The daily gazette., 1881-11-25
SECOND EDITION
POSTAL FRAUDS.
THE STAR ROUTE ROBBERIIss,
THEIR ORIGIN, POWER
AND EXTENT.

| - 0AAn AOOAE tVbnEhIl1S
THEIR ORIGIN, POWER
AND EXTENT.
The 0mcisl Report Of A. VI. Gibson.
Special Assistant Attorney for
She United states on Thos.
#. BRADY.
Special Correspondence of THE PRESS.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 20.-The case
OF the Government against the Star
Route ring is in two parts-the Official
record OF Thomas j. Brady, Second
Assistant Postmaster General, from
1870 to 1881, and the direct evidence
fur nished by contractors, clerks and
the files Of the Depar 'ment. The first
demonstrates the existence of fraud,
the second fixes the guilt Of the con-
spirators. The report of A. N. Glib
son, special assistant attorney for the
United States, to the Attorney Gen.
eral, includes the former. Mr.. Gibson's
elaborate and convincing report would
fill three pages of newspaper, the
condensed outlines given here in
general employs the language of the
report, often without quotation marks,
and throughout follows the manner,
matter and substance of his mastery
pres ntment.
THE LAW DELIBERATELY VIOLATED.
OF fthese orders, "a were in direct
violation of the law prohibiting pay
ments for additio onal service rendered
before an order was made. OF extra
allowances made on the Pacific section
chiefly on 90 routes, in the fiscal year
ls77-78, aggregating $117, 1913, in
creasing the original pay of Sta, 867,
60 per cent, FIVE were in violation of
the same law prohibiting retroactive
orders, q law comprehensive, explicit,
emphatic, passed in 1885 because
Congressional investigation found that
such orders had been made under
Postmaster General Barry.
cONnKkNEp OUT OF HIS OWN MOUTH.
During the first fiscal year of his
incumbency, 1877 78, Mr.. Brady dis
covered that the service west of the
Mississippi needed great improvement,
expediting sixteen routes in the Pa
cihc section at an annual cost of
$197, 946, and improving $50, thereby
adding to the yearly cost S804, $780,
The same year, November l, 1877, he
advertised for q new quadrennial term
Of service in this region. By manaa-
tory law, it was his duty to form the
best judgment practicable Of the needs
Of the service in advertising. This
law was passed after the investigation
OF 1884 and 1885, when it had been
found that the habit of advertising for
certain service and after the letting
improving it by extra allowances for
increased diatance, additional trips,
and expedited schedules, was an evil
of such magnitude that 1t had brought
the Department to absolute insolvency
had corrupted officials, and generally
demoraliHed the mail sorvice. MIR.
Brady expected q large increase, for
he asked Congress, November /, 1877,
for an additional appropriation for the
fiscal year 1878-79 of $5a2,241; but
his advertisement of November, 1877,
proposing contracts under which so
per cent. of the Star Route appropria.
tion for 1s7879 would be spent, was
for services inferior IN trips and speed
to that in 1877 70, on which half a
million less had been expended. Why,
Let the sequel answer.
HOW ROUTES WERE MANIPULATED.
For instance, the route, Forth Worth,
Texas, to Juma, Ariz, was advertised
and let for the term 1878 'S2 as 1860
miles, when the distance circulars from
every postmaster showed 1t was l,467
miles. The original schedule time of
the routes Ia the term 1874 '7S covering
this route ss laid out for the term 1874
'22, made the mails 1884 hour between
its extremities, expedited before the
close of the contract term to a5S.a hours;
but this anne interval in the new route
was advertised for the new term 40S
hours, The trae distance was 1,467
miles, a schedule of 408 hours would
therefore require the contractor to make
less than 800 miles per hour. By adver-
tislng 1t longer than 1t actually was, the
contractor was given "a 80 hours longer
In which TO make the trip than the
schedule required. This rout was let al
$l34,O00 year.. The proposal accepted
was irregular and illegal. The agree
ment waa made in advance that the
schedule should be expedited and the
pay increased to the neighhofhood oI
$500, 900. This agreement was faithfully
kept, for, August 8, 1878, the order ol
expedition was made to take effect Au
gust 15, 1873, and $165,000 year was
allowed, bringing up the annual pay to
$299,000. The order of expedition re
duced the running time from 40S hours
. to ala hours. But as the actual dis
tance was 1,467 miles, instead of 1850
as let, the contractor had really 33t
, hours IN which to make The trip. There
, fore, for increasing the speed OF his horse
i y6 OF a mile an hour the contractor was
paid $lg5, 900 year. And what for
Surely not for the benefit of the peopl,
, along the route, because there was no
one single office along the line OF tn,
, slightest Importance, which did not re
ceive its important mails from the Eas
and West great deal quicker, evel
after this expedition was ordered, b,
other routes. In this case the rout
was made longer than 1t was to suit tia
, contractor; In others shorter, in both t,
l hjs nrofit