Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-05-03
Jim HendersOn's ExplOIts.

Jim Henderson's Exploits.
A Maytown Operator In Postal Frauds.
n. \. Times Washington Correspondence.
A fair idea of the scope of the work done
by the Brady ring, through the agency Of
the "Co-operative Mail and Passenger
Transportation Company" will be obtain
ed from the story of = transaction in which
the swiudIers were fOiled in the state Of
New Jersey, and for which one OF the
company was fined in court of justice In
Newark no longer ago than last week. It
has already been explained in these dis
matches that one of the main sources Of
revenue to this country is derived from
the contracts which it holds for railway
messenger routes, or conveying the mails
from the railroad depots to the postofices
in towns and cities. Of the seven hundred
and two contracts which it now advertises
as under its control. the majority are for
routes of this kind, and ON each one it
makes a good profit, By having received
from Gen. Brady higher price for the ser-
vice than it pays to the mai who Performs
it. J. Il. Henderson is the general travel
ing agent Of the company, and what his
duties are and how he performs them will
be seen by the following story:
Aaron Mead, an exp'essman OF Newark,
n. J., held the contract for the railway
messcng service in Newark until last
summer carrying the mails to and from
the depot at a compensation of $1,000 q
year His contract expired and when the
new bids were opened it was found that he
and Michael A. Mullin had both offered to
do the service for $4,000, while William
E. Young was willing to do it for 81 800.
Under the rules of the department the con-
tract was given to Young, and he began
to carry the mails. After performing the
service for about two months, Mr. Young
received request from j. B. Henderson,
the travelling agent Of the ''CO-Operative
Mail and Passenger Transportation Com
pany," to call upon him At the Hotel
Bristol, in Newark. This was about the
middle OF last September. Young called
upon Henderson, who represented himself
as an agent of the pOstofice department,
and referred to a fictitious resignation Of
ce;.ed in Washington. Young pro-
his contract, aud said that he was
very well satisfied with it, and that he
did not propose to give it up. Henderson
had been received in Washington, and ad-
vised him to make no fuss about it, but go
and see Mead, as he could make more
money in that way than by holding on to
the contract. Young refused to do any
thing of the kind, and this ended the in
tervicw. Henderson next went to Null
lin, and induced him to withdraw his orig
inal bid at $4,000. and put in a bid to do
the work for So, 400. He then came back
to this city. and put in a bid for the ser
vice at 50, 1856, Just SIS below the bid of
Mnliin and $5Sj above that Of Young, who
had been doing the work, and on this bid
he was awarded the contract by the second
assistant postmaster general. A week
after Henderson left Newark, Postmaster
Ward. OF that city, was given notice that
Young had been removed and the con-
tract given to Henderson.
In the meantime Young had taken the
alarm after his interview with Henderson,
and his friends. including POstmas ter
Ward, began to interest themselves in his
behalf The Hon. George A. Halsey tele-
grapkad to Acting Postmaster General
Tynar that he was convinced something
was wrong, and asked that the order ap.
pointing Henderson be suspended until he
could investigate the matter. In response
to this. Mr.. French, the recently dis
charged chief clerk Of Gen. Brady's de
partment. telegraphed to Postmaster Ward
to delay turning, over tho business to Hen.
derson, and when Henderson reached
Newark he was confronted with this or.
der. Mr.. Halscy wrote to the department
here stating tina. Young was faithful
and responsible man, aud plainly intimat.
ing that something must be wrong when a
contract was thus annulled and made over
again at an advance Of S5S5.
Henderson. however, was not going to
give up this fat job without struggle.
He went before Justice Nettleship. in New.
ark, accompanied by Michael Kenny, a
hack driver. and the latter swore to an af
fidavi: that Young was frequently drunk,
that his drivers were drunkards, and that
he. Kenny, hassonce gone into a saloon
ungua,dcd in the street. Henderson
wanted it also inserted that the mail bags
were in the wagon, but to this Kenney re.
fused to swear. Affidavits were also pro-
cured from Aaron Mead aud his two sons,
Joseph and Lucas. stating that Young was
habitually drunk, that he often left the
mail bags lying at the Market street station
in Newark with nobody to watch them
and that ono night he was SO drunk in the
street that he had TO cling to a lamp post.
Armed with these affidavits Henderson re-
turned to this city, and worked 10 vel
that On October 16 Chief Clerk French
telegraphed to Mr.. Halsey Us follows
The interest Of the SO vicn will not per.
init longer delay in the emoval of Mr..
Young as mail messenger at Newark" At
the same time an order was sent to Post
master Ward removing Young and giving
the work again to Henderson. In response
to this Mr.. Haiscy sent 4 dispatch to A.
D. Hazen, the third assistant postmaster
general, which created a fiutter of excite
meIt in the departm n. here. There
seemed, the dispatch sail. t bc persist
ent effort on the part of tie second assist
ant postmaster general to remove Mr..
Young. Mr.. Halsey believed that rascal
ity was at the bottom of the whole bust
ness. and he intended to expose it, no
matter who suffered from the exposure
After thus venting himself Mr.. Halsey
asked that the order removing Young be
again suspended until a thorough investi-
CATION of the facts could he had. Mr..
HaZen granted the request, and again
Henderson found himself blocked in his
little game.
Inspector Sharretts, of the New York
postOffice was now sent to Newark to in
vestigate the charge against Young. He
took the testimony of Postmaster Ward,
Justice Nettlcship MI. Mullen, Mr.. Hau.
Ser and Lorenzo p. Jones. Mr.. Hauser Is
the lawyer who drew the afidavits used
L..