Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-08-10
THE STAR ROUTE TRIAL.
MIR. KER's FORCIBLE ARGUMENT.
MAKING 1T WARM FOR THE DEFENDANTS.

Wlen the Cr!minal court met this morning Mr.
Ker resumed his opening argumentin the star
route trial. He called attention to the absence Of
Mr.. McSweeny, who was not present when the
court opened, and said he would like to have Mr..
McSwecny present, for he was the peculiar cham
pion OF the mau who figured the most and the
worst in the route under consideration. He wanted
Mr.. McSweeny to hear what he had to say about
the figuring on this route, all through which the
same fine hand could be seen.
Mr.. Ker then proceeded with his review Of the
transactions relating to the Ojo Calente and Par
rott City route, which was under consideration
when the court adjourned last evening. He re-
ferred to the apparent reductions made on the
route, and said tnat whatever Brady had taken
In referring to
THE WAY THE MAIL WAS CARRIED BY DORSEY,
in March, 1879, While he was arranging with An
thony Joseph to carry the mail, he read portion
OF letter in evidence from an army Officer at
Fort Lewis, complaining Of the SERVICE and show
ing that the old worn out army horses beat the
mail over the route by six days. In April, John
W. Dorsey having learned in some way that the
route was to be Increased, filed an oath In the de-
partment as to the number OF men and horses re-
quired to carry the mail over the one hundred and
eghtyone miles OF the route In flftyhours. The SUBJ
contractor at the time wrote to the depart
ment that it would be impossible to carry the mail
inl ess than one hundred hours lowing to the mount
ainous nature OF the country. and the deep SHOWS.
Every postmaster on the route joined in letter
to the department, setting forth likewise the i'm
possibility OF carrying the mail in less than one
Dorsey willing, for the good OF the public ser
vice, TO undertake to carry the mail in fifty hours
at somebody else's expense.
THE LETTER AND OATH OF JOHN ". DORSEY
was filed April oath, but dated two days later
April 26th. How they came to arrange these dates
In this manner it could not be told. 1t appeared
that they considered themselves amply fortified
by the power behind them, or else they became SO
tnat aei to up their
Jurat OF the oath purported to have been signed by
a notary two days after it was on file in the de-
partment He was willing to give way now for
the defense to put witnesses on the stand, il they
could, to explain this singular confusion OF dates,
and not leave it for the talk of counsel On the
letters filed by the contractors Brady had made
an unlawful order dating back from April in one
year to July in the preceding year.
Mr. ker reviewed the transactions with Joseph
and Jaramillo, the sub-contraCtors charging in
effect that
THEY HAD BEEN swNDLED.
He referred to the fact that the contractor had
tanned 81 65S in remiSsiOnS which should have gone
to the sub-contractors. No one he said, but a
thief would have done that. VIM. Turner forgot
to notify Jaramillo OF this allowance. However,''
said Mr.. Ker, 81 don't blame you, Turner. You
had mighty bad tutor"
Mr.. Wilson here rose and whispered something
In Mr.. i kers ear. twill tell them that" said Mr.
Ker "Turner was not in the inspection division,
but he had charge of the papers" Mr.. Wilson
and Mr.. Turner both shook their heads. The route,
Mr. Ker said, originally let for 2745, then
d1ced to s1.279, then increased to three trips
week, and the pay Increased to slss2 %, and then
further increased to seven trips week, giving the
contractor S31 ,343. 49, or this sum s. w. Dorsey
pOcketed
$20, ,67SS2 YEAR AS CI.EAE PROFIT.
Mr.. Ker next took up the Siiverton and Parrott
City route, which was 65 miles long and was let
originally to John w. Dorsey fer 4sS to perform
two trips week On schedule of 30 hours This
schedule was afterwards increased to 81 hours but
there is no record that there ws any reduction on
this account. Subsequently john w Dorsey filed
increase n
week, and an expedition to IS hours, and the COM
pensation raised to s14, 4,7O5. 63. Mr.. Ker summed
up the dOingS on that route, including a trans
action In which, when fine Of 81 300 was imposed
upon the sub-contractor and ihen RENTED, the
contractors only returned to the Sub-cOntractOr
81, 100, pocketing f7OO These Ismissions, he said
were significant because H.
BRADY GOT MFTY PR CENT
OF them. II they look over the remissions and al
lowances they would find that the sub-contractor
never got ten per cent Of them OF course these
| men were not On trial for robbing the sub-con-
tractors but those transactions were part or the
evidence When they found man is ready to rob
one man, they could be equally certain he was
ready to rob another.
Mr.: Ker next took up route 46. 132, from Julian
to Cotton, one OF Peck's routes. He showed that
Peck's proposal and oath were written by Miner,
had testified
| STAR ROUTKRs' AFTERNOON APOLOGY FOR NEWS
PAPER.
"In the afternoon apology that they have here
| for a newspaper" said Mr.. Ker, "they have been
calling Mr.. Blois some hard names. When Vale
was put on the stand, those papers were handed
TO him and he corroborated Blois in every particu
lar" The original pay On this route was sl,1ss,
and 1T was increased to $3.50
The next route taken up was No. 46247 from
| Redding to AlturaS, California. This was one
hundred and Seventy-n1ne miles long, and was let
to John NJ. Peck to make two trips week on
| a schedule OF one hundred and eight hours for
$5,9sS year. Shortly after the contract was
made, an additional trip was ordered. On Decem-
Der 16 the route was increased by three trips and
! expedited TO Seventy-twO hours, and the pay in
| creased to $26,942. The mail carrier says he had
always carried the mail n forV-four hours He
| never heard about the expedition to seventy-two
hours Then the contractor sought another expe-
dition to forty-f1ve hours The return OF the post
master was before Brady showing that the mail
yet In the face OF that, Brady ordered this eXped-
tion 70 sevendy,two G hours, giving the contractor
The next route Mr.. Ker referred to was the route
from Pueblo to Rosita. While considering this
route, Mr. ker, referring to letter written from
| Kansas City, Mo-, by Miner, Ieck & Co., to the
sub-contractor in August 1878, n which they said
1--WE make no boast or being soln with anybody,
but we can get what is reasonable" At that time,
| anybody. They
HAD NOT YET wEIGHE, BRADY.
They are solid now. The only ,1-shoot is vaile,
who went on the stand and tried to coax the jury
that he had nothing to do with Il Referring to the
recommendation OF the postmaster at Pueblo that
that instance Turner did his duly, for he had put
the right endorsement on the a6et. 81 rather like
! Turner" Mr.. Ker said, ''for he stays here and
FACES rHE MUSIC"
Referring to the letter Of Gov Pitkin relating to
the route, recommending ipcressed service, Mr.
Ker said that the, letter vas written by Rerdell,
| and declared that If he DIR. Eer) was charged
with writing such letter he would deny it.
MR.. M'swEENEY's oBJEcnoN.
Mr.. McSweeney, rising, sad that as Mr.. Rerdell
was not present he would object tor him to the
language OF counsel, and called attention to the
statute permitting deferdants to testify In their
own behalf, which presctbed that their failure to
avail themselves OF the privilege should not raise
presumption against chem.
Mr.. MIRRICK SAID
| that the statute meant that such failure should
not raise presumption of guilt. When there was
testimony In the possession ofthe other side prove
any incidental fact, then failure to produce that
| testimony raised presumption merely as TO that
! fact. 1t created no presumption OF guilt. Gould
ne not go TO the jury and say tnat where 1nno-
| cence prevails man Is TrOud 10 make clean
breast OF 1t? The law OF Congress never was In
tended to arrest the opeiatton OF human logic.
He might say that wheH innocence prevails a
cleans open statement iStn the course or nature.
He gave notice that he intended to raise the ques
tion again, and submit u In hisprayers to the
court
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