New-York tribune., 1881-12-26

speed at reasonable, practical figure Then it
would be impossible for corrupt official to expe-
dte" the speed without making 1t absurd and run
ming the risk of sending the contractors mnies on
the surface of the earth at tangent And the peo-
pie of the section, having such mall facllltles as
they needed would be less likely TO sign the con-
tractors petitions for more mails, and the manu-
facture of fraudulent petitions, which played
large part in these frauds and are likely TO play
still larger part in the trial of the thieves would
be more difficult. This is the work the Postmaster
General has been engaged in for some months pasV
revising routes, abolishing those absolutely
fraudulent, cutting off unnecessary routes. finding
out the real needs of the country and &C comino-
dating the number of mails, etc, to them.
For example, the route Just named is advertised
TO be 90 miles long instead of so miles as before
Three trips week are called for. instead of the one
trip at which the contract last let or the seven
trips to which il was afterwards increased" and
the running time is put Mt f0rtylive hours IN sum
mer and seventytwo hours in winter. instead "t the
los hours at which it was LET in 1875. ms re-
vision has been an enormous task. IL cOud only ne
accomplished by sending over every route inspectors
Of tried honesty and Judgment Testimony by leI-
ter,even from postmasterS was not adequate thomgh
use was made of every kl d OF information. Inc
oldest and best inspectors in the service with some
of the younger, men who had especially
distinguished themselves, were sent out,
with instructions TO mako exhaustive
investigations everywhere They weighed tho
mails found the numbcrof letters mailed noted the
population Of the place. amount OF stock actuaiIE
used by the contractors, the time ol :arFiVaI on
mails etc, besides making careful inquiries oI thc
people about their needs 01'eh thG very PCih2nS Pb
who for some reason had signed petitions WhGh
were made the basis of large increases IN pay Wouid
say privately that there no need OF me miils
they had asked for. These personal lnVeSllgaiiohs
were all the more necessary because In many ot tue
small places the pOstmastcrs were completely uhder
the influence of the contractors. The roIi
stu and
stage live was important to him. -.
About 100 important routes have been inycSti-
gated, with large number OF small ones, and nave
been rcadiusted on honest business principles; IN
doing this the policy has been adopted of breaking
up long routes into short ones whorcVcr IL Wa
practicable, because tn. long routes were uSnaily
beyond the means of the small contractors, and so
restricted competition, being no doubt devised l9r
that purpose. The work of breaking up the oid
routes has been so thoroughly done that IN an eG-
animation of a large number Of contracts only Two
could be foupd which had remained practically un-
changed in length. The one alluded to above ana
the route from Cloverdac 10 Eureka in California
on which the increased allowance When the S.ar
Route cOnspiratOrS making hay iast was
$}U5S1 So. the original contract hcing III ,S33 j3
One important obstacle 10 reest lisllheht Ol
the old corrupt stem is a section IN the Post Oi-
flee Appropriation act OF 1850, which read, as
follows:
The Postmaster General shall not hereafter have
the power expedite the service under any contract
either now existing or hereafter gwen 10 rate oI
pay exceeding 30 per cent upon tho ConuacI ds
originally ct"
certain amount OF discretion is necessary in this
matter. The original intent of the act oi Congress
was undoubi edIy to provide a way of meeting clner-
gencies like the mushroom growth of Leadyille, Tor
example The difference between the possibility OF
30 per cent under this law and he practice OF CIV
ing anywhere from 100 to 1000 per cent under the
old regime is visible to the naked eye
The thOrOughness of Mr.. Jaines's work Is best IN
dicatcd by its re ults. Ia his annual report he
shows that his net reductions in the Star and steam
boat service to October 81, 1881, amounted 10
$l.147,757. This reduction, continued for four
years under the new contracts II there were no
growth of the country meantime to Increase eN-
penditurc would amount 10 1900 OOO. still
more significant way of stating It may be 10 say
that General Brady secured an appropriation Tor the
Star Route service for the fiscal year ending juno
80 1882, of $7,9OO,OOO, and that hr. James5
estimate for the v'ce for the fiscal year end
ing June 80, 1888, an appropriation Of N,23OOOO.
Mr.. James makes provision for all the growth OF
the country, which is great, and yet spends
$500, 900 less than General Brady was prepared to
spend in the preceding fiscal year hcse figures tell
the whole story of the difference between Mr. James
and General Brady. II every criminal suit should
fail and all he civil suits, by which IL s hoped to
recover from contractors large sums which they
have been fraudulcntly Oyorpaid should also fan,
there would still remain reOrganIbed contract sNS-
TEN which is both honest and business-hAe.
IN