Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1882-09-09

The Change u the star Rsuse y.r,
WAsHISoTos, Sept. SIN the Grim
mai Court this morning Judge WyIit
after some explanatory remarks 70 th
jury, began his charge. He said:
| BY the act Of March 3, 1873. Congres
appropriated $500 90 for maiutenanc
OF the Star Route service. That appru
pr'ation was for the fiscal year 1880. Th
appropriation Was all that was asked b.
the Department. The records of IN
Treasury and PostOffice Department
showed that for three previous wear
there was an unexpended balance o
nearly. - ,OOO,00O to the credit of tn,
Department. There was in eyidence ,
statement showing that the Postmaste
General, on December 3, 1879. haf
asked for re-appr0priation of $2.OO.
OO1, TO meet deficiencies in the apprupri
alton for the Star Route service. Ihi,
was 4 statement calculated to arrest IN,
attention Of Congress, for it showed il
five months after the beginning of tin
fiscal year there was deficiency of 81.
UOO,OO. That was fact TO alarm thu
country. Investigation followed, aut
an additional appropriation was made
with a provision for limited expedition
and increase Of service upon routes
That was as far a. the action of Con.
RroGB ought to have gone. Other cir.
cumstances were fit subjects for judicial
investigation. This investigation fol.
lowed, and an indictment was found
against those alleged conservatory
This indictment might Be said TO have
five features:
First, historical; second, describing
conspiracy; third, the means; fourth,
overt acts, and fifth, partition of money.
The historical part was we'll known.
As to the means used to carry on the
conspiracy, tho jury need not trouble
themselves about that. Whether or not
they were sufficiently described in the
indictment was not theirs to consider.
The division Of money depended upon
the question of the existence of a con
spiracy. That was really the only con
slderatiOn for the jury. Whether
there was q conspiracy fol-
lowed by the commission OF
Of an overt act. The false papers and
petitions were the means used, and it
never has been held that the Govern
ment was required to accurately de-
scribe the means. Whether parties
were mutually Interested in the several
contracts Was Of course no consequence.
Their interest in the conspiracy must be
o0nsidered. The parties were, accord
ing to the indictment, individual own
ers of contracts. and mutually inter
ested only in the conspiracy. Any overt
act under any one Of the contracts was
an overt act under all of them. Refer
ring 10 the prayers, Judge Wylie said,
the consplfat0rs were jointly united for
one purpose and several for Othe rs.
Each man stood ON his own defen CO.
The Jury could not convict one man Of
conspiracy, but they could convict two
of them. II there. had been only one overt
act committed, aud the jury acquitted
the party committing it, then the de-
PENDANTS must all be acquitted. Brady
who had been called the key--the mas
ter key-to whom conspiracy and NO
overt acts were eh0wn to have been
committed by any other Of the defend
ants, then they must all be acquitted.
The position taken by the defense
| that all the defendants must bc shown
to have been interested in all the con-
tracts, was false. II it had been shown
that they we're criminally interested in
only one. that WAS sufficient, and the
conspiracy was established. Surp1usage
| in the indictment could not vitiats it.
This indictment charged but one offense
and one conspiracy. II could not CON-
prise two cOnspiracies. Part of the de.
PENDANTS might be wholly acquitted and
part convicted, but If the Jury fOnnd
two cOnspiracies, three of the parties
guilty of one and the remaining four
guilty of another, then indictment
failed. Now as to proof. A conspiracy
is seldom reduced to writing. They are
generally entele into in very formal
way. Parties might reside in different
parts Of the country, but il by any
means, even by dumb, il was shown
they entered into an agreement to de-
fraud the Government, followed by an
overt act, that Was a conspiracy. The
law required verdict of guilty
only when the Jury entertained nc
reasonable doubt Of the guilt Of the de-
PENDANTS. The doubt, to be reasonable,
must bo based upon the evidences, and
not upon mere conjecture. He would
now talk upon the routes and see If il
could be connected with any rational
theory Of innocence. II it could, de-
fendAnts were entitled to the benefit OF
that theory. He would select small
route, the route from vermillion ia
Sioux Falls, Dakota. The date Of the
contract was March Is, 1873, to run
four years. John w. Dorsey had the
contract. The trips were once week
the distance fStv miles, to which two
miles had been added. The time wal
IA hours. There were nine postofices
but no towns ON the r0ute. Soon Aftel
the service was put on, it was disc0v.
cred that tho actual distance Was about
| 20 miles, and that information had been
distinctly and repeatedly furnished tC
the EccOnd Assistant P00tmaster-Ge Gem
sral. On December 13, 1873, the mum.
Der of trips was doubled. On May 3
1879, the route was practically assigned
to the b-contracSor. On July 10
| 1879, the number of trips was increased
| to six and the time reduced to twelve
hours, and the compensation increased
to e6l& DeductinR an hour for delay:
| at postofflces, tho carrier was required
to travel the seventy miles in mint
hours. Petitions and letters had
becn sent In, and il did not absolutely
| follow that this expedition was fraudu
lent. II the jury could reconcile itsel
with any theory Of innocence then /,
must do it. A Congressman Of influ
ence, Mr.. Bennett, had asked for 1t and
that must be considered. Soon aftel
every postmaster on the route united II
q protest 70 the Department, saying thai
| the time was iinpracticable, and AakoC
| 70 have the fourteen hour schedule 10
stored, and Bennett enforced this pro
| test, and it was sent there. Just at thil
point this member Of Congress seems x
have lost his influence, Tor be was in