Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-04-28
The Star Ronte scandal.

The Star Route Scandal.
The summary removal of General
Brady, late Assistant Postmaster
General, from Office on the charge that
he has either been ~corruptly cognizant of
the extensive swindles lately discovered
in the star mail service, or that he has
been c~riminally careless in the conduct
of his department. has led to a very
general discussion of the subject of the
swindles. Brady, it is thought, may not
be directly implicated, but Mr.. Garfield
and Postmaster General James seem to
be convinced that he is directly re-
sponsible for what has occurred.
From the accounts now being pub
lished of the discoveries made by
Mr.. James, it seems that the magnitude
of the evil has heretofore not ever been
suspected, and much wonder is express
ed at the carelessness of Mr.. Hayes in
not finding out and taking proper meas
ures to prevent the present scandal con-
nected with his administration. Espe-
cially is this carelessness gross and cul-
pable, as the Memphis and other papers
published on the Mississippi river have
been, for some time past, urging the
Postmaster General to look into the star
route business in that quarter.
Itnow turns out that very scandalous
irregularities have been developed in
that section. 1t seems to have been, for
a long time, a general custom for the
department to advertise for bids for a
particular amount of service, which bids
were generally awarded to some con.
tractor Of influence who would bid lower
than anyone else, and a sum for which
the work could not possibly be perform
tract was awarded, it was the practice
to throw upon the favored contractor a
greater amount of work than he con
tracted for, and for this additional work
he was allowed pay at his own prices.
In this way all losses incurred
through his original contract were much
more than made up, and it is shrewdly
and reasonably suspected that all this
could not possibly have been done with
out the guilty knowledge of some officers
of the department at Washington. 1t is
further assumed. with a certain degree
of confidence, that whoever gave to
lavorite contractors the chances for
money making which they enjoyed did
not incur all the odium of permitting a
swindle upon the government without
liberal compensation of some kind. In
short, it is believed that if there was not
a division of the spoils between the star
route contractors and some one or more
of the high post office officials, the latter
were very strikingly deficient in the
shrewdness which usually characterized
the modern government official in a good
position with ''fat" pickings.
The truth is that the whole method of
doing business in the star service depart
ment was a very bad one, as 1t allowed
one officer to commit the government to
enormous expenditures of money, and
to keep back the fact that such expense
had been incurred until the end of the
year, and even longer, unless there hap
pened to be somebody having curiosity
and influence enough to get at the
facts. Discussing the subject of this
star route scandal and the method
with which the service was con-
Quoted, the Boston Ad0ertiser
thinks that "the Postmaster General will
find, when he comes to consider the gen
eral organization of his department. that
there is much more to be done in effect
ing a systematic reform than changing a
few officers, or in readiusting the duties
imposed upon the persons who happen
to hold Office. The department is too
large for the present system, since the
chance for involving the government,
without remedy. in excessive expendi
lures, has been discovered. The power
to do this should be taken away alto
gether from any single officer, 10
matter how honest and able he may be,
and the whole method, not only of estab-
fishing new routes, of obtaining
bids. of awarding contracts, and of
r~eadjusting the pay for service, but of
accounting, should be changed as well.
There is no reason why the revenue
from the post office should not be inclu-
ded in the ordinary statements from
the Treasury, like receipts from Gus
toms; and nobody would be the worse,
and the government would be much
better off, if the appropriations were
made specific in amount instead of being
indefinite. At present Congress grants
a certain sum, in addition to the reve-
nue., to supply DEFICIENCIES. 1t is as much
this loose way of controlling the aggre-
gate expenditure of the department as
anything else that has made the star
route swindles possible"
The Adcertiser is further of the opin-
ion that there is ample room for re
form in the Post Office Department, and
it is to be hoped Mr.. James will com
plete his good work in that direction be-
fore attempting to enlarge his operations,
a;thor with taIagranha or with cavinus