Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-03-17
BRADY ON THE DEFENSIVE
BLISS COMMANDMENT STOOD
WITHOUT WINCTNG.

The Willy Star ROuter Defends ali HI,
Actions With the Nonehalance of Des-
peration-W What He Says About the
Expedition of the Routes--A Dash OF
EgOtism.
WASHINGTON, March 16.--In the star
route case to-day the cross-examination
! of General Brady was continued. After
the witness had described the method OF
preparing advertisements for the letting
of miscellaneous services, Col. Bliss re-
ferred to the Tongue river route, and
asked how contract was to be made
profitable by expedition when it was a
losing contract at the old schedule. The
witness dryly answered, ''You will have
to ask the contractors about that"
s'You stated that you expedited it 10
make it profitable to the contractor.
i How -
at was expedited" replied General
Brady, $50 as to get good service. said
that we preferred to help the contractors
rather than oppress them. Whether we
| did so or not is matter for them to de-
/ cide.'
Col. Bliss pressed the question in a diff
| ferent form, and the witness ans nswered
\ that he would not like to take tri-weekly
servive without expedition when be was
! losing money on one trip per week,
/ Where expedition was added, however, it
seemed 70 benefit the contractors. How,
/ the witness did not know. That was a
| question for the contractors. He was
| asked how he proposed to get rid
! of the stumbling block of increasing the
/ ridiculously low figure at which the Origi-
| nal service had been taken to profitable
/ figures.
The witness answered: 'SWe kicked the
/ stumbling block out of our way in order
to get just what we did--good service"
Col. 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 we'll treated when he was Post
master General.
| Col. Bliss-"I should say they WERE"
| The witness added that he thought it
had resulted in better service.
| Colonel Bliss-Don't you know that the
Post Office Department is now self-sus-
ptaimng?
General Brady-I do; but that is not
vice. 1t only results from the increased
sale OF stamps.
! The witness was asked why he allowed
| the contractor so much more for eXpe-
dition than its actual cost, as
shown by the filed sub-contract,
such as upon the Eugene City and
Bridge creek routes. He answered
that he was not dealing with the sub
contractor. The contractor was held for
the service summer and winter. The sub
contractor was not bound to the depart
ment and could throw up the service at
any time in the middle of the winter,
when the contractor was bound to imme-
diately restore it. He thought that the
service on the Eugene City and Bridge
creek route was cheaply let.
Col. Bliss then took up the report of
the proceedings of the Congressional
committee and asked the witness if his
statements then made were true. He as
serted that they were. The witness pre-
sumed that the Congressional inYestlga-
ton of 1880 had been brought on by his re-
quest for a deficiency appropriation of
100000. He was asked il he did
not say that he had spent $3,800,-
900 of the total appropriation of $j,900,00
for 1879 before the first of January, 1879.
The answer was that he did not remem-
Der. OF course the official papers would
show. He did not know how many orders
for expedition he made while Second AS
sistant Postmaster General. There were
number of them. Over one hundred,
but the Postmaster General made some
probably in the number. The witness
made more orders, but the Postmaster
amounts.
Col. Bliss-Don't you know that YOU
made ten times the number of orders made
by your predecessors, Messrs. Routt and
Tyner.
Gen. Brady-Oh, 1 presume 1 did, /
thought myself ten times as good an AS
sistant Postmaster General as they were
together, Laughter
The witness did not take any official
notice of the sub-contractOrs as rule.
Colonel Bliss-Did you not say to VIM.
Lilleyen in August, 1880, that if the sub
contract of the Mineral Park route was
given to certain person named that you
would cut the service down TO one trip a
week. The witness answered that he did
not remember having had any such
conversation. He had felt like saving
such things about Mr.. Jennings, because
he rendered such miserable service. Here
membered the San Corpus Christi
route and contractor Jas. p. Price.
Col. Bliss produced one of the Price
drafts, and asked if the witness ever had
the paper in his possession.
Mr.. Wilson objected, and long discus
sion ensued as to the admission of the
question.
Mr.. Merrick expressed his intention of
showing that these two drafts for 81, ,250
each and 81, 800 in money had been placed
upon General Brady's desk, while he was
acting as the Second Assistant Postmaster
General, by the contractor ON this rOlite
for a corrupt purpose. He proposed to
show that another bill for $500 from
Daniel Murphy, of st. Louis, payable to
Murphyis order, had been sent to Gen.
Brady for similar corrupt purposes, They
expected to show that they had direct
relation to expedition and the putting on of
service in certain routes other than those
set out in the indictment in this case, and
were evidence of Gen. Brady's motives.
The court asked if Mr.. Merrick held
that if the facts were proved, as proposed,
that he could Oblige the defendant TO
criminate himself.
Mr.. Merrick cOntended that he could.
Having voluntarily gone on the stand the
defendant must run the risk of crimi-
mating himself. They showed that on and
about the time of the conspiracy the wit
ness was stepped in Tillainy. Was it not
competent evidenceY
During Mr.. Merrick's argument, which
was characterized by bitterness and
scathing comment, Gen. Brady sat with
unmoved cOmposure in the witness box
looking him calmly in the face. Without
hearing the argument ON the part of the
defense the court adjourned until Monday
next.