River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1881-05-19
To this answer the following was re-

turned:
WASHINGTON, D. c., June II, 1879
f. r Wilco1: You may give eighteen
hundred one trip, five thousand three
trips. S,4OO six trips, nine thousand
seven trips. S. w. DORSEY.
WILCOX REPLIED ON THE SAME DAY:
Your figures impossible. Mine OF
Yesterday lowest 1 can get. Contract
was closed at $11 900 for six trips.
Though Dorsey telegraphed Wilcox
he was only interested in the Bridge
Creek and Looking Glass routes
in Oregon, the statement is probably
to be understood only as notice to
Wilcl that these were the only routes
that he (Wilcox) was to work upon, Tor
the greatest swindle of all is in the route
from Dalles to Baker City, via Canon
City, which stands also in the name OF
J. M. Peck, Dorsey's brother-in-law
Already there was route from Dalles
to Baker City, Pendleton, and Lag
range, or
PARALLEL WITH THIS ONE,
which carried and still carries all the
mails between the two points. This
route fir m Dalles to Baker City, via
Canon City, was, however, under man.
ipulations of the ring, increased to sery-
ice ofsix times week, which is wholly
unnecessary, and the pay was lalsed
from $S,20S to $72,52O. ]. M. Peck
also has another expedited route-vlz.:
from Canon City to Camp McDermott,
most of the way through a coun-
try without population and in
capable Of sustaining any. This
route was expedited from 50, 1888 to 49,
766. J. w. Dorsey, brother of S. W.
Dorsey, has contract on the route
from Dalles to Lake View, in southern
Oregon, which route also was expedited
from Sc, OS9 to $2O,3OO. 1t is probable,
therefore. that Wilcox had charge of
only small part of the business of the
Dorsey ring in Oregon.
THE "OREGoNIAN"
of tom orrow will say of the develop
ments in the star route frauds: "EX-
Senator Dorsey will hardly ask the
acknowledgement now to write a let
ter exonel ating him. George A.
Steele, who has been nominated for the
postmastership of Portland, was special
agent of the postoffice department for
Oregon, Washington, and Idaho at the
time when the star service was so large
ly "expedited" and the pay on many
routes SO immensely and fraudulently
increased. He knew all about these
transactions as he had his attention
called to them, and especially to the
route from Dalles to Baker City,
via Canon City, which route was ex-
pedited from SIS 1888. 1t would be a
pertinent inquiry to learn what was the
nature of his reports to the department
on these routes and what rec
ommendation he made. Did he help
contractors to work up these routes
and get their enormous increase of
pay, or did he expose its iniquities to
the department Just now, since he
expects to be postmaster of Portland,
these are pertinent inquiries. We
| venture the opinion, and that without
special hazard, that as post official he
threw no obstacles in the way of ex-
pediting contr actors.
THE SUIT BEGUN AT DENVER
tor the reson that plaintiff was able to
get service on Dorsey there. Wilcox
is still in Oregon. The. attorney who
sent the claim from Portland to Den
yer to be sued is J. K. Woodward, for
merly county judge of this (Multna-
may county.
The following are four specimen
routes of the Oregon ring, run by Dor
sey:
Route No. $3.50, from Dalles to
Raker City, raised from $S.2SS to $72,-
500; contract awarded to John M. Peck,
of the Dorsey combination, March Is,
1878; sub-contract transferred to H. M.
Vail, another contractor identified with
the Dorsey interest, and the route at
once began to undergo development.
The government has thus far paid to
the contractor, since July l, 1873,
$150.900, although the route was let at
IS, 2SS per year. There were petitions,
of course, upon which to base the action
that was taken by Brady. The most
earnest advocate of increase and ex-
petition was Sen. Mitchell, of Oregon,
and one or two petitions were endorsed
by Sen. Slater. It was shown that the
net annual revenue of inferno diate Of
fees was only 81, 1913, but in spite of this
the number of trips was increased and
the running time reduced at an annual
expense of $64,232.
Route No. A, 140, from Eugene City
to Bridge Creek, raised from So, 1853 to
| $21 ,603; contract awarded to ]. M.
Peck and sub-let to ?. J. Wyckoff for
| $1,000. His SUBJ contract is one of the
few on file, and shows that he received
only 81 400, leaving more than $4,000
annual profit to the contractor. By
L.. a. /,
ment don't know how much the service
| cost. Government mas paid the
contractor about $40, 900 on this route,
up to date, in less than three years.
Route No. 44,160, from Carson City
to Fort McDermott, let in 1877 for ST.
SSS to ]. M. Peck, and raised to $49, 766.
The route was turned over to H. M.
Vale. During the two years and ten
months of the contract term which
have passed, government has paid the
contractor about $72, 800.
The fourth route of the Oregon
group is No. "a, 154, from Dalles to
Lakeview. This route also belonged to
the Dorsey combination, but Peck did
not bid for it. The duty was assigned
to J. w. Dorsey, brother of the ex-sen-
ator. The annual pay for this route
was raised from Sc, OSS to $4,000. The
papers show that at first an attempt
was made by means of petitions and
recommendations to secure an addition
of one trip, but very soon nothing less
than six trips and reducing time would
suffice. At times there were many
complaints about poor performance or
non performance of service. Senator
Mitchell writes that there were SO
many failures that the whole country
was indignant. Government has paid
the contractor up to date $4,000.
The chief feature of moving-day in
New York was an unprecedented
stampede to Brooklyn. Two hundred
wagon loads of furniture crossed Full
ton ferry in the forenoon. The remov-
ais to Jersey City were very few
Landlords largely emptied their houses
by advancing rents, and many are now
seeking tenants at the old rates. 1t is
stated that twenty-foot lot in Harlem
costs So 900, while in Brooklyn one can
buy new brown-stone fronts at from a.
500 to $4,000.