The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-03-21
VOL. XLllI.-N0, 1870.
THE POST OFFICE FRAUDS.
THE SYSTEM or STRAW BIDDING
UNDER y. 4. j. CRES " Ell.
She suns Chnrac- Of Four Years Ase sns-
tanned bv sworn Testimony The Opera
tIon- Of the Firm Of nnriow Il Sanderson
How several Contracts were Awarded

rhe suns Chnruc- Of Four Years Age rur-
tanned bv sworn Testimony The Opera
tion. Of the Firm Of nnrlow n Sanderson
stow several Confracts were Awarded
wAsutSaroN. MARCEL 2D.-The testimony
OF Bradley Barlow before the Post once Com
nIttee to-day shows that he bss paid to diher-
,nt persona about Washington for their innu-
ence with Congressman and Post Ofice omciaN
10 the ne chborhood OF 100000. IT, addition 10
paving Col. W. II. Farrar about $1,000 stop tho
investigation OF 1872, he also paid Morgan h'
Smith. the brother of Giles =. smith, thSh Scc-
ond Assistant POstmaster-G General. about S-VVVo
Thomas Hood, now Auditor Of the supreme
court Of the District Of Columbia, got Ris"
deal OF money between slocOO and S2OOV-
and Geo. Earle, Crcswells law partner, Ro'
f5.OOo or $1,000 also. Barlow thought that the
money mid TO Fatrar was well stent. because II
practically stopped the invcstieaton witnesses
were kept out Of the way OF the Sergeant lat
Armstni hence the committee could not get the
Information II wanted.
The minority Of the committee In their report
expressly charge that witnesses euded the pro-
cess # the Sergcant-at-Arms, but enough evil
dence wos, in their opinion, before the commit
tee to sustain all the charges which had been
made about the letting Of contracts for mail ser
vice In tue southwest. and ais IN California,
Org ,n and the Terri 'ories. The facts ms devei-
op, d. they claimed, established that straw bid
ding dtd not exist 10 any serious extent prior TO
the advent OF Creswel In the Post once Depart
ment but that II b came a sybtematized practice
inter nt. Naturalization. The evidence of this
and other abuses, they argued, was WIN
ports OF io6g-50. and lSIU1l There was ample
time after the lettings IA march, ISL 70
rnnira-ts we're executed in the following June.
Tie minority report says, In tho Following EN- -
phstic aneuase mere qra eh,'t Al ihs Xnpth
west and Southwest Is apparent from an
examination ~ the records, an Is sm-taneu ny
f.INa - AZ n
General and tie Second Assistant Postmaster
General. Tho records Of the route from qro-
vile to Portl and, and from Ncrril 10 Los
Angeles Ii wing reen put in evidence exhibit
tho fact hat there were straw bidders on eAch,
sach case secured those important routes 70
the sam contractor. the failures Of service IN
Texas and Arkansas PRODUCED Tue sanle result
in favor Il the old c7ntractors."
Tbo m nority further showed that the defence
Ing to nscrmd tho scaled bids vas q mere subter-
fuRe to eyade responsibility theretor. ne
claimed That he had oh aimed AN opinion ~ the
Attorney GENERAL. which was to the effect that
the law commanded hi n not TO DO other"se.
The min lrity report FIRST provo that The uniform
practice OF the department had been otherwise
during long series Of wears. and then goes on
to show, 10y testimony Of the then Senator Geo.
II. Williams, that the opinion OF Attorney-5en-
eral Acketman was not given until sixteen DAYS
after Cr, swell bad Determined ana 9ino,s'iE t an
nounced his purpose not TO ascend tle s'ae'
they also showed that CresN ell had twice Nio-
lated the law In letting the route rom OrovlIe'
Cal to Portland. Oregon. whereby the Govern
ment lost nearly 81 20o0OO In short, the evidence
of Bari wv given On saturday anu TO-DAY SHOWS
IN I the minority OF the Post Once Committee
Of 1872 were rgnt in every position they as
sumed, aud thai they did not make single as
sertlon which was not warranted by the facts.
They exposed thoroughly the frauds 10 the con-
tracts given to b. H. Peterson IN the Sout est
a. they cid those OF Barlow In the Northwest,
but the ma jority Of the committee would not
listen to their Democratic colleagues, and the
Slindly I'm the wake of their members on the
committee. and whtewashed Creswell and gave
In Is;4. few honest Democratic members OF
CONGRESS-. ike Stone OF Misso"ri, Luttrell OF
tempted to have these same frauds investie ted,
but nothing could be nccomrlshed 80 long as
the Republicans controlled the House OF hep
In the face of all these repeated failures, rHE
SUN undertook the work OF bringingt 10 gtle
the men who had dened the Congressional IN
vestigations. finally succeeded IN 1on.lnSan. % n
Depart ment were as bare us those OF any OF th'
other departments OF the Government, and oh'
order their investigation. The Post ONCE Com
mittee has simply 10 follow the course marked
by com pellinz the production OF the Official rec
ords and examining tho witnesses u lnulcated
Barlow ad limited that he had been In the habi
of putting in straw bids In the name of hi
daughter, hts son-ln.law. and the cashier OF ~
rila to Les Angeles he put In bid in the nam,
of his daughter for $ll2UO while be himsel
bid tlsiOH for ,wce Nv week service; ssrTpcs %el
whicn was S0SOO for twice a week ser
vice. seely,s attorney was was present at s, ts
twice a week for 5000. The contract wa
awarded TO barlow at Sl24,OOO, the bid OF III
daughter. and all Others lower than that beiD.
Withdrawn through his influence. He In hor
time managed to have the pay incre scd u
s2l2,OO per annum. He practsed the same sor
OF tricks TO secure the great routes IN the North
west like those from Boise CITY tOWinnamucca
and from keltOn to the Dallas, Tor which b.
paid heavy bonuses At the last letting he pai'
Thompson. the lately appointed Governor Q
Idaho Territory, $4,000 to withdraw bis BID Il
the kelton route.
Is rlow also testified that be had been In IN
hahit Of buying on bidders on routes that b
| wished to secure. He paid Grant IagRaIl
| Clerk of the Supreme Court Of alitornia, an
several other friends Of Eni-S sargent. laTg
sums Of money at different times TO WITHDRAW
their bids on routes in California. The none
be paid T. Earle was 10 enable him tBarlow)
get at Creswel at all times and TO secure til
most favorable terms. He did not want any
wrongJ for the world but he thought
was good polite piece OF business I
retain Crrswelis former law partner
ne same reasons inhu-n ed him to pa
Morgan l.. Smith large sums of money. lie wa
ths brother II tho Second Assistant Postmaste e
General, and although he did not want him I
o. anything, he thought 1t was not thrown
money away to lon him good deal OF II witt
out ever expecting TO get IL back. To To-
Hood he p.id money, and a good deal OF II. b'
cause he was generally useful. He was sma
enc hc-idcs in the department. He gave a spa
ot uOr,,s TO man named Brown, who was
clerk in the cpntrac, office, and he, IL now al
Tesfs, ll- left the country ana L. spJournine
b oHffc 4. C.utda. barlow lately IAd him
NHit there. Tut he did not Try TO .nlu, him