The Portland daily press., 1881-05-23
THE STAR ROUTES.
Further Revelations of the Frauds.
THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS EXPENO-
ED IN CARRYING ONE LETTER.

WASHINGTON, May 21.-A specimen route
mail fraud has been discovered in the Yellow
stone country, where thousands of dollars were
expended carrying one letter back and forth
across the Crow Indian reservation, where
there was not single post office between ter
minal points. Mr.. Furay, special agent of
the department. went up there to look after
things, and the facts he discloses in an official
report just received here are truly remarkable
Delegate Maginnis of Montana is mixed up in
this, more or less, and this report will give him
a. chance to step forward and be vindcated
The report of the special agent is as follows,
only few material matters being omitted:
OFFICE PosT OFFICE INSPECTOR.
OMAHA, Neb., May 10, 1881.
Sir,-In the case of route 81, SO. White Sulphur
Springs, Mont, to Fort Custer, have to report
that in my belief this route is located not far from
the "milky way When at Fort Custer, pouch
came into the post Office while was sitting there
somebody cried out "mailn' asked the assistant
postmaster, "What mail is this?' and he answered
that it was the mail from White Sulphur Springs.
asked him whether, for Gods sake, they were run
ming seven-times-a-week route between White
Sulphur Springs and Fort Custer, and if So, what
was the use of extending it across to Fort Custer
Corleson and Junction are the north side of the
Yellowstone, and on the south side, as far as the
Wyoming line, is a Crow Indian reservation, and
hence no settlements, save those made by the War
Department for the accommodation of the army
can be made under existing treaties and therefore
no post offices can or do exist south of the Yellow
heaven could there be for having mail route from
Corleson to Fort Custer, so miles, could not con-
ceive. The assistant postmaster, Mr.. Winter
smith, explained by saying that the thing was a
fraud, and that he would tell me all about it. He
did not know how the service came to be placed on
the route but presumed it was done by Delegate
Maginnis of Montana last year. and that the first be
knew of it was the arrival of man with mail
smith, opened the pouch and found that in contain
ed piece of mail addressed to the firm of which
he was member. He returned this piece of mail
to the pouch by the way of Joke locked it in and
gave it back to the man from whom he had received
it. This piece of mail seesawed back and fourth
between Corleson and Fort Custer until it threaten
reported to the department the contemptuous con-
duct OF the Fort Custer postmaster in refusing to
receive the MALI sent him by the new route.
1t seems the department inquired of Winter
smith why this was So. and he replied giving the
facts. The agent continues: This seems to have
came reducing the route from daily to weekly
Soon afler, the postmaster, who is post trader at
gate Eat To- ad friend OF Magnnis the then del
post Office Himself Presently, as Wintersmith says,
to hear from Magnnis that the Democratic party
We're going to lose the whole Muscle Shell country
unless that mail service was put back to daily etc
The postmaster seemed deeply moved. He did not
like to admit that his assistants had deceived the
department, when he knew he had stated but the
simple TRUTH and so he fixed up some kind of tel
egram to Maginnis, stating that Wintersmith's
port was unauthorized The result of this dispatch
to Maginnis was that the route put back as be-
fore, to seven trps:a week, and this, although the
postmaster sand Maginnis certainly the former)
knew that the restoration to daily was a fraud up
on the government. My ibeef is that the whole
route is supplied vastly in excess of the needs of
the people, and l. therefore, respectfully advise that
the orders, etc. the route be placed in the hands
of an inspector for investigation.
JOHN b. FURAY, Inspector.
The Attorney Generals office is vigorously
prosecuting the work of gathering the evidence
necessary to bring the persons incul pated in the
star route frauds to Justice. There is no doubt
that important arrests will shortly be made 1t
is intimated that more than one proposition to
turn States evidence is under consideration.