The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1881-11-25

That the prosecution of the star route
thieves is sham and wretched mock
cry has now become pretty evident.
Just where the responsibility lies it is
impossible to tell. The whole matter
has been managed as such things always
are, so that each managing official can
swear that some other is at fault and toss
the blame Ground from one to another
like tennis ball, and the public is left
in hopeless doubt and confusion.
TO illustrate: This week f. p. Lilly,
late deputy auditor for the treasury and
post-office departments, was arrested
charged with receiving $4,000 for secur-
ing a fraudulent mail contract for George
f. Brott. There are letters from him in
the hands of the government, showing
clearly that he was in collision with the
contractors. 1t was arranged that Brott
should turn states evidence. But when
Lilly was brought into court, Bait, the
witness, was nowhere to be found, and
so after little aimless man9vring by the
LAWYERS, the accused had to be discharg-
ed, though there was not shadow OF
doubt of his guilt. How it was done no
one seems to know. Col. Bliss says Brott
came to Washington Saturday, and he
gave orders for his arrest, so as to be sure
to have him as witness when wanted.
These orders were straigh'way known
to the whole star route ring, as is every
movement of the prosecution, and OF
course Brott was hustled out of the way.
So in the cases which were dism IS d
two weeks ago, the adjournment of the
Grand Jury, just as the statutes of limita-
tons were TO run on some OF the worst and
most easily provable of the offenses was
a deliberate trick on someb 'dy's part to
b lip II e ring. MacVeagh charged it to
Corkhill, with whom he irsis'ed he had
arranged to hold the Grand Jury til he
cou present the star route cases. Cork
hill insis'e that there had been
no such arrangement; in fact when
he asked MacVeagh if this was
to be done he was virtually told to
mind his own business. When pro-
ceeding "by information" was then in
stuffed as the only alternative, of course
it was thrown out of court as unconsti-
tutional And now it is announced that
the pro. eculing attorneys have no conf
dence in the present grand jury, and
they will wait for another to be empan-
elled Def re they will take any fresh
steps. This means simply that they will
wait till lot more of the offences are
outlawed, criminally. The publica ion
of the Redel letter at just this time also
indicates that no serious intent of prose-
cution is abandoned.
The associated press accounts of the
Lilly hearing have good deal to tell of
the chatting" of the governments law
yers by the ring counsel, at the pitiable |
fizzle of all the star route crusade. No |
doubt the ring men fee just like laugh
ing. 1t is a very relisbable joke for
them, that nearly all the office-holding
oligarchy at Washington is banded in
consl tracy to screen them from justice,
and that the President hasn't the earn
estness and vigor, if he has the desire,
% rip to pieces this whole framework of
iooling and humbug, and set an honest
afoot. Whether the tax
payers of the country, off whom these
,lunderers have fattened, will enjoy the
oke enough to continue to steadily vote
or such things, remains to be seen.