New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-01-28
POstoMce Frauds.


The following is furnished by the Wash
ington correspondent of the New York
Herald;
The fraudulent contracts in the Postoffce
Department are likely to make more OF a
sensation than at first conjectured. The
enemies of Postmaster General Jewell, who
il supposed for some reason to sympathize
with General Bcistow in the alleged Cabinet
schism over the BabcOck matter, are said to
be pressing the subject with view of Great
ing as much odium for Mr.. Jewell as the
whisky scandal has caused parties at the
White House. This report is given for what
it is worth. But there is evidently an in
trigue of some kind in the revival of the
subject of these postofice frauds and their
ventilation at this late day. The fact Of
fraudulent contracts was known nearly a
year ago, at the time the February lettings
we're given out, but their extent was not
made manifest until few days ago, when
Overhauling of the pigeon-holes at the Poet
Office Department showed that every con.
tract, without exception, for the three
States of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas,
some 700 in number, had been fraudulently
executed, and will, in obedience to the law
on the subject, have to be revoked. and the
mail routes put up again for advertisement
and competition.
1t seems that the contractors and their
confederates in the Postoffice Department
became alarmed lest . discrepancy should
be discovered between the seal or stamp
affixed to their bids and the stamp on those
for routes upon which they did not wish to
compete, and that to secure uniformity in
all the bids they substituted their fraudu-
lent die for that of the POstofice Depart
ment as soon as they had made use of it
themselves. The consequence was that all
cOntracts-those awarded to the ring as
we'll as those awarded to innocent bidders
have been vitiated by the spurious stamp,
and that not . single mail route in Texas.
Louisiana or Arkansas is now operated law
fully. The money for six months work un-
der these contracts has been paid out of the
Treasury, and probably another quarter
will have been earned before the Postohice
Department can readvertise and receive
bids afresh and relet the routes.
1t is consoling to know that the govern
ment has not lost any money by these
transactions. The ring were in pursuit of
the fiat" or paying Ioutes and employed
the counterfeit stamp to secure contracts
upon these lines. To effect their design
they had ono or more confederates, very
high in the confidence Of the department
officials who had access to if not the keen
ing of the seal. 1t is said that this seal was
hawked about the streets Of Washington at |
the time the bids were being fled last win
ter, and that for q consideration, ranging
from $500 up to $500, the contractors we're
allowed to take it to their rooms at the |
hotels and boarding houses and stamp their |
bids with it, thereby evading the con-
tingency of . rejection of their bids when
they came to be passed upon: At first
Diack lnk was used in stamping the impres
SOD, out the man who peddled the stamp,
having oversold ito uee, changed the color
TO blue, and 80 compelled those of the ring |
70 Wlthdrsw their bids who had stamped |
with black ink. It was doubtless the con. |
fusion which arose from this double dealing |
within the ring that compelled the substitu, |
ton of the counterfeit stamp for ali con.
tracts and the uniform use of black INK.
The subject will come up in the House to. |
morrow by resolution, and meantime Mr..
Jewell courts an investigation. 1t is prob.
able that Mr.. French, the chief clerk Of the |
department, will be suspended, a. he was |
the keeper of the stamp, and must have |
been negligent and derelict to have suffered |
the ring to counterfeit it and handle it a. /
they did.