Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-12-15
THE STAR ROUTE TRIAL.
MIR. BLISS ADDRESS TO-DAY.
WHAT HE PROPOSES TO PROVE
HOW THE GOVERNMENT WAS DEFRAUDEo.

/
OF the government in the star route case. He said
that yesterday he had failed to state significant
| fact, and that was that since Brady retired from
| office there had not been one instance OF resort
to the exceptional provisions OF law respecting ex-
| pedition, ana that the service had been so man.
| aged as to make a great saving in the expendi-
lures Brady paid for expedition where there
! were many great mis5tatementS in the affidavits
| as TO the number OF men and animals required.
Referring to the route from Pueblo to
! GreenhorD, the affidavit set forth that the
long schedule required two men and
animals. and the short schedule six men and ami
| Inals AS matter OF fact, 1t would be shown that
| no addlt0nal stock and carriers were required by
the increased speed On the route from Pueblo
TO Rosita. Dorsey swore in one oath that the in
| creased speed would require three men and twelve
norseS, ana In another oath two men and six
horse WHILE in point OF fact the service was per-
formed by one man and three horses Mr. Bliss
| referred to other routes In which the government
| would show
GREAT VARIANCE BETWEEN THE FACTS AND THE
| AFFIDAvITs
OF the contractors variance always In fraud OF
the government The statute preScrlbes that in
| providing for transportation Of the mails the
Second Assistant Postmaster General shall have
Que regard for producttveneSS and other circum-
lstances-productivenes being especially men,
toned. It. was not claimed that every mail route
Snoud pay Tor itself, but in these allowances made
py Brady on these local routes he utterly disre-
garded productiyenesS and every consideration
except the amount that could be produced for the
contractor and himself.
Mr. Bliss referred to the Garland and Parrott
City route, on which Brady ran up the contract
price to $31, 1876; the average yearly receipts
were but S19l96 On the route from Tres Alamos
10 clifton, run up by Brady 10 s27 9359, the aver
age receipts We're between $500 and 5000: on the
route from Mineral Park to Phoebe, the cost OF
which was increased by Brady to $50 033. .33, the
average receipts were s610 g. and this route the
receipts decreased after the order for expedition
Ihe route from Trinidad to Madison, the cost OF
Mr.. Bliss gave figures from other routes, ali
20 the same effect, showing, as he saId how
utterly Brady had disregarded the matter OF pro-
duct1veness. On tue Mineral Park and Pioche
route In Wyoming, Brady had run the price up to
over $4,000, for the pretended reason that it was
connecting line between railways. Yet they
would show by the pOStmaStarS that day after
day and week after week the pouches went over
the route without single letter in them.
THE INNOCENT PosTMASTERS
had put On the mail bills every day the number
o. letters and postal cards carried On 1s out of
80 days not a letter or postal card passed over
the route On the other 81 days, altogether
nine postal cards and twenty-nne letters.
Mr. Bliss referred TO similar circumstances :oc-
curing on the route from Toquerville TO Adair-
Vlile and the one from Kearney TO Kent On the
route from the Dalle5 TO Baker City the largest
mall ever carried was between 500 and GOO pounds
route was increased to s72,520. On the route from
fueDlo 70 RoS1ta. run up to s. 400 the through
mail did not consist usually of more than three or
four letters, as the terminal points got their mail
Dy other routes On the route from Trinidad TO
Madison, run up from 1898 TO 81 20). the mails
averaged about 20 pounds, but on j. w. Dorsey's
statement that the mails were heavy, Brady made
the order for Increased allowance. Brady made
orders ana paid large sums for expedition where
THE GOVERNMENT GOT NO RETURN FOR 1T.
Ihe route from Redding to Alturas California,
was run up by Brady from s, 9sS to s4I, ,916 66.
This was done under an increase Of trips and an
increase or speed from 1OS hours to u hours Yet
IL Is an lndlSputabe fact that that mail was, be-
fore Brady made his order, being carried over the
route in about 40 hours. Brady stepped in, and
under the pretenSe OF getting the mails carried In
az hours, paid out large sums OF money. The
stage line, and his own business interests re-
quired him to go over the route in 40 hours.
PARTIES IN WASHINGTON GOT THE BENEFIT
The parties In Washington got the benefit of the
expedition. only an Insignificant portion going to
the sub-contractor. In other instances expedition
was ordered where nothing was gained, as no con-
nections with other routes were made in time to
be or service. In other cases the sub-contractors
represented that it was impossible to carry the
mails In the time named In the orders and these
protests were sustained by the postmasters on
The route But 10 these statements and protests
Brady paid no attention The result was that fines
were imposed which fell, OF course, upon the sub
contractor, the contractor In Washington benefit
ting by the expedition.
MR. BLISS DESCRIBED ANOTHER METHOD
by which the government was defrauded, whereby,
though there were nomlnally two routes in GER
tain section OF Colorado the mail was carried by
the same men over one route, but both routes
were maintained and paid for, though the post
masters on the route wrote letters to the depart
ment setting forth the facts. He described also
how the route from Trinidad to Madison had been
manipulated under the cover of petition asking
for service at place II miles from the route, so
as to largely increase the compensation OF the
contractor, though the point could have zen sup
piled at little cost and with greater expedition by
another route He described, also, other unneaes-
sary and supposititious additions to routes which
accomplished no useful service except to add to
the sums drawn from the Treasury. In all tpese
things, he said, there was an utter disregard OF
the interests OF the government. Every construc-
tion was given against the government Every
thing WAS availed OF
TO TAKE MONEY OUT OF THE TREASURY
Some OF these contracts were taken originally at
prices so low that the price paid to the sub-con-
tractors was larger than the contract price, The
service had to be put on the 1st OF July, 1873
In several cases the service was not put on, and
all sorts Of excuses were made pending the time
when Brady, by his orders, should make the los
ing contracts pay largely. To seemingly Justify
Mr.. Brady, there had TO be something as an
excuse.
THE EXCUSES
were petitions from alleged people living on these
routes. Ex-senator Dorsey sent a man out over
these routes to get up petitions, and the petitions
were sent to Senator Dorsey. The Senator as a
disin.erested party, apparently, sends them to
Brady with his endorsement Anybody on a mail
route win sign any petition looking to an increase
OF mail service Very frequently petitions
are signed without any regard TO what the cost of
the service will be. An honest Official would look
over the field and consider what the wants of
other localities were and consider what 1usti1ca-
tion he had for granting the petition Undoubt.
edly Senators and Representatives signed these
petitions "We will show" said Mr.. Bliss "that
at least one United States Senator who signed
them was the paid agent OF these defendants'
.'Will you give his name," said MI. Henkle.
81 shall give his name In time" said Mr. Bliss
He Will get notoriety enough when h. comes I
simply say that we Will show it. / further saw
that don't believe he viii dare come here"
Mr. Chandler objected to Mr.. Bliss arguing the
case now, but he was overrued.
Mr. Bliss proceeded to state that these petitions
were shans, and Brady knew II. He described in
stances where petitions for increase OF trips were
after arriving here, altered or amended so as to
make them petitions for increase OF speed as well
as trips. The alterations were apparent at once
upon inspection. but upon such paper orders were
made calling for large sums OF money. He referred
to other petitions on different and widely distant
routes having the same names upon them An in
Spection would show that all the 80 or 60 sigma
lures were written by not more than five or six
persons.
THE FRAUD WAS PLAINLY APPARENT
but these were petitions which furnished the ex-
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