Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-11-25
THE STAR ROUTE FRAUDS.
Special Attorney Gi5son's Report to the
partmcnt of Justice.

Special Attorney Gi5sOn's Report to the de-
partment of Justice.
Mr.. A. NJ. Gibson, special attorney for
the United States in the matter of the star
mail service investigation, has submitted
a report to the acting attorney general,
which deals chiefly with the administra-
tiOn of the contract office during the term
of Second Assistant Postmaster General
Brady, and goes into details on the subject
of the ''Star Route Frauds. :" The report
concludes as follows:
l submit that have demonstrated that
the methods which have prevailed in the
contract Office of the postofiice department
promoted wastefulness, facilitated cOrrup-
tion, enabled few contractors, with the
assistance of high officers and subordi-
mates, to wrUngfully obtain large sums of
money from the treasury, and generally
brought the department. into disLonor and
bad repute throughout the land. The fol-
lowing propositions are sustained by over
whelming and unimpeachable evidence
First. That in advertising for proposals
to transport the mails on star routes in the
fourth, or Pacific, contract section it was
the rule to ask for number Of trips less
than it was pretended tho needs Of the
country required Immediately after service
began.
Second. That the schedule time On star
routes was Systematically made longer in
the advertisements than it was pretended
Immediately after service began that the
needs OF the country demanded.
Third. That star routes were advertised
longer than they were let at previous let
tings, and longer than the distance circu-
lars and other record evidence known to
the contract Office proved them to be.
Fourth. That star routes have bccn ad-
vcrtised to be shorter than they were
known to be from the record evidence in
the possession of the department..
Fifth. That the systematic advertising
of star routes in the manner described in
propositions first, second, third and fourth
were some of the steps precedent taken in
accordance with a prearranged plan, Of
the existence of which all the attendant
and Sequent circumstances leave no doubt,
whereby few contractors obtained con-
troll of more than four hundred routes at
allowances, made in violation of law and
at variance with the long established
practice Of the department, got the pay of
the the same increased by addition OF trips
expedition Of schedule aud increased dis
tance until three. four, five, six and seven
times the original price was paid.
Sixth. That by advertising star routes
longer than they actually were an expedi-
ton Of schedule thereon required less ex-
penditure by the contractors to enable
them TO perform the increased service.
Seventh. That the star routes being ad-
vertised shorter than they actually were
enabled contractors, after getting the pay
for these routes enormously Increased by
trips added and schedules expo dited, to
obtain, on one pretext to another, pro
rata pay for increased distance.
Eighth. That this system required con-
tractors who obtain routes at small pay to
give propertionately less bonds which arc
not required to be increased by extra al
lowances for additional trips, expedited
schedules and increased distance that
this opened the door to straw bidding, and
men who were notoriously dummies habit
| ually appeared as bidders, and, as circum-
stances required, became failing builders,
failing contractors. or remained and sublet
to their principals just as they failed or
succeeded in getting the pay of the routes
increased; thai the bondsmen of these
dummies were always worthless, and no
effort was made to punish the men behind
them.
Ninth. That in giving out temporary
service, a few contractors received all the
rich plums at high rates Of pay, and in
some instances these temporary contracts
have been extended from time to time,
greatly to the detriment of the govern
ment and greatly to the advantage of the
favored contractors
Tenth. That in many instances con-
tractors have been suffered on portions of
their routes to perform service, and to
omit services in violation of their contracts
whereby they profted largely, and the
government suffered in corresponding
degree.
Eleventh. That contracts have been
awarded on proposals manifestiy and con-
fessedly irregular and illegal on the plea
that a great saving was thereby to he madc
and within few days or months after
service began the pay Of tho routes thus
let was increased many fold.
Twelfth. That contracts have been
awarded to certain contractors on illegal
proposals. and at the same letting con-
tracts were not awarded on proposals hav-
ing precisely similar defects, the depart
ment holding that the proposals we're
illegal, when in fact the identical defects
were in other cases held not to be sufficient
to Justify their rejection.
Thirteeeth. That hundreds of contracts
have been awarded on proposals with
guarantors notoriously worthless, and con-