postmaster to the Auditor of the Postoffice Department for the four quarters next preceding the 31st of March, 1912, the readjustment to take effect on the ensuing 1st of July, 1912. The Postmaster General was required by law and the established regulations in readjusting such salary not to include in the gross receipts of the office the moneys received by the postmaster for the sale of stamps to any person or persons in large quantities, to be used in other postoffices than the North Brookfield office for mailing purposes, or in that office if such matter in the ordinary course would not be deposited for mailing in the latter office.

Frank E. Winchell, of North Brookfield, was the president and general manager of the Oxford Linen Mills, a corporation having its usual place of business at North Brookfield, and William S. Edwards and Harry H. Platt, both of New York, were officers of the Sterling Debenture Company, a corporation having its place of business in New York, and they and Foster, well knowing the premises, conspired to defraud the United States of its money and property by Winchell purchasing from the United States in behalf of the Oxford Linen Mills, with the knowledge, consent, and connivance of Foster, quantities of United States postage stamps to be sent to the Sterling Debenture corporation at New York, and Edwards and Platt as its officers were to cause it to use them in the prepayment of postage upon matter to be deposited in the postoffice in New York or in some other office, with the view and intent, by means of the purchase of stamps as stated, of irregularly and improperly increasing the gross receipts of the North Brookfield postoffice for the twelve months beginning on the 1st of April, 1911, and ending on the 31st of March, 1912, and thereby enabling Foster, as such postmaster to make returns to the Auditor of the Postoffice Department as a basis for the adjustment of Foster's salary for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1912, which returns should include the sale of stamps so made to Winchell in addition to the sale of stamps made by Foster to other persons in the regular business of the North Brookfield office, with the intent and view of violating the regulations of the Postoffice Department, and for the purpose of fraudulently increasing Foster's salary, and with the further intent that such sales should, in violation of the Postoffice regulations, be included and deemed a part of the gross receipts of the North Brookfield office for the period above mentioned, and be made in part the basis of the readjustment of Foster's salary. All the acts done by Foster, Winchell, Edwards, and Platt were done knowingly, wilfully, and fraudulently for such purpose; that is, for the purpose of increasing the salary of Foster by a sum of money in excess of that which he would be lawfully entitled to receive, and to cause such excessive sum to be paid to him, and thereby cheat and defraud the United States thereof.

In pursuance of the unlawful conspiracy, and to effect its object, on the 1st of July, 1911, Foster, as such postmaster, made a false return to the Postoffice Department of the gross receipts of the North Brookfield office for the quarter ending June 30, 1911.

In further pursuance of the conspiracy, and to effect its object, Winchell, on June 2, 1911, at North Brookfield, sent by registered mail to the Sterling Debenture corporation at New York a certain package, and also in pursuance of the conspiracy, and to effect its object, Winchell bought from Foster postage stamps to the value of $200.

In a second count the indictment charges that the defendants unlawfully conspired to commit an offense against the United States, specified to be an offense denounced by § 206 of the act of March 4, 1909, entitled, 'An Act to Codify, Revise, and Amend the Penal Laws of the United States' [35 Stat. at L. 1128, chap. 321, U. S. Comp. Stat. Supp. 1911, p. 1649], in that Foster, as such postmaster, should, in violation of the section, knowingly and fraudulently increase Foster's salary and compensation by knowingly and fraudulently failing to report, in the report or the gross receipts of his office required by law and the regulations of the Postoffice Department, large and irregular sales of stamps to be made by Foster to Winchell as president and general manager of the Oxford Linen Mills, not to be used by that corporation, or by Winchell, or by any other person for the mailing of matter at the North Brookfield office, but to be used for mailing matter at New York or in some other office other than the North Brookfield office, with the intent and for the purpose of increasing the compensation of Foster as such postmaster. That in pursuance of such conspiracy Winchell, on June 2, 1911, purchased stamps of the value of $200.

In pursuance of the conspiracy and to effect its object, Foster, on the 1st of July, 1911, made a false return to the Auditor of the Postoffice Department of the gross receipts of his office. An overt act by Winchell is charged.

The defendants were duly arraigned and pleaded not guilty, but subsequently withdrew their pleas of not guilty and filed demurrers to the indictment.

The grounds of demurrer were the same as to both counts, and were: (1) The facts alleged did not constitute a crime; (2) nor an offense at common law; (3) nor a violation of the statutes or penal laws of the United States; (4) nor a violation of any valid regulation of the Postmaster General; (5) each and every one of his regulations is invalid.

The demurrers to the first count were sustained on the ground expressed by the court in its opinion, that the act of March 3, 1883 (22 Stat. at L. 600, chap. 142, U. S. Comp. Stat. 1901, p. 2619), provides that the salaries of postmasters of the second class shall be determined by the gross receipts of the office, and that the Postmaster General had no power to qualify the requirement of the law by providing that unusual sales of stamps should not be included in estimating the gross receipts.

In passing upon the demurrers to the second count the court said that the count charged the defendants with a conspiracy to commit 'the offense denounced by § 206 of the Criminal Code,' that section providing, inter alia, that whoever, being a postmaster, shall, for the purpose of fraudulently increasing his compensation, make a false return, statement, or account to any officer of the United States, shall be punished. The crime denounced, the court said, included 'two essential elements: (1) that a return shall be made, which was known to be false; and (2) that such false return shall have been made 'for the purpose of fraudulently increasing compensation." And the court observed that...