New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-04-28
RE4DYrS OFFENCE.

Tie lai( SECOND AASlSltnl bNiHlt~l'l -N''l-
cral, who recently resigned, on compulsinn,
under charges of corruption and malicasancc
in Office has published n letter in which hc at
tcmpts to Justify himself. The gi't of his cx-
PLANTATION is, first, that the charges against him
are the work of contractors and " malicious cor
respondents" and that the newspapers have
been miSlcd by these correspondents into cen
surfing him and the Post Office Department ;
second, that if there was anything wrong III
incr, asiug the pay of certain contractors the
Congressman who recommended the increase
of service their routes are to blame aud
third that hc does not care much about the
matter anyway, hut is rather pond 10 have
been in position 10 rSpond 10 the wants
"of the country in il, recent and still cOnlin-
"uing wonderful era of pro>rrrity.' In otlrr
words, he went in for the old lag and an APP
preparation.
This i the airy way in which tli- suspected
and dismissed cl-oilicial meets the serious ac-
cu,ation OF corrrtly wasting six millions Of
dollars of the public monty Evidently lac
is pulled mp with hi, past rrcrc,,', and has
no conception of the temper of the puhle mind
toward him. Ills defence insalt- the popular
int,lliccucc Elcryh body who reads the news
paper, knows tiat the charge against him do
not 1cSt ON the assertions of malicious cor
rcspordcnts,r hut on the action 81 the rrr,i-
dent and the PoNu#.trT-G General, who had
such reason 10 uouht his integrity that they de
mandcd his imr,c,,;ato resignation. Evcrl body
sees, too, that his attempt to shirk the r.
spon,ibility or quadrupin@ the contract price
of the mail service on routes controlled by a
few favored contractors, and put il on the
shoulders of the congressman i'm Whose
states or Territories those routes run, is ~
lame o., it i audaciOuS. congressman rarely
refuse 10 indorsc petitions which ask for the
expenditure of Government money for the
benefit of their constituents. No doubt an ap-
plication for an hourly mail scrvicr between
Dead Mans Gulch and Murdcrcr's Bar would
meet with the approval of the representative OF
those localities. General Brady was not paid
by the Government and trusted with nm inn
portant Office to do what Congressman asked
him TO do. 1t was his duty to protect the
interests of the Post Office Department. and
keep out of it the plundcIcrs who hc knew
bcset it on all sides. II il impairment for him
to talk about 9" the liberal policy inauguratcd
by judge Key" and say that no man dare set
his face against it, Liberal policy il was. no
doubt 10 the contractors who got 500 apiece
for carrying letters across the sagc-brush
deserts TO remote and half-dcscrtcd mining
camps, but wastefu and prohigate policy.
rank with the odor of jobbery and rlscality, so
far IA the interests of the Government were
concerned.
Judge Key, whose nanc Brady drags in as
a shield for himself, was ~ is well known. an
amiabIe, honest, wcll-meanng fgurchcad for
the Department. Mr.. Brady did not consult
him about the contracts. The law, PASSED it
would almost seem TO facilitate fraud, gave the
Second Assistant Postmaster full power To expo
ditc the time on any Star route and Increase
the frequency of service aud allowed him
10 fix new rate of compensation in
proportion TO the additional men and animals
the contractor swore would be needed The
sort of swearing that passed muster in Brady's
Office may be judged from one sample John X.
Miner contracted to carry the mail once n week
between Bismarck and Tongue River $40 miles,
for $3.50 year, taking l0f hours for the
trip. Subsequently he got his routo expedited"
10y Brady to three trips week, and aftcrwaId
the time was shortened to siXty-iye hours,
about five miles All hOur--nOt killing pace
for mail rider. He put in an affidavit to ,he
effect that it had required twelve men and
thirteen animals To make the three trips service
at the old spood of lO4 hours a trip, and that
it would be necessary " employ 100 men and