Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1881-05-21
THE sTAH ROUTE KOBERIEs.

For several weeks, past the press
of the country have been teeming
with accounts and rumors of gigan-
tic frauds and populations perpetra-
ted in the post Office department
of the government, by some of the
most prominent officials of that de-
partment, having as the leader of
the ring. Thos. j. Brady, the sec
Ond assistant post master general,
aided by men ofhigh standing in the
dominant party of the country, such
as Ex-senator Dorsey, the secretary
of the national republican executive
committee, and others. For a time
the reports of corruption were con-
fined to mere rumors, but later de-
velOpments havedisclOsed evidences
of mismanagement and corruption,
which are in their extent and rami-
fcations well-nigh appalling. Some
of our readers are perhaps Ignorant
Of what these ''star routes" are, and
we will endeavor to explain their
nature as we understand them. The
promInece into which they have
come of late, may lead some to sup
pose that the star postal routes are
the most important in the service.
This is a mistake. They are those
which take in the small coui try
post Offices and extreme western
settlements, usually off the line of
any railroad or steamboat. Chiefly
those carried by stage or horseback,
from post Office to post Office,
throughout the inland part of the
country. They received the name
of star routes simply because
they are marked for identifi-
cation, on the official lists with a
star or asterisk. The number of
these routes throughout the country
are almost innumerable, and
on account of this comparative un-
importance and Obscurity, afford
many opportunities whereby thiev-
ing contractors may swindle the
government. An active movement
was made a few years ago, in the
post Office department to make the
service efficient, by placing
special postal cars on the railroad
lines and having fast mail line of
steamers and other modes of trans
%portatiOn, whereby the reception
and transmission of the mails might
be expedited and the whole system
carried on with celebrity, certainty
and security. In arranging COM
%pensation for these routes a very
large discretion is left to the post
master general. This work seems
to have been assigned by the post
master general to his second assis-
tant, Brady, who seeing his OppOr-
tunity, went in with the contractors
of these star ruutes to swindle the
government. In order to expedite
the.star routes it became necessary
to raise the pay of the contractors
and this seems to have been done
with an extravaganza and utter dis
regard of what it might cost the
government. The pay of the con-
tractors on the routes were increas-
ed four fold. One star route in Ar
iona was expedited from Sl8,0 900 to
SI35, 900, and the others in even pro-
portion. 1t is easily to be seen
where the money, thus openly filch-
ed from thegovernment went. 1t was
divided and found a safe Judgement
in the pockets of Brady and his pals.
Ex-senator Dorsey, of Arkansas, is
said to be most prominent among
these. 1t is a poor comment on the
administration of a government,
when such stupenduOus knaveries
as these can be perpetrated and
flourish for years, without detection,
right under the noses and before
the eyes of the highest officials of the
land. This exposure was brought
to light by the new post master gen.
eral, ThOs. l.. James, who seems to
be an honest and conscientious Off
cial, and he promises to push his
investigation to the farthest end.
Let him do this and ''let no guilty
man escape" The country will be
satisfied with nothing short of this.