The daily gazette., 1881-08-03
THE POSTAL FRAUDS.

Brady's Corrupt Methods-The SO
Per Cent. Increase Law Deliber-
ately Mtsc0nstrued and DISC
beyed.
A special despatch from Washington
to the New York Times says:
The scandalous abuses practiced by
General Brady while In charge OF the
Contract Bureau of the Post Office De-
partment induced Congress to insert
clause in the Post Office Appropriation
act OF 1880 forbidding the Postmaster
General TO expedite service on any pos
tai route to rate Of pay exceeding 80
per cent. upon the contract price as orig
inally let. As Is well known TO readers
OF the Times, the practice Of the contract
Office under General BradY's direction
was to take route on which service had
been let for one trip per week, build 1t
| up to three, four, SIX, or seven times per
week according to the opportunity pre-
| sented, and then, when the original con.
tract price had been many times aug
| mented, TO authorize expedition Of ser
vice on the basis Of pay thus enormously
increased. 1t was to check this fraudu-
lent practice that Congress inserted a
proviso in the Post Office Appropriation
act of April Z, 1880, which reads -
"That the Postmaster General shall not
hereafter have the power to expedite the
service under any contract, either now
existing or hereafter given, TO . rate Of
pay exceeding so per cent. upon the
contract as originally let"
Certain contractors whose routes
were expedited under the last admin.
istration and subsequent to the pass
age of the act above quoted vert
awarded pay for the expedited servic,
at the rate prescribed by the act O
April 7, 1880. But the Increased pa,
, was based on the price created by th,
additional pay allowed for increase,
trips instead of on the contract pric,
as originally let. For instance, q rout
was originally let for $40, 900, and sub
sequently, for additional trips, 5000
was added. Expedition Of service be
ing authorized, the practice was t.
compute the 80 per cent. increase au
T thorized on the aggregate Of $50, ,0OO
which was held to be the contrac
price as originally let.
: When this matter was called to tn
attention of Postmaster General James
he directed the law officer of the de
partment to submit case to the At
torney-G General for opinion, and tha
: officer has decided that the origina
! contract price, and not any subsequen
increase of service, is made the stand
ard of limitation. In his letter to tn,
q Postmaster-Gen'l, the Attorney Gem
t says :-"The language of the proyis,
a to the act of April z, 1880, is entirel,
ambiguous. 1t limits the power O
the Postmaster General TO pay for ex
pedition 90 per cent. of the contrac
as originally let 1.-THE original let
, ting, and not any whose great increas
. of service and pay is made the stand
, ard of limitation. To set up any sub
sequent increase of the original lettin
as such limitation would defeat tn
very purpose Of the statute. For in
, stance, under this provision not NOR
than $500 additional can be paid t
expedite the service under the COZ
tract originally let for weekly trips q
81 600 per annum. If the servic
should be increased to daily trips, wit
, q proportionate increase of compenss
tion, such compensation would
1900 per annum. II such increase
: service could be expedited to the ez
] tent of 80 per cent. Of the increase
| sum, the sum allowed for expeditio
, would be $50 per cent. Of the rate Q
! pay upon the contract a. originally ID
instead of 30 per cent. of that sum,th
, limit declared In the provisoto the &C
Of Congress Of April 2, 1880.