The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1878-02-15
wAslnsoroS, D. q, Jan. %

/ AhH arrangement OF the mail service
Of the United States, and placing tho
same under contract, embracing all cor
resPondence and orders respecting the
frequency of mails, modes Of convey
anee, and time of departures and arri
walls on all the routes, the course Of the
mails between different localities, the
points Of distribution, and all the regu-
lations of the domestic mail service, are
under the control of the Second As
sistant Postmaster General. In his Of
flee are prepared advertisements for mail
proposals he receives the bids, and has
charge Of the annual and occasional
mail lettings as well as The adjustment
and execution Of the contracts. From
this office all postmasters at tho end Of
routes receive directions for mail ar
r.ngements prepared for the respective
routes. The Second Asst. p. M. c.,
through his clerks, reports weekly to
the Treasury Department all contracts
entered into aud all orders affecting the
accounts for mail transportation pre-
pares the statistical exhibits Of the mail
service, and The reports to Congress of
mail lettings, giving statement of each
bid also of the contracts made, the
new service originated, the curlailments
ordered, and the additional allowances
granted within the year. To this office
belong certain duties Of inspection and
mail equipmetit but / will pass them
by for the present, in order to have
more space for my object the exposure
of crookedness and gross extravagance
in the management of this division of
the General Postoflice Department.
Contracts on what is known as the
stan (all service except by railroad is
called "star service, and it is /. general
name applied to the service by horse,
stage-coach, steamboat, etc service are
let in one section of tne United States
for four years The States aud Terri
tories are then divided into four classes,
or sections, ono Of which is advertised
to let each spring. For instance. the
whole of New England was Let last
spring, and the Southwestern States are
now under advertisements Bids are to
be returned 10y February 18th. have
before me blank q proposal" covering
three pages of ordinary foolseap, with
proposal of bidder: oath required by
Act of Congress, June "a, 1874; bond
that has to be executed by the bidder
oath of sureties certificate of postmas-
ter at the home of the bidder, and ques-
tions to be answered by the bidder.
These blanks, which can be obtained
free by writing to the Postmaster Cen
eral at Washington, arc prefacee by the
words: Proposals altered by crasures
or interlineations of the route, the ser
vice, the yearly pay, or the name Of the
bidder, will not be considered"
HOW THE RING WINS.
The apparent design of the law is to
secure the contracts to local bidders, as
far as possible, but the bids have to be
prepared with so much formality and
red tape, and the printed forms are such
abstruse papers, that they are unintel-
hgible to the average applicant, hence
great many honest bids are thrown out
for defect in noncompliance with some
legal form. There IS a po,cerful ring an
| H'asLingson thai bids on erery aossse az
the United States and never makes any
technical mistakes, and large share of
mail routes fall to them at very cxtrav-
.agant figures, because of scme slight in
formality in the papers of some bona
file local bidders.
The law, whieh was perhaps lobbied
through by the ring, should allow bids
to be sent back for amendment when
they are only technically defective, for
there are few people who can FIJI out
one of those bids and not make some
mistake. The Ring obviates all diff
culties by having it's bids printed.
One of the requirements of the bid
is bond secured by apledge of real es-
tate which must be scheduled and sworn
to. For instance, if the bond is $500,
it is secured by 81 900 of farming lands,
We viii say, in Kansas, The object is
to have security for the performance of
the terms of the contract But, incred-
ible as it may appear, the same $1,000
may be hypothecated as security for
every bid made, or in other words ne
possessor of a few hundred dollars worth
of doubtful lands may pledge and re-
pledge them ad i,,f5tituns in bidding on
every mail route in the United States
, OF course, if he fails on one route, and
the security is exhausted, the Govern
ment has no security for the 100 other
routes that may remain in his name.
With these advantages Ring, hav-
ing no responsibility, secures most of
the mail contracts, and they secure