The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-10-25
TAR q BUSINESS,

Judge Tyner, first assistant Postmastel
General, is the sharpest nan IN the star
route outfit. 1t appears that some ting age
Tyner made an investigation of The fraud,
and msde a report of his diSeereries. This
report he did not make public. but, as is
charged. held Il over the heads q Brady and
Others ofthe RI and thus compelled them
10 do, Mhateyer he waited. 1t was hnsly
found locked up in the Judges department,
and shown to James, Maeyeayh aud Pre,i.
dent Arthur. " A, 1,yner bad conducted the
matter so artfully that no legal proceeding
could be instituted against him, Mr.. James
has lone the bestthing he coald do under the
circumstances BY requesting his removal.
President Arthur at once called for Tyner's
resignation. So say the dispatches, and they
also say Tyner denies being requested to hand
in his resignation. Tyner's denial lacks
value, in view of the fact that his successor
has been named. " "a" ,E-.@ ""f tn ,3a..
This star route business develops more cor
ruption the deeper it is probed. 1t was a
simplessore, so to speak, Oh the surface, al
apparently harmless spot that al first scarcely
attracted the attention ofth administration
doctors. Nearly every one knows how it first
appeared. Straw bids were made on postal
Contracts. Ii these bidders failed the con-
tract, under the law, was turned over
to the next lowest bidder. As each
bidder in the line of succession
failed to fulfill the terms of the contract il
finally reached the man or men who had set
up the straw bidders and knew they would
be knocked down like = row of ten pins.
Thus the manipulators secured the contract
for postal service. Government officials were
in collision with the straw bidders, hence
the manner of securing fat contracts was
very much simplifed. This little .swiIdling
OF the government was endured tor some
time when it became so transparent to all
that congress was compelled to put a stop to
it. This it did in 1873 by passing a law that
efectually Invaded off straw bidders. But the
ring was equal 10 the change. They adopted
tactics to secure the same end. H.
of setting up a line of straw bidders,
shut out all honest bidders by bidding
for contracts at luinously low figures. But the
contractors knew the ground upon which
they stood and that it was strengthened by a
ring in the Postotice department backed up
by White washing congressional committees. |
Thus fortified they commenced working their |
contracts up into bonanzas, by increasing the
OF speed and number of trips on the diff
fsTsnt routes for which ssrvice they received
more than a corresponding increase OF pay. !
instance if the contractor was getting
SIC, 700 4 year for twenty horses and tenmen,
ne would get $4,000 a year FOR double the |
aumber of men aud horses. The increased
mount the contractor received depended a
,reat deal upon the elasticity OF h con-
Icier CO when he was under oath. As there
ire no instances wherein ir creased pay was
lot awarded when de nanded it is to be sup-
posed the element Of flexibility was not
wanting.
Thus the little sore, which first appeared in
he shape of 4 harmless straw bid, has uevel-
ped into a huge cancer whose roots have
into nearly every department of
he postal service and creating a mass of cor
upton in one Of the principal branches of
he government which will require deep Incl
ions to remove Tyner is about to yield to
he knife. There are others equally az cor.
upt. Mr.. James should be retained at his
until the Augean stable is cleaned and
hose who befouled it punished.