The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1875-04-08
Fraudulent Mail Contracts
1he Departments full of
Corruption.
a u. S. Senator and q u. S.
Marshal Involved.
The Connecticut Election
Explained.
Fred Grant and Boss Shep-
herd.

WASHINGTON, April THE postofice
department, In recent Investigation, has
unearthed vein of corruption that bids
fair to pan out rich, for some time vet.
Postmaster General Jewell has no end of
trouble in putting down straw bidders, but
there appears to haye been large element
of corruption back even of the straw b; d
system, that has only just been discovered.
The system of fraud in obtaining the con.
tracts appears to have extended over a Sc
ries of years. The investigation thus far
has been confined to only one state-that
of Texas. 1t will be continued in search
OF frauds IN the contracts for mail carrying
in other states. The contracts and bids
forthe mail service in each state are kept
IN separate rooms. The investigation has
thus far shown that the present contractors
tor mail service in Texas, through
CoLLUsIoN WITH DEPARTMENT CLERKS
and watchmen, have had skeleton KEYS
furnished them so that they could gain ac-
cess to the room the bids were kept in,
After the regular bids had been opened,
they were stamped by stamp containing
the initial of the first and second assistant
postmasters general. The contractors who
obtained unlawful entry to the Texas con-
tract room examined the contracts and
were thus enabled to put in contracts con-
tanning lower figures. The clerk by the
name of Challen, procured wax impress
sion OF the regular stamp, and, with this,
had counterfeit stamp made. This was
: used in giving the fraudulent bids regu-
: lar appearance, and upon these spuri-
GUS bids numerous contracts had
;. been awarded
!. The investigation has been secretly go
8 ing on Tor the past three weeks. The cause
d OF Its being begun was an anonymous let
n ter. This letter was the inspiration ot
y some
;. OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES MORTAL,
who had come into possession of few fact
and he jotted them down and sent them tt
;, Mr. Jewell. This letter stated that thu
u mail carrying in Texas was principally don,
by fraudulent contractors. and said that i
the department would summon one Kettle
Texas contractor, that might scare som,
! of the truth out of him. 1t also directed
the department to Baltimore engraver
l by whom,i was said, the counterfeit staml
was made Kettle was arrested, and b.
''squealed." He said that if the depart
ment would ''let up on him for his shar
in the fraudulent contracts, he would tel
all he knew. Meanwhile the department
e authorities looked in Baltimore for evi
dence OF
THE COUNTERFEIT STAMP.
but were not successful there. Finally
! one LortZ, an engraver in this city, wa
discovered to have been the man who fur
ne nished the stamp to the clerk, Challer
r The manner of conducting the examina
an tion was as follows: Kettle, when brough
4 u here, knew none of the clerks names
Of 70 identify these clerks, Kettle was place
* Se in a small room, with detective, adjaceI
lr- to the second assistant postmaster genel
ry ais room, The clerks employed in tn
Texas room were then brought in, and tn
ones that we're known by Kettle to hay
been in colusion with the contractors wei
IN pointed out by him. These clerks wei
IS. then charged directly with the fraud, an
nearly all of them confessed.
From evidence thus far discovered,it al
a. a. pears that there 80
In FRAUDULENT CONTRACTS
he he held by man by the name of Idding
nel seven by Laughlin, and two by Hind
aI
Ali Floyd, received $4,000 for his services
mi nj, Chalen, who procured the fraudule
IL stamp, $500; Colt, another clerk, $4O(
NE Rotherock, watchman, $50; Van Blac
,fs' clerk in the auditors office, receiy
$llO.
There is not any certainty that all Il
.,o fraudulent contracts have been discovere
VS. Kettle says he has seen baskets full
Is false bids, upon which contracts have be
awarded, the 40 contracts that have
ready been thrown out do not by a
of means account for the quantity testified
'ne by Kettle.
tier A SENATOR AND A UNITED STATES Ma
isl SHAL INVOLVED.
lent One of the best points about the ex,
len sure is, that it duplicates not only
'nic department clerks. but also a senat
@ar @nd Spencer. of Alabama, the -bookkeel
der, of New York, who is of the weakest timl
iev- from which bad men are generally ma
liant appears to be responsible for the supp
sed, of the man who, Kettle says. was at
70 II Il head of the contractors in putting in fir;
Pull dulent bids This man to whom Ket
lngs refers, Jerome G. Kinds. was c
. As tractor here, in partnership with Kirtla
per in the days of the reign of the Distl
nee, ice, ring. The education he obtained tt
seems to have served him in this busine
gists He vigorously denies any knowledge
- these fraudulent bids, but Kettle swe
: that he was one OF the principal ones il
-. CoRRUpTING THE CLERKS,
and was an actulal party in the fraudul
r. stamping of the bids The stamping
u Kettles was done in Kinds own ro,
- one Sunday evening, Kinds holding
ribbon while a clerk worked the stal
Kinds has been appointed United Sta
. marshal in Alabama, since the adjou
~ ment of congress, through the lnfuenc
w Senator Spencer, and is an intimate a
g ciate of his.
- The investigation of the department
intended to have been kept secret
some time longer, until other rooms
be investigated. to discover further fra
m supposed to exist in other contract roo
THE AMOUNT OF THE PLUMBER.
oo The contracts for carrying the mails
Texas amount to several hundred tn
- and dollars, and large number of
" contracts are fraudulent ones.
The investigation will be most earn