, 1874-12-17
PACIFIC MAIL.
How It Got Its Subsidy in
1879.

4 History Of tho Manner in Which Con-
grcss 'Yas Manipulated.
Putting G750,00O Where It Would Do
the Most Good.
Tas1iaton tDte. 10y Correspondence Of tic Hs'' rore
rho investigation of ST. lilo rpc',lo Mail job,
which wns put through Congress In tho aoeoha
sesson Of tho rorty-soeond Congress, ia fairly
under way.
Along In tho fall OF 1871 tho notion Of amply
Ing to Congress for m additional subsidy for lilo
Pacific Alail occurred 10 Stocl;wcll, ClowH and
othors. Tlley had effected strong combination
with stoclt-jolbcrs WHO had important connoc-
touH ut Washington, aud Ind interested; many
OF tho srowtlcst lobbylats III the National Cnpi-
tai. Their plan waH to uso tho ConpAny's
money tn buy IN tllo stock in large blocha mud
thus bull Il to 65 or co. TAen thoy would
say to their agents III Washington,
"You cau put me1nbcra of Congress- In
our pool at A7 anh 80, and we will carry tho ntock
for thom without sny margins. II os,r subsidy
Job goes through, our stock will go up to u or
so, mud they will mako biz plos. They must
keop lis posted nj tim time; aud II tl1cro ia n
certainty Of our job bcing dcfeated. VIC, having
tho nows earlier than anybody else, can soil
short, and thnR aayo ourselves iD any event, md
possibly mako handsome tarn. RI We 20
through, everybody will ranlize largo profits, und,
IN tho event of oil investigation, there viii be no
danger Of nuybody being hurt. for all The opera
tious ;u stock will bp made with tho Com
o,,,v,a n,orav t,,ro,,ob ronu,,ertio, h,ohor.
Aonoy $'''osA eo'aon."', "Ao.", ..',,
mud tho only cnsrlas OIL onr eooEB VIII
ba 10 mitch invested III stock. md 40 much real
lied for aateB thereof. II members wish to carry
on their opelations outnido Of the Company. of
coulgo they lavo their confidential hroknra
through whom tLov can transact their brsiuosg,
and nobody will over 10 any tho wtscr." This
latter plau. howovor, would nccossltatc tho put.
ting up Of marginH by the htock-gaMb1ing and
sote-aelng conereafmen; aud, willie it was the
Bsfcr iu onu respect, 1t was ut tho Fa,ne tf1no
moro risky III another. Tl,oro wcro, OF course.
o lot OF cs.eap Congressman WHO would have 10
ho bought outright for cash. ThaHo we,o prtn-
with 4 few Nor!lorn Radicals aud Democrats; !;
but they wcro oil sinnil-rriccd follows, who hover
cost more thnn 9.ooo or 8 o!ll) apiece aad nomo
OF tholn going as low Us 81 700.
This WAS t1,s aehon,s iu IT'S original conception,
but lator 1t was found necessary TINT tic Jobs
should havo tho tndorsonlont or tho NAVY De-
part1nent, and thoro was only orlo man who
aud that man was John Roach Whether JoLl
struck tho Company and forced himself into tie
job, or whether llo was sought aud enticed III. I
do not know, but certain it III ho got iI. For
many yenrs he has been seen about tho Nary
Department, chatting pleasantly with evosybody
Of importance, and, wloncyor favorable oppor-
t11njtv offered, alfpping into Secretary Robeaons
private Office, whore he always was ss'ro of o
warm welcome and long interview. When
Congress il in session. you aro certain to see Old
Johnny. ns ho ia fan1iiarly cailed, Fitting about
tla corridors OF the Capitol, frat OH tic UonRo
aido anl then Oh tla Senate popping In tlis
conlmitteo-roonl altd tlei out and into another.
lie In Oh tho very best tel1ns with NIL tho coni-
nltseo olorka, anti Door-Kccpers, and eccrc.
taricB and Representatives. como st hia beck and
call, He ia wonderful genius III a lobbyist.
Indeed. he Is 4 remarkable man in many ways.
He IL not get mn old man. and Ia the owner Of
two ahip-Iulding establishments. rlvnliug tho
famous shfp-yarJs OF tho Clyde. lIis great
hobby is tho revival Ct American commerce aud
American Bhip-hnllalnE. lie Heels to convince
ono that the who!e aiu, Of his Ito has becn to
10 bnilt in the United States tha'. guy ether
country. Flo ID just tho mail to coil
ceivo 4 job like this. 1t WIS Ia LIS
line to rovive American commerce anu
receiving subsidy Of half . million annna!y;
from tho Government. Why not mako it round
million, and increase tho service to Beml-HOlltAy
tripa with A,nerican-built atea1ncra OF 1000 tonB
burden? Irwin tayH positively TINT Roach TO-
ceivad 4200, 900 III confederation Of His lobby
services. with tho understanding that this was tu
70 OIL tho books as payEclt OH ships After
ward to bo built, tho price of which waH to be
lpora enough to .io soyer thia ann Ien, too,
tho laW provides tAat IT, tue service shall DO por.
formed III Hhip1 Of d 0o0 tons burden, and MS tue
Company md none of this tonnage. OF courHc they
had to bo built. ln tho thfrd place, 1t was noto-
rious that 1soach wns in Washington actively
working III tho interest OF tho Pnc,ito blail sub
afdy i'll tho spring and summer OF 1872.
IRWIN.
13nt lot 11s look after tho principal agent OF the
Company at Washington, hr. Richard i. Irwin.
Twenty yoars ago ho WIS clerk in tho War De-
pnrtment, and came originally, helicvo, from
1ouisyillo. Ky. He 'rlted to tho Pacific coast q
few years ago. and, BY chanees got into tho em'
ploy OF the Paciic Mail office in San Francisco
iIo had had experience in Washington, and
Stockwcll thought llo waa just tho 1nau for tho
management Of their Interests here. He Ger.
tainly waH o clevor manlpuiator Tor hut Tow
peopla ever discovered what his business wat