Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-05-10

Tor SIX trips, 81, s'e0 for seven trips. What
shall do? +. r. Wilcox.
| To this the following answer was returned;
WASHINGTON I'D. C.). June II, 1879.
+. X. Wilcox: You may give 81, 800 for
one trip. 5000 for three trips, $S, 400 for six
trips, 1000 for seventpips.
s. W. DORSEY.
Wilcox replied on tbe-sszAe day: "Your
figures are impossible. Mine OF yesterday are
the lowest 1 can get.r The contract was
closed at 81 900 for six trips.
Though Dorsey telegraphed Wilcox that
he was interested only in the Bridge Creek
and Looking-glass routes in Oregon, the
statement is probably to be understood only
as a notice to Wilcox that these were the only
routes that he tWilcox) was to work upon, for
THE GREATEST swINDss or ALL
Is in the route from The Dalles, to Baker City,
via Canyon City, which stands,also in name
of J. W, Peck, Dorsey's brother-in-law.
Already there was route from The Dalles
to Baker City. via Pendleton azaags Grande,
parallel with this one, which carried and
still carries all the mails between the two
points. This route from The DsAes to Baker
City, via Canyon City, was, however, under
the manipulations of the ring, increased to
service of six times week, which. Is wholly
unnecessary, and the pay was raised from
IS, ,2SS toS72. $50. j. NJ. Peck alsohas another
expedited route. viz: from Canyon City to
Camp McDermitt, most of the way through
country without population, and incapable
of sustaining any. This route was expedited
from 80, SSS to S21, 500. J. w. Dorsey, q
brother of S. w. Dorsey, has the contract on
the route from The Dalles to Lakeziew, in
Southern Oregon, which route also was ex-
pedited from SS,OsS to S2O,3O0. 1t Is prob
able, therefore, that Wilcox had change of
only small part of the business of the Dor
sey ring in Oregon.
COMMENTS ON THE FRAUDS.
The O7egoniaR Of tomorrow will say Of
the developments in the star route frauds :
Ex-senator Dorsey will hardly ask the Post.
master. General now to write letter eEoner
ating him. George A. Steel, who has been
nominated for the Postmastership of Port
land, was Special Agent of the Possofice
Department for Oregon, Washington and
Idaho at the time when the star service was
so largely expedited and the pay on many
routes so immensely and fraudulentlY in
creased. He knew all about these transac-
tions, as he had his attention called to them,
and especially to the route from The Dalles
to Baker City, via Canyon City. which route
was expedited from SIS, 2SS to s72,520. 1t
would now be pertinent inquiry to learn
what was the nature of his reports to the
Department on these routes, and what re-
commentators he made. Did he help the
contractors to work up these routes, and
get their enormous increase of pay, or
did he expose the iniquities to the
Department? Just now, since be expects to
be Postmaster of Portland, these are peril
nent inquiries. We venture the opinion, and
that without special hazard, that as Post
Office official, he threw no obstacles in the
way of the expediting contractors.
THE SUIT AT DENVER.
This history explains fully the dispatches
from Denver. which gave an outline of Dor
sey's letters to Wilcox The suit was begun
at Denver, for the reason that plaintiff was
able to get service on Dorsey there. Wilcox
is now in Oregon. The attorney who sent
the claim from Portland to Denver to be sued
is J. HI. Woodward, formerly County Judge
of this (Multnomah) county. Wilcox claims
pay from Dorsey according to the original
agreement, that is, IS day and expenses,
for which he says satisfaction has been re.
fused him.
Ever since this investigation begun at
Washington ex-senator Dorsey has been de-
nying most resolutelY that he ever had any.
thing to do with the star routes He has
made many statements to agents of the Asso-
ciated Press, and is said to have written one
letter of denial and to have promised another.
FURTHER PROTESTS UNNECESSARY.
This exposure will render further protests
or explanations on his part unnecessary. The
originals of the documents printed above are
here in the custody of the agent of the Asso-
ciated Press. The whole forms the most in
teresting chapter yet furnished in the history
of the star route transactions. The exposure
of Dorsey's Jobs gives the key to the whole of
this infamous business. Contracts for weekly
service on routes were taken a. prices which
defeated all honest bidding, and then agents
were sent out at once to notify the few people
who might be found on each route that they
had not mail facilities enough, and to urge
them to sign petitions which the ring had
prepared for an increase of service. If no
genuine signsrs could be found, names were
to be had anyhow, though Of course" as
Dorsey wrote. you want the wording as
well as the handwriting of each person to be
as different as possible" But the sub-con-
tracts for carrying the msils were to be made,
concluded and telegraphed as preliminary to
any other action, SO that it might be known
to the ring at Washington how much
they had to get the pay increased
to make out of each route what
they thought it ought to pay them. 81
presume" telegraphed Dorsey to Wilcox,
you understand you must make contracts
before you try to get up papers for ar in
crease" These documents let out all the
secret methods Of these jobbers, in SO far as
they relate to work outside the Department.
OF course the other, and quite as essential
a part of it, was that of keeping up the in
fiuerce in the Department, and SO managing
it that the expedited pay might be surely OBJ
| tanned. This seems to have been managed
under Brady without the least trouble.
THE EXPOSURES BY THE NEW YORK "TIMEs.s
NEW YoRK, May 9th.-The Times prints
| this morning page and half of the star
routes exposures. There is group of routes
in Oregon which viii receive careful atten-
ton. Extracts from the official records and
Congressional documents shed a bright light
upon them. Four have been chosen for We
purpose of This examination, For thrss Of