Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1881-05-19
THE STAR ROUTE STEALS,
How it Cost from $500 to $500 to
Transmit Three-Cent Letters.

thus dishes up the Odorous "Star Route
Steals"
The feeling against the scandal in
the pOst-oilice department is stronger
among merchants and business Repub-
licans than anything l have known
since the back pay grab excitement.
Speaking to n prominent Republican
who has been Il liberal contributor in
elections in New York city, both of
congressman and president, on Satur-
day, he said:
81 don't think | ever read of any
question that made me more indignant.
To think of the assistant postmaster
general raising the pay on stage line
from $1,000 to 100000, and making
the delivery of every letter on the
route cost from $500 to $500! No man
could have done it unless he was iron
clad in his impudence, or unless he
could implicate enough men of quality
to help him out of his scrape; and |
dare say that the latter was the case.
In fact. from my knowledge of some of
the men who are often in New York, |
suppose that this job has been one of
the regular pickings of congressman
for years. One fellow got to find out
that he could divide with the mail con-
tractors, and left his secret to his
successor, and so it has grown to such
an impudent evil, that the executive
officer in charge simply said to himself,
Il will be justified to become very rich,
if am placed at the head of this job
berry"
"Now the worst thing about stealing
of this kind" said the merchant sis the
enormous cost of it. We have got to
expect politicians to steal something.
When man has no other business but
politics, ard he gets II salary of $4,000
or $4,000 year, and we see him giving
game suppers, living high, having a
fine horse and all the money he wants,
we know that he is stealing from some
body; but every time a politician steals
million it costs the public ten million,
because he has to let in everybody who
knew anything about it. They found
when Tweed was rObbing New York
that he was Il poor man at last, and
couldn't pay his greedy lawyers. We
came to find out that the old fellow
had to carry thousands on thousands
of people, who knew the secret--wri-
ters, doctors, lawyers, and every con-
ceiyablc kind of harry. The knowl-
edge soon goes around, or the convic-
tion that Il man is knocking down, as
they call it, or robbing the government,
and then one fellow has to be let i'll,
and second and II third; and there is u
law in human nature to the benefit of
the public that when man sees his
neighbor. or even his partner, or rela-
tive, stcaling,hc becomes jealous of him
and itches to tell. 1t is like the story
Of the forty thieves, when The woman
lent her rfryingpan to her brother-in-law,
next door, and CREASED the bottom of
it to which Il gold piece stuck on re-
turning the pan, and forthwith she
says 10 her husband, This is your poor
brother. is it, who is using our uten-
sls to measure his money, and who
has got so much of it that he can't
count it.? The brother goes i'll next
door, and finds sure enough that Ali
Bsba has got into the rancho of some
thieves, and he has to be let IN, and
consequently is found out aud killed
for it,"
10 this gcntleman's remarks | may
add that the state of Indiana has had
control of the pOstOllco department for
some time past. Governor Morton
came into the United States senate af-
ter the impeachment Of Andrew john
son, whose postmaster general, Ran
dali, had been very friendly with Nor
ton, rs they were both war governors
about the same time. Mr.. Morton soon
showed his hand at making room for
his numerous supporters and cronies in
many of the profitable departments of
the government. His friend, Col.
Stocking was engrafted on the New
York custom house at the head Of the
general order of carriage business,
which made tremendous scandal in
the early days of Grants administra-
ton. Morton was very restive under
it. Finally it was clened out.
Gov. Morton put in the postOllice de-
paltment another military friend, W.
II. II. Terrell, who was, | think, the
acknowledgement of Indiana in the war,
and very close to Mortan's person.
Buck Terrell, rs he was called, was a
high liver, good card-player, and was
attended around Washington by a
number ofmilitary men of both parties,
who thought the country owed them
something
Indiana was all the time underneath
warm as Il bug in a rug, administering
the postonice department, while the
secretary from Maryland, in perfectly
good faith, was recommending to
congress postal telegraphy and postal
banks. The Indiana boys let Mr.. Cres-
well make all the heroic suggestions
he chose, so they could do the details.
Take notice also, from the Blue Book
of 1872, that John L. French, of In
diana, was chief clerk of the contract
Office of the postollice department.
This was the most important of the
five chief clerkships. Giles Smith,
aforesaid, became so reckless that he
was found to have sent printed Cir
cUlar to the railroads carrying United
States mail through the country ad-
vising them to demand more compen-
sation, and telling them to direct a
written demand, if they wanted more
money, to him, when it would be set
on foot. This really astenished the
people, that an assistant postmaster
general, paid to protect the people,
could be stirring unsconscionable
transportation companies to a sense of
their injuries, and advising them to
run their hand still deeper in the treas
ury than they stood in need of. Giles
Smith had to be retired, but he left be-
hind him confidential friends, and died
on tho Pacific coast in good circum-
stances. His brother, Morgan Smith,
was sort Of outside man among the
mail contractors. The late general
Este, who died in great poverty in
New York, was another character
around the outside of the postoflice
1t was noticeable that all the men
putting ND Jobs around the postal de-