Daily Kennebec journal., 1883-03-17
FROM WASHINGTON.
THE TEDIOUS TRIAL.
Brady Cross Examined by Bliss.

AAs<A rSuiC Ocioys CoosC0 W auS oty
experienced in the panel of the grand jury
in the criminal court this morning, Brady
again took the stand and was further cross
examined by Bliss He did not rememb. r
that any incongruity in Miners afidavits
upon the Tongue River route had attracted
his attention.
The temporary contracts originally ran for
six months, but the term was afterwards ex-
tended to one year. A contract might have
been discontinued in order to put oh better
service, and for other reasons. The power
of the second assistant in that respect was
broad, but in all cases except where the ser
vice was discontinued for some cause, it was
q requirement of the law that a contractor
be allowed one months extra pay.
Bliss instanced the Tongue River route,
and asked how the contract was to be made
profitable by expedition, when it was a
losing contract at the old schedule. The
witness answered, ''You will have to ask con-
tractors about that"
Question-You stated that you expedited it
to make it profitable to the contractor. How?
Answer-It was expedited so as to get good
service. | said that we preferred to help the
contractors rather than Oppress them, and
whether it did or not is a matter for them to
decide.
Bliss pressed the question in a different
form, the witness answering that he would
not like to take tri-weekly service without
expedition, when he was losing money on
one trip per week Where expedition was
added, however, it seemed to benefit the con-
tractors. The witness did not know how
that was a question for the contractors.
Bliss asked WHY the witness had length
ened the schedule time. He answered that
it was only where the schedule had been
fvo1 and tho akpn On a mia n
ment of distances.
Question-Then why did you tell Judge
Kidder you could not do it on the Vermil
lion Sioux Falls route?
Answer-Because ! do not remember that
there was any such mis-statement of dis
tance.
Bliss asked if the service was ever put up
for an individual The witness said that he
sometimes accommodated his friends in that
way. The contractors were very well treated
when he was Assistant Postmaster-General.
The witness thought it resulted in better
service.
Bliss-Dont YOU know that the postofice
department is nowl lself-.ustaining!
Answer do, but not through any cur
tailment of the star service. 1t only results
from the increased sale of stamps.
Bliss-Did you always get expedited SER
vice at the lowest possible rates?
Answer-I did.
The witness was asked why he allowed
contractor SO much more for expedition than
its actual cost, as shown by filed sub-con-
tracts. He answered that he was not dealing
with sub-contracts. The contractor was
held for service summer and winter. Sub
contractors were not bound to the depart
ment, and could throw up service at any
time, when the contractor was bound to i'm
medately restore the service. 1t was not
the practice to increase and expedite route
where the service was being already made
quately performed.
The witness did not know there had been
two affidavits spoken ofunder the discussion.
and so had no explanation to offer in relation
to the instance cited by Bliss, where the affi-
davit most favorable to contractors had been
accepted.
Bliss then took volume of the proceed
ings of the congressional committee, and
asked the witness if his statements then made
were true. He asserted that they were. He
said that if it was necessary to expedite the
route and the contractor insisted upon pro
rata compensation, it would be necessary to
allow it or continue the service on the old
schedule.
Blss-What would be done if the figure
was too high under this rule?
Answer-We would say, old fellow you
" i'll have to come down and make another
proposition; meanwhile we would continue
the old service.
Some discussion took place in relation to
this point, Bliss contending that the contract
or could be forced to carry mail on the basis
of the actual number of men and animals
used, regardless of the contractors affidavit
the witness presumed that the congressional
investigation of 1880 had been brought on by
his request for the deficiency appropriation
of 50 600, 900.
He was asked if he did not say that he had
spent 50, SOC, 900 of the total appropriation of
S., 900, 900 for 1879 befor the first of JAN
uary, 1879.
The answer was that he did not remember
OF course the official papers would show.
Did not know how many orders for expe-
dition he had made while he was second as
sistant p postmaster general there were num-
Der of them, over a hundred, but the postmaster
general made some; probably in the number
the witness made there were orders, but the
postmaster general made orders for larger
amounts.
Blss-Don't you know that you made ten
times the number of orders made by your
predecessors, Routt and Tyner.
Answer-Oh! presume did. I thought
myself ten times better as an assistant post
master general than they were together.
Laughter. Tyner and jewell did little in
expedition. 1t was not part of the jew
ellian policy to increase the star route or
steamboat services.
Question-You spoke of Congress approx
ing your acts. Where do you find that?
Answer-I regarding the granting of the
deficiency appropriation as an approval
Question-Was that the only basis?
Answer-(Sharply0 That was enough.
Questionable they give you all that you
asked?
Answer-No, but they gave me enough.
Question-Then you asked for more than
you needed.
Answer-Yes, for more than enough to
make up the deciency. Witness did not take
any official notice of sub-contractors as
rule.
Questionable you not say to William
Lilly in August, 1886, that if the sub-con-
tract on the Mineral Park route was given to
a certain person named you would cut the
service down to one trip week.
1ngersoll-I object. Name the person.
The Conrt-Yes, that must be done.
Bliss-One Jennings.
Ingersoll-I object again.
Merrick argued that the witness must an
swer every question, and cited the Massachu-
sets case as authority.
The court said that when a defendant went