The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1882-09-17
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS
Outhc verdict Ia the Star.Routc Cases.
fphiIadrtphi1 Times


Philadelphia Timcs1
The farce of the trial OF the Star Route de-
PENDANTS is practically NJ an end Tor the present aud
most likely tor all time. The two Dorscys and BRADY
tho three most iluNtiious public thieves since the
golden days OF Tweed have locked horns with iusiicc
iu The National Cnpit1t and proved themselves
mlehuer than tile law. The case presented by tho
Government was so clctr SO complete iu every link,
aud so entirely conclusive the guilt of tho Dor
ahrs aud l'rldy, and the 1dety of the Judge TO the
honest administration Ut the law was so emphatic,
that tho country had learned hope for tho majesty
1l Justice oven In Washington; hut the earlier lp.
ptebcusious " tho omnipotpuoo of pov,rfni and
banded thieves have been fully realized 10y tho con
yicion of two Of tho minor defendants tho lrquital
ot one against whom the Government ala not pross
ho prosecution, and the disagreement Ct the iuty a4
20 the guilt Ot the chief consplrators and criminals
The day that dated the succession OF the Arthur to
the Garfield administration dated the safety Of these
mirhiy criminals They have never hesitatcd to
publicly defy both public sentiment and tho courts
since the nation went Tor the murdered Garfield: and
from that period until yesterday the STAR Route
thieves have had an open field In Washington 10 COM
pass their escape Every Stalwait journal Landed
Arthur aud DETAINED every man who had seconded ar
hed IN daring to attempt the vindlcaton OF Justice
ana during the tGial, and every day since the tury
urst retired the Dnrscys tossed their glass In rbald
toast to those who had offended them hy demanding
the punishment OF the most uublushIng public
thieves OF modern history. They know their
knew the Influence Of power and they were safe
When II Is remembered that Dorsey was a
United states Senator, and used his high position to
organize ana execute crime OF appalling magnitude,
ana that Brady tho Assistant Postmaster a on.
ero who had control OF Dorsey line of theft II sa
fearful humiliation for thuy country that they cond es
cape unwhppcd Of Justice the fountain Of the laws
Of great Tree people Aud " IL the more shameful
nat such q miscarriage OF justice could he pcrpc
aed In the face ot the honest and fearless efforts Of
4 righteous Judge, who made brave struggle to
save Justice from open shame IN her own sanctuary
u Is blow against Justice and against the majesty of
holaw thht must be profoundly felt from centre to
circumference of the Republic. aud 1t VIII do more to
tron'e the people TO the grave peril that Threatens
helr institutions lhah any one cause OF the last de-
cadc. When Wayne MacVegh said TO President
Arthur, soon after the death OF Garfield that the
prosecution OF the STAR Route cases viii bC impOrtant
nr unimpOttant, rs you shall make or fail to make
Tie cause of the Government Your cause ~ he told
the whole story In single pregnant sentence. Gar-
nelu hau made the cause of tho Government his
cause; Arthur refused to make the cause of the ov-
ernmeht Ills cause, aud the prosecutions laugushod
INTO innl failure. The verdict, or the failure Of n
verdict is simply reflection ot the sentiment of
those who bask In the power Of the Government. II
was safe To refuse to convlc II would offend In
authority; " would assure the hearty Communications
OF every Administration organ, and the DOrseys and
Hrady are rtatcalN rteo, because the Government
was ready To tolerate the defeat uf the law The farce
Is now over; Dorsey aud Brady safe from punsh-
mcnt for the meancst prostitution uf hiph power tn
the most reckless theft and tile boosted RppublIr of
the wurld must confess the OmnipOtenre Of banded
thieves over the law. In the very fountain Of the
natlon laws,
IN. Y. Times
The lame aud impotcnt conclusion to which the star
Route tial has been brought by the Washington Jury
Is u grlevuus disappointment and suggests almost
rreslstiby that one or mora OF Its members must have
been secured In the Interest OF the chief consprtos
from the very beginning. Had all the defendants
been acquitted or had there been disagreement
AL except Turner, the result wonld have been COM
prehenSihe nj least. Hat that the two most usignin
cant and least powerful members Of the combination
should l'e found guilty, white the two upon whom 1t
chiefly depended aud without whom 1t could never
have made the least healway, should he regarded by
the same Jurors as possibly free from guilt Is simply
propoStotous. Tho conviction of Miner AMI Rerdnll
must be taken rs indicating that all the urymen
garded the conspiracy to deraud the Government In
hclcting and carrying ont of the star Route contracts
pNilnuIp. ~
established the conviction Of these two could not
be found. Accepting then, the conclusion that the
conspiracy was established, who got II up and who
were engaged In ltp DId Miner onc of the most In
significant OF the contractors, and Rerlc, who was
merely hosecrcary and plant tool OF senator Dorsey
hatoh thls scheme OF plumber and ring In brady with
his 0lical power and Dorsey with his political in-
tuenceH did Dorsey get up his bogus bonds and his
fraudulent petitions ami arrange these combinations
of TAT contracts and exercise his Influence with the
Post once Department at the instigatiOn of his
undeillng Was he the plant tool and Iorlcll the
crafty plottcr and the mighty manager with Miner of
scheme In which others received the Hons share of
pnnder !? The Idea Is ridiculous, aud no man Oh that
Jury could honestly believe that Reido was guilty
ana have any doubt of the guilt of Dorsey. Did
Brady sign his numerous orders which Were the chief
cnSlncfy by which the conspiracy was worked, and
without which 1t would have been helpless aud use
less, undor the magn machinaiOns of Miner or the
irresistible influence of Rerle, unsuspiclous of a
conspiracy of which he was the chief instrument?
The suppositionls Is idotic. If any man guilty
| among those indicted BRADY must have been guilty.
lie the handspring of the combination and Dorsey
was 1t chief directing power. II there was u con-
splracy-and the jury decided by their verdict to
Miner aud Ecrde that there was-then brady and
Dorsey We're the head and front of it, If anything
was shown by the evidence 1t was that fact and the
only chance for honest aud rational doubt to
whether the conspiracy made out by the evidence
to whether some of It's TOOLS the cOntrac-
tors were proved to lie conscious and guilty patlci-
pants In It,
How, then is this scandalous outcome Of the trial To
he accounted fOr2 Had all the defendants beOn
quilted II could lie said that the Jury, WHOLE was
not convinced that the Government hal made out its
of pTlpy, Had there been uiSlurppmput
as 10 all who were not cleared of the charge
II could he said that some Of the jury remained
convinced, and could not cOnscentionsly consent to
verdict of guilty In the face of their doubts. But To
admit that the conspiracy proved and nd guilty
only those whose part In II was least conspicuous looks
like making a Scapc goat OF men who are poor and
without influence for the Sins of those who are rich
and powerful Would any honest aud unconlami-
mated jnry of the people do that2 What influence
has been at work To secure this result Whatever IL
is, 1t must have reached the minds aud consoiences of
those jurymcn who believed Miner aud ltcrleIl
guilty, while BRADY and Dorsey might be innocent
Two Kinds of influence have undoubtedly been at
work In behalf of these two arch conSpiratorS where
they could he applied with any hope OF elect
that Of politics and that of money. Which proved the
more ehcacous and how was each brought to bear
the Jury? We raise these questions, not To answer
them, or that we cannot do. but because they are
suggested naturally and irIcsStibly by the CiTCun
stances Of the aud the character and relations Of
the persons affected by the iury's action 1t
evident strain of courtesy tOr Judge WNlc, Ia dis
missing the Jury, to express his confidence Ia their
fidelity. lie plainly nlimated that his view uf the
law had not been fully accepted, and left doubt
to the verdict which In his mind the facts warranted.
lie had evidently been convinced AS every intelligent
and honest man must have been convinced that there
u conspiracy large scale To dcffaul the Coy
ernment, and that Brady, the Dorseys, aud Vale
clearly and distinctly and Tar more cOnspluu-
OuSly connected with IL than Miner and Rerdrll.
Iut the end is not yet. There may be rctTii OF
these Offenders, and 1t Is intimacd that cvi suits
viii he brought for the recovery of tho plunder he
sides that, there should be most searching nycst
gatiOn of tho means used or attempted for securing
or influencing the jury or any ol ita members. II
the all -pervadlng corruption of rich ami powerful
rascals is reach and cOntamnate tho Jury system,
than is of the chief bnwuks Of our safety rotten
AT Its base.
The result Of the star Route trial Is scandalous
failure OF Justice we'll calculated Ia arouse popular in
dignatiOn everywhere. That the public treasury has
been robbed In the most shameful manner. that IT
robbed for years and Of untold sums of money by
y ring OF plnndcierS Is notorious fact. II the
men who have Just been tried for these frauds not
guilty nobody isgnilty they aren"t to punished
nobody can bs punished. lint the evidence against
them Is Oyurw helmlng. For two months the prose.
cntion piled proofs upon proofs o theirgnt. Against
this mass evidence the iobbers made virtually no
reply from the Witness stand For tho sake of ap-
peaTauCe their lawyers went through the form cali
ing a Iow witnesses Ia testify to Irrelevant matters
but this preense could not bG kept up long, aud soon
there was an utter collapse Of the defense In tha mat
ter Of evidence. Thor failure on legal points not
less complete. They were utterly routed by the ex-
position of the law made by the Court whose charge
seemed Ia leave h0 Jury no honest escape from ver-
dict of conviction The failure of the fury to convict
Biidy and stephen w. Dorsey Is most shameful de-
frai Of Justice. lts disagreement these whllo
hndlng Miner and tcrdell guilty is "a remarkable aud
inmnslstont to Incapable OF eNpla-
| nahon on any honest theory. uf all tho con-
F1ratOTs nrraigned brady and Dorsey We're the great
et Offenders the most deserving Of punishment, aud
tlOsc whose acgulttal wOnld have the most mis-
ChieyOms effects. Brady the head OF the cOnsp-
rGy ard Dorsey Its NE. Brady was the chief In tho
Post once Department and dorsey tho central nguro
outside. AS second Assistant hOsmastey General
BRADY had full control of thn star iOgte service.
Dorsey was Senator Of the United States aud a
member Of the Senate Postal Committee. lie had
been conspicuous In the lirublIGan councils, mem
Of tbs National Republican Committee, intimate
with Republican leaders, and made himself free
enough with thG Republican ProsldOnt-oaGt To write
him impudent, hypOorltical Bttuls nHlltlcal hon
osy aud morality. Without The cooperation OI
Brady the Government could not have been plum
derod by the star Route thieves; the conspiracy
could not have existed, without the Oliclal aid aud
political influence of Dorsey the combination could
not have succeeded 50 long nor liOurahed 50 eSton-
slycly. The OIensG OF tho other IObhOrs was that of
private citizens cOnspirlng to plunder the Govern
ment. But the charge against brady and Dorsey
uy0lyo IN addition to this prostitution Of their high
Ofiiolal FGatiOps violation Of their constitutional
Oaths, and betrayal OF their public trusts The
quital OI all the others COnld not he 81 deplOlabloa