Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1881-10-26
THE STAR ROUTE BUSINESS.
EX-Post IN sster-Gens Key on BRADY
and Tyner.
His History of the Department Inves-
tigatlen.

His History of the Department Inves-
tigatien.
Nashville American, Monday morning.
Judge Key, x-Postmaster-General, and /
who has been referred to in the recent pub
LEGATIONS relative to Assistant Postmaster |
General Tyner, was interviewed yesterday |
by an American reporter with the following !
result:
Reporter Judge, hear that you |
think Tyner's resignation should not have /!
been demanded because of any action OF his |
in regard to the alledeed suppression of the
report referred to by the newspapers.
Ought you not to give the facts in regard to
it?
Judge Key--I think should not. Neither
the Postmaster General nor Judge Tyner
have asked for what know, and l do not
see why should volunteer my testimony.
Reporter-But do you not owe it to your
self to make statement of the facts Some
of the newspapers charge that you are in
fault in this thing.
Judge Key-I have been so busy thas l
have not had time to read the newspapers.
! have been tried by some of them so often
without testimony, and criticised and rep
| rimanded until have become accustomed
to it, SO that it does not disturb my equa-
nimity much as it once did. But it is
| right that I should say that most news
papers have been fair, and / have had
many, many friends, amongst newspaper
| men.
| Rep.-Do you not owe it to Judge Tyner
that you should explain the matter? You
say he is not to blame. May he not have
injustice done to him for want of it
| Judge Key-f he needs such an explaDa-
ton 1 should think he would ask me for it.
| Rep.-May il not be that he refrains from
asking for it because he wants to relieve you
from responsibility and criticism or annoy
ance.
Judge Key-I do not know 1t is pos
| sibly SO. ] owe much to Judge Tyner,
and should be most unwilling to see his suf-
fer injustice if [ could prevent it, and prob
ably it is duty to Tyner to the public and
to myself that / should give history of this
thing. Some complaints had been made of
the administration of the branch of the pos
tai service on the Pacific slope, under charge
of the Second Assistant Postmaster General,
and besides this | wanted q careful inspec-
ton of the entire postal service i'll that re-
gion. In the summer of 1879, l think it
was, I sent Judge Tyner on that duty; and
directed him to carefully inquire into the
condition of all branches of the service, and
| III report DIS W ltS COuulbiDu hllu aS W WUdL
improvements could be made. He spent
two or three months in his investigations,
and returned to Washington in the latter
part OF the summer or first of the autumn
of 1879, as | remember. Not long after
his return he prepared a written report and
handed it to me, and l read it. In
that he had disapproved of the action
J of the Second Assistant Postmaster-Gen-
eral in expediting and increasing the ser
vice on several routes. General Brady, the
J Second Assistant, had no knowledge or in
formation, so far as / knew, as to what
General Tyner had been doing. I told
/ Judge Tyner that if his report were placed
upon the files, was afraid we should have
row General Brady would feel that
, Judge Tyner had invaded his iurisdic-
ton, and intermeddled in his affairs,
and that the investigation made
3 without his knowledge was an impu-
, tation against his honesty and evidence OF
a want of confidence in him. I enquired OF
linn if he did not believe General Brady was
G honest. He said, III most emphatic terms
that there was not to be found more hon.
est man than General Brady. then suggest
g ed that it might be best for him to retain
, his report and to have q full and candid
L conversation with General Brady; to tell him
!, in his own way, of his inv estigations and thei
result, the reasons for his conclusions, end
; to show him his report if he thought hes
d to do SO. General Tyner agreed as to the
propriety of my suggestions and took hi
:; report. In consequence of the information
contained in the report, and without inform
o ing General Brady anything of it, set abou
making q personal examination o
g the files of the Department per
tanning to the increase an(
expedition which Judge Tyner thought IN
@ wise and unnecessary. I discovered, in ever,
!, instance that General Brady's action ha
u been based upon strong and convincing
10 documentary testimony, generally endorse
e by the members and delegates of Congress
u from the States and Territories interested i
n these routes. I found, further, that Maio
I Eaton, of Maine, able and experience
= officer of the Department, special agen
Q. attached to the Contract Bureau, had bee
6 sent by General Brady to make persons
% insl ection of most if not all of thes
in routes, and had reported in favor of the in
crease and expedition. The case / had wa
this On one side was Judge Tyner
strong and decided Judgment, in whic
10 place much confidence; on the other wer
~ the documentary evidence on file, endorse
lie by the members and delegates in Congress
r. from the region supplied by this service
and the opinion of special agent Eator
as Congress was not in session, the member
of had gone home, and two or three or fou
months only would elapse before Congress
10 would meet I knew that the Pacific coas
Or people had complained that they had bee
o neglected, and would raise clamor if,
u this state of the case, I cut down their SCI
Mt vice. /, therefore, CONCLUDED that the be-
thing | could do was to let matters alor
d until Congress should meet, when I coul
ps see the members from that section an
hear what they had to say. Meantime
ne prepared my report for Congress and aske
re for a deficiency appropriation for the Sts
Route service So soon as Congress met
a commenced rigid investigation of Gener
l. Brady and his management of the ST.
Route. After long and thorough invest
e> cation Congress made an appropriation
an carry on the service as General Brady hs
:, increased and expedited it, and I was CO
IL tent to abide by the action of Congress
a But General Brady and myself both ask
oe Congress to limit and restrain the expef
VI ton of the service to cases not exceeding
no increase of fifty per cent. over the origin
~. cost of the route, and it was done. That Il