Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-03-05
FROM WASHINGTON.

The Postmaster-General has made a ma
terial concession to the lottery managers by
his recent order. previous order placed
all lotteries under the ban, the authority Civ
en- in the statute of 1872 being cited for this
purpose. But as that statute limits the &C
ton of the law to fraudulent" lottery con
Germs, the Postmaster General suddenly comes
to the conclusion that the Louisiana lottery
concern may not be fraudulent" after all
So this rich and powerful association is to be
restored to full privileges in the mails until
the appeal which the managers have taken to
the higher courts is decided. As that appeal
was taken on a decision favorable to the Post
master-General's course it is surprising that
that functionary should so precipitately aban.
don the ground which he has Just gained
There was some sharp criticism of the
management of the post Office department in
the House of Representatives last week
That department has asked for 81, 700, 600 to
supply the deficiency in the star route mail
service appropriation, and the bill under con-
sideraton recommends an appropriation of
$500, 600 aud directs reduction of the ser
vice on some of the routes west of the Missis-
sippi river, where the expenses have been in
creased to extraordinary amounts and under
suspicious circumstances by Assistant Post
master General Brady. As a matter of fact
the mail service on 1O7 routes constituting
only one-tenth Of the mileage of the star ser
vice, has been increased in cost during the
past eighteen months over -, 600, 600. and it
has become an interesting question whether
the man who has charge of the star service is
to spend all the millions he wants and then
get them voted to him in deficiency appro-
priations, or whether the post Office depart
ment like other departments Of the govern
ment, must feel some responsibility for max
ing its regular appropriations cover its expen-
ditures.
wise measure for the solution of the In
dian problem, which has been agreed upon
by the Senate committee on Indian affairs,
proposes to allot homesteads to the Indians
the titles to which shall be absolute and-for
- years-inalienab The Indians will be
placed under civil and criminal laws, having
the same footing in the courts as white men
now have. The assistance given to the In
dams by the Government is to be continued
to some extent, but only so far as may be
needful to lead them up to position of self
maintenance.
Two incidents which occurred during last
week illustrate the assurance with which PEG.
pie attempt to cheat the Government One
of these examples is the case of man who
presented q claim for compensation as a re-
cruting officer in 1862. His story was plaus-
ible as well as touching, and his bill for re-
lief was passed by the Senate in 1877. Com
ing up again for consideration, it was acct
dentaly discovered that the claim had been
paid in full long ago, so long ago that it was
thought safe by somebody, TO try it again.
The other case is that of a firm of contract
ors employed by Norman Wizard who, failing
to get their pay from him, boldly asked Con.
gress to allow their claim of SD, S2s, although
there never was any contract or bargain be-
tween them and the Government. Although
both Of these barefaced attempts to get mon.
ey from the Government were finally expos
ed, it is safe to say that other schemes, less
audacious, but equally dishonest, do succeed
without exposure.
The five per cent refunding bill, in which
eighteen States have direct pecuniary inter
est, and which takes from the national treas
ury at least four million of dollars as pot
to be divided, would not stay indefinitely
postponed, and on Friday its friends succeed.
ed in carrying motion postponing the fur.
Their consideration of the bill until December
next. Mr.. Edmunds and the other opponents
of the bill protested against this postpone
ment, declaring that the bill had been dis
cussed at length and fairly defeated but the
Senators from the States interested were SC
pathetic and so earnest in their entreaties
that a number of those who voted against the
bill on Wednesday relented and voted for the
definite postponement