The Russellville Democrat., 1882-10-26
The Star Route Bribery.

ioi ohC h1tChSG III buc SbaF TOube cases recently tried, has furnished the Washington Post with copies of a number of afiidavits of persons, jurors and others, giving the facts in the attempted bribery of the jury. In reply to question proposed by the Post reporter, Col. Ingersoll said:
 "Some of them were filed in that court and given to MT. Moore, as- sistant District attorney. Others have not been filed owing to the fact that the matter has been taken from the hands of the District attorney and handed over to special coun- sel selected by the Department of Justice, which department proposes to investigate itself, and we shall file no more affidayits, knowing they will be simply handed over to the department. As matter of fact, Judge Wylie should have control of the proceedings, and the evidence should be laid before the grand jury. Certainly the Department of Justice should not investigate these charges. If the trial had been before a Fed eral court in New York, and the same charges had been made against the Department of Justice, does anyone in his senses suppose that the Attorney General would have been allowed to manage the investi- gation? No man should decide ln his own case and no department that has been charged with misconduct should investigate itself. If the At torney General had not interfered with the regular investigation we would not give these affidayits to the public. Now we have no other course. I am informed that the At torncy General himself IS not in town, and it is reported that Brews ter Cameron took the case from the District Attorney, and ordered him to give the papers to H. H. Wells, esq. Most, if not all the charges, in some way involve MT. Cameron, and If the charges are true he certainly ought not to control the investiga- tion. And if they are untrue, he can afford to let the matter be exam ined by somebody else. As it is, MT. Cameron selects employees and pays a judge to pass upon charges against himself. He certainly could afford to have the matter inyestigat- ed by Judge Wylie, as no one will even suspect that that judge is prej- udiced in favor of the defendants"
 Copies of ten or twelve of the afii- davits were printed in the Post, and were all of the same import, proving conclusively that agents of the gov ernment were conspicuous in the effort to secure the conviction of the star route conspirators. We have space only for one affidavit, that of William K. Brown, one of the jury men, all the others being of like i'm port and some more in detail. Read:
 "CoUNTY OF WASHINGTON, ..
 District of Columbia.( '''
 civilian Knox Brown being duly sworn says that he was juryman in what is known as the star route case, that during the trial of said case one Arthur Payne came to affi- ants house and left note saying he wished to see afiiant. AfIiant af. rewards saw said Payne, and Payne said that man had asked him if he could say anything that he wished, and that he had told the man that he could say anything to this afiiant. Payne then took out a paper and handed it to afliant to read. The paper was an agreement with F. H. Fall to be signed by affiant to the effect that affiant and Thomas Mar tin, also one of the jury should vote to convict the defendants in the star route case, or If alfiant's vote or that of Martin should hang the jury - then afliant was to receive two thous- and five hundred dollars. Afliant read the paper and then said to Arthur Payne "I am going accord ing to the evidence Fall is a damned rascal and you both can go to hell, and shall vote in accordance with my convictions" Arthur Payne said that Fall was lawyer and had his office on D street.
 (Signed) WILLIAM K. BROWN.
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this 18th day of Oct. A. D., 1882.
 (Seal) J. F. OLMsEAD, Notary | Public"