Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1881-05-06
The Star Routo Business.

Our opinion of il has often been stated IN
the last four years. While conducted under
rules designed To protect the treasury, and
under pretences of open competition, 1t is
essentially thieveIy from the public purse.
Most of our readers understand the process
The stage mail rontes. of which there arc
thousands at the West, are professedly given
to the lowest bidder; but the bids in hundreds
of cases are the merest blinds having no
more relation to the prices actually paid for
the mail service, than they have
To the course of the next comet.
The successful bidder runs the route
for few elays, as matter of form then
he throws up his contract, and the route
is let, this time without competition, 10
some influential contractor who stands well
with the Second Assistant Postmaster Gen
erul, at three or four times the price at which
il was let before Or Il route may be let to
such a contractor ut low figure. Pretty
soon the amount Of the service Is changed.
The Department requires more trips or faster
speed and for the additional trips or speed
the contractor, without competition and
without the knowledge of any one outside
OF the department, gets perhaps ten times as
much MS he would have got under his con
tract That a great deal of this klud of
thing has been going on. Is rs certain as
that mail STAGES are run across the llalns
Ex Second Assistant Postmaster General
Brady, under whom this robbery OF the
treasury has been going on, publishes de
fence of himself. the gist of which is that
the charges against him are made by dis
appointed contractors and malicious news
PAPER correspondents that the Congress
men who recommend changes III the mail
service, involving increase Of pay, are TO
blame rather than the officials, who endeavor
TO meet their wishes and that the subject
came up and was Investigated two years ago;
and that by voting the money asked for to
pay for past steals and keep them agoing in
| future, Congress virtually declared that every
thing WAS all right.
All this is the purest and most transparent
rcttifoggery Whether or no Gen. Brady
proftted pecuniurily through these transac-
tions, We have NJ means Of knowing, and
we would make M charge against him on
that score but al best he sat still while the
public treasury WAS being robbed under his
nose
| Postmaster General James undoubtedly
knew what he was about when he asked for
MIR. Brady resignation.
! NnyEL CRIME -AEREsTED FOR kI IIIN
| BgEs a year or more aSo, l'r. &. IL liar
| Der OF Rutland began the culture ct bees at
| the farm of Winslnw e. Fish some three
miles south of Rutland village. Associated
| with him in the business was j. ID I'LL ol
| Bristol Owing to disngrccments between
/ the parties, Hill last TALL returned tn Bristol
/ The number of hives ot bees lett On Barber ;
| hands was about one hundred. In the tall
the tops at the lower portion oi the hives
| were closely covered with cloth, and On tins
WINS laid dry sawdust To the depth vt three
or tour inches, To keep out the cold aud all
| snrb moisture accumulatlng. On the night
! at March 3, parties went upon the premises
/ ot Mr.. Fish, and, opening the hives, remov
/ rd the cloths thus allowing the sawduSt in
| drop into the lower part ni the hive and NIL
/ the bees About 81 hives ynluoi IN the
nrishbnrhuod ot $1,000 were thus drstI'N
/ ed Investigation led To the arrest at hill,
| who procured bail and II supposed accom-
/ plicr, one DAVID Mcl.In, has just been al
/ rrslcd and lodged in ilil The crime Was
evidently committed M revenge iuT real ~
fancied injuries done llill by his former
| associate.