The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1879-01-23
Alleged Crookedness.

Tho following affidavit has awakened
considerable fiuttering in official circles:
state Of Oregon, county of MultnO-
man, IS; l, Hillary Cason, Of East
forllahd, IN the county of Multnomah
ana state OF Oregon, being duly sworn,
uepose ana say: | am the duly ap-
pointed Janltor Of the United States post
once at Portland, Oregon, and have
heIu saiu position as such jauitor con-
tlnuously lor the three years last past.
nave uhrestralned access to the iute-
rlor oI the post Office at Portland, afore-
sald' ana am frequently aud daily re-
quired there in the pursuance of my du-
ties as janitor aforesaid.
Ia the month of August. ISIS I sayv
certain large numbers of documents or
packets addressed 10 persons resident in
Portland, Oregon, sealed and bearing the
frank OF J. II. Mitchell, L. :. Senator
and having on the left hand upper cor
ner the words printed, "Part Of Cong.
Record. Free Senate, L. =" These
packets or documents appeared TO be
printed speeches from their similarity
10 some packets in my possession. At
the same time, / saw one Of the post of
flee clerks, Page Stephens by name, AS
sorting some of these packets, laying
them in two piles or parcels, large pile
aud small pile, and ! saw, at the same
time, in the fire CRATE near by, a large
quantity of similar packets or docu-
ments which had been set fire To and
were burning. | took one Of the pack
cts from the fire-grate aud examined il.
IL was printed Speech of Hon. John
ii. Mitchell, OF Oregon, in the Senate of
the United States. Nav %, lS7S,n en-
titled, 'Ihe Columbia River. Its Free
dom must be established; the Monopoly
OF the Oregon Steam Navigation must
be Broken; the Canal aud Locks at the
Cascades must be completed" This
packet had been sealed and franked aud
endorsed as hereinbefoTe described
asked Page Stephens, the clerk afore-
said, why he was asserting these
speeches, and why some of the speeches
were being burned and destroyed Instead
OF being delivered or sent to the person
TO whom addressed. He said in reply
that the speeches or packets were to be
distributed TO those addressed who had
post Office boxes, and that the speeches
or packets in the large pile were To per-
sons having no boxes, and were To be
burned, because "it would he an endless
job TO deliver them" and "they would
do no good anyway" / then asked
him (Stephensl why the packets or
speeches that were not to be delivered
were not put in the waste paper sack
aud disposed Of as waste paper. He re-
piled that "sOme one might see them
aud make fuss about it,"
Subsequently | spoke to Mr.. Van
Houten, the night clerk, on the same
subject, aud asked him why these
speeches were not delivered the same as
other mail matter was, and he said in
reply, because the addresses on the
speeches 'were taken from an old
city directory-four or five years old
and that most Of the persons addressed
bad moved away" This / know was
not the case, because | saw many pack
cts, or speeches, or documents which ap-
peared TO he such, addressed to men
whom / met and still meet frequently
IN this city and East Portland, aud " no
then and still do reside in this city and
vicinity among others were Never &
Frank, James Lotan, Thomas Parrott.
and many others whose names do not
at this moment recall. Some of the
speeches intended TO be DESTROYED, ac-
cOrdiug to Stephens statement. / have
now In my possession.
In the month OF October, 1878. after
Senator Mitchell's departure from Port
land, aud just prior 10 the arrival of
Postmaster General Key, / again saw
large quantities Of similar packets burn
lug IN the tire-grate in the post office;
these packets were also sealed, aud were
iranked by J. II. Mitchell, L. =. Sena-
tor, aud endorsed as before described.
aud were addressed to persons resident
IN Portland, Oregon, and vicinity. At
various other times during tue months
oi August, Septemberaud October, 1875.
| saw packets or documents as before
described, burning in the fire-grate in
tie Aforesaid post Office. In the month
OF August 1878, such packets were
burned frequently, in large quantities,
and almost continuously.
On the 24th Of December, 1878 to-
day, / saw, remaining undistributed in
the said post Office, sack about three
fourths full of such packets or docu-
mentsi in all respects similar to the
packets hereinbefOre described. Chit
tenden, deputy postmaster, called my
attention ia it and said he did not know
how it came there. | said 10 him that
previously a lot of such packets or doc
uments or speeches had been burned.
lie said yes, they were burned, but those
had never been assorted. He told me
to take this lot of packets or speeches
down TO Pittock's. Pittock buys all the
waste paper from the post office.
know, from personal observtion, that
George +. Cole, the postmaster, was i'm
the general office daily aud many times
day during the time that the packets
or speeches hereiubefore severalIy de-
seribed were burned, and that il would
not have been possible for the said pack
cts or speeches to have been destroyed
In the manner hereinbefore described,
without his knowledge of the fact.
HILLARY CASON.
Subscribed aud sworn to this 24th day
Of December, 1873.