Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-03-19
The Star Route Service.


mail service by stage routes across the Western
and Southwestern plains,-a service in which
the mail contractors make greater fortunes,
and in which Uncle Sam is more remorss-
lessly fleeced, perhaps. than any other. The
money is made. and the public treasury
plundered, by collusion between the contrac-
tors and some of the officials of the Postofdcs
Department. The routes are supposed to be
let by contract to the lowest responsible bid
der but the terms Of the original contract
in many cases have no relation whatever to
the actual compensation allowed and paid.
A case was mentioned in the debate in the
House, in which stage mail route WAS let
to a contractor for 50, $50 year and imme-
diately, without advertisement, without
opening the matter to anybody to come in
and compete, but by an arbitrary order from
the second assistant postmaster-general,th the
contractor was allowed s136, 900 q year a.
extra compensation. The member who al
luded TO this case, said it was but one Of
scores of such, which he could mention
He presented table prepared from official
data, showing that on twelve stage routes
named the contract price Of carrying the
mails was S24s, 325, and that during the past
twelve or thirteen months the cost OF the
service to the Department on those routes
had been increased to 81, 1873, 161-or more
than quadrupled. On no less than ons hun
4 % awtro ,orno
allowed to the amount of over S5, 900 apiece
year. There are four routes on which the
increase within year or little more has
been $4,000. The total receipts on those
four routes IN one year closing last Septcn-
Der were S64, 600. The total expenditures
upon the four routes was over S700, 900.
That this sort of thing has been going on for
years, is no secret at Washington. The
matter was brought up afresh by the recsnt
modest request of the Postoffice Department
for an appropriation of $4,000, COO to make
up deficiency heretofore carefully conceal
cd from Congress and the public-occasioned
by these enormously and improperly increas-
ed expenditures in the Star route service.
General Hawley, in the speech from which
we have quoted a sentence. expressed the
utmost astonishment and indignation at this
unlawful exceeding of the appropriations.
He said
There was a law that the Department was
not to exceed the amount of the appropria-
ton, and whether a penalty OF impeach-
ment was attached to it or not, it was an order
4 z@Nr- 90 Nnfa
which good servant OF the Government was
bound to obey. The Department had re-
ceived all the appropriations it asked Tor.
| Congress had sat through an extra session.
| and not a word had been sad about de-
| ficicncy, or as to the growth Of the service.
but when il had assembled at the beginning
| Of the present session, it had been met by
report of the postmaster -genersl-no, not met,
| for he made no mention of q deficiency for
| the present wear in his annual report.
A month afterward, however, a brief
statement had been received from
| the second assistant postmaster general
asking for..S2, ,000, 900. There had hardly been
the courtesy of an explanation. He (Hswley)
wanted to call attention to this open, defiant
and shameless infraction of the solemn stat
utes of the United States There was
deficiency amounting to "a per cent Of the
amount of the original appropriation which
the postmaster-general had been ordered to
remain within. The second assistant post
aster-general had said that the department
would cut down the service so that there
should be none if Congress would not
make the appropriation. Could any ofncer
escape impeachment by that course! de
thought not. To act in that way was to in
suit the legislative body and to put thumb
screw on every member of Congress. He
had no desire to cripple the service in the
West He would willingly vote for its in
crease. He spoke for fair, manly, obedient
administration of law. The servants OF Con-
gress had not obeyed its orders, and Congress
must mend the matter without hurting the
people and then deal with them as it pleased.
A bill is before Congress, aud we trust will
become law, which puts back the original
contract terms on every Star post route in
the country where extra compensation Of
more than S5 900 has been allowed during
the current year If this becomes a law it
will safe 81, 600, 600 a year of the excess and
deficiency Congress should also, the sooner
the better, put limit to the discretion allow
ed the Second Assistant PostmasterG General
to increase the amount of service on any
route he chooses and to still more largely in
crease the compensation therefor. The only
excuse offered for the Second Assistant Post
master Generals reckless and extravagant
action, was that it was done under pressure
from Congressman and there was call IN
the debate for the names of the Congress
men but they were not mentioned. The
House has, however, ordered an investigs-
ton of the Star route business which is now
in progress and which, it is to be hoped,
will disclose fully, as some previous investi-
cations have in part, the true inwardness and
extent OF these mail-contract plunderings OF
the Treasury.
A little episode connected with the matter
is related in Washington letters. heavy
Star route mail contractor, named Salisbury,
sent letter to the Committee on Appropria-
tions, in which he denounced the action OF
the House as extraordinary and unjust and
appealed for an opportunity to make per
sonal explanation. lie had the brass to pro-
nounce the charge that there were contrac-
tors rings, to be absolutely false, and assert
ed that the course Of the House was largely
influenced by u newspaper combination,
whose attempts al blackmail he had repelled-
The author of this very virtuous letter was
summoned before the Committee on Appro-
priations and accorded the personal hearing
for which he asked. Subjected to rigid
discrimination by Messrs. Blount, Hsw'
ley and others, Mr.. Salisbury wilted COM
p.etcy. Tie admitted that he had no basis
for his charge of newspaper combination,
and finally confessed that he did not write
the letter ut all, but that il was the work oil
his attorney. Col. John Mckibben, notori-
GUS lobbyist and msil contractors agent,
whose name is not wholly unfamiliar to Yer
monters. in connection with mail contracts
and Congressional inve stigations. And now
sir" said Il member of the committee, ''as 8
result of this examination it turns out tina!
there is not L paragraph, nor sentence, nol
a SYLLABLE. nor u word OF your letter that Is
not absolutely false" and the witness an
syered, You can have it that way if you
! like. IL Is stated ihat INC iePois Vi 'H~
committee investigating the Star service de
icicncv will severely censure the Postoffice
officials, and probably recommend Second
Assistant Postmaster General Bradley's i'm
parchment.
SOME time since the Canadian government
complained that the United States were send
inv into Canada cattle diseased with pleuro
pneumonia, and that they were spreading
the infection among Canadian herds. They
sought to remedy the alleged evil by promo
iting the admission OF cattle from the United
States The United States Treasury DE