The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1881-07-01
DOUBLE NUMBER.
snom oun RrerLan CORRESPONDENT.
WASHINGTON lErrEn.
wAsnlNarox. suNE %. 1851.


Office Department It is in this
room that the case against the ''star
route" thieves is being made up, and
the daily secret sessions of the at
torneys, detectives, and agents are
the object of no small degree of in
terest. Piled upon table in one
part of the room are the papers and
documents from which portion of |
the evidence has been gathered, and |
around another table sit Attorney
General MacVeagh, special agents
Gibson and Woodward, and Col. w.
A. Cook, the celebrated criminal
lawyer engaged to assist in the pros
ecution. At some of the sessions
Postmaster General James is also
present. It is amusing to read in
the ssstar route" organs the fierce de-
nnnciations of these secret sessions
and of the agents employed in work
ing up the Government case. One
OF them, owned by Brady and his
friends, says these proceedings of
notorious detectives and spies" will
some day 'scause the blush of shame
to mantle the cheeks OF American
citizens. 1t denounces the Admin
istration for establishing ssstar
chamber" in one of the Departments.
What the Brady crowd would like is
to have the doors all left opened so
that the doings of the Government
officials could be watched, the docu-
ments stolen, and all the evidence
and witnesses hunted up bought off
or spirited away. The employment
of 4. M. Gibson as special agent
is also bitter pill, and because he
has heretofore written some harsh
things of Gen Garfield an attempt
is made to put the latter Ill q false
position. Dir. Gibson was for seve-
raj years the Washington correspon-
dent of the New York .Sata, and one
of the sharpest of the sharp lot of
journalists. He has what they
call decided "nose for news an
eye that can pierce brick wall. It
is knowledge of this fact that wor-
mrs the 'sstar route" thieves. Then
the engagement of Col. Cook Is
another source of trouble to the
'.stars. The Republican says it is
because rof his familiarity with the
methods of the class who are usually
depended upon here here to furnish
such evidence as may be needed to
establish any theory of defence that
may be determined upon; that his
skill IN manipulating perjurers is to
be used against the poor, innocent
.sstar routers. 1t is Just possible
that Col. Cooks skill in this diree-
ton did have something to do with
his retention. But it is silly for any
body to charge that the Government
has any interest IN using these
methods to convict innocent persons.
It IS to prevent their being used TO
enable guilty rascals to escape that
this precaution has been taken. and
that move Knocked a good many
pegs from under the feet of Brady,
Dorsey & Co. They are ready to
spend q good pile of their iilgotten
sHag to get clear, and the fact that the
Government has gone to work by
such a careful and thorough system
Is what makes them howl
1t is possible that some of the per-
sons supposed to be implicated IN
these mail frauds are innocent.
Perhaps it may turn out, as some
claim, that there has been no frauds
at least none that can be proved.
But whatever the result of the cases
now under investigation there are
circumstances which raise a very
strong presumption, and give rise to
opinions which even failure to con-
Yict will never remove. It seems
quite natural that when Offices are
sought after which involve great
labor and responsibility and carry
Ayery moderate compensation, sus-
picion Sreuld be. engendered that
there must be something attractive
in them which does not appear on
the surface. When it is also seen
that many of the incumbents of these
Offices who went in as poor as a
church mouse retire with large. for
tunes, the gossips will not be salts
fed with the explanation almost
invariably given, that the suddenly
acquired riches came through fortu-
nate speculations In stocks or real
estate. There are not a few persons
now resident in Washington main
tanning paiatial and costly establish
ments, and moving In good society,
who came here from their former
with no more than one suit OF
clothes to their back, but after hold
ing Office few years go out and ever
fare sumptuously and clothe them
selves In purple and fine linen. Ex-
Assistant Postmaster General Brady
may be, as his friends say, innocent
of any wrong doing; but the fact
that he was not q rich man by any
means when he was appointed TO the
Office little over four years ago and
that while the salary is only 2,50(
per annum he has grown immensely
wealthy, goes far 70 give eredence. tc
the charges against him. Hc is nov
said to be worth 81 600, 600 anc
lives accordingly, besides indnlgine
In the luxury of two daily and oni
Sunday newspaper to defend hi
good name. Yet it is not impossibl.
that all this was gaine6. 5y l:scky
specuIations. IF there Is no othel
evidence against him We shall have
to assume that it was. We shal
soon see.
In nrowling around the Pos
Office 70 ,5artment in search of some
thing interesting I got into the dead
letter Office recently and found {
regular curiosity shop. Will reserve
the account of what I saw ano
learned for another letter. The
grand old Congressional Library il