St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-11-01
Register to-day This is the last chance.
STAR ROUTE CASES.
Representative MiIliken Makes a
Minority Report of the Commit
tee of Investigation.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 81 Representatives
Milliken and Stewart, OF the committee of
expenditures in the department Of justice,
have sigued a minority report on the inves-
tigation by that committee at the last session
of the prosecution OF the star route frauds.
The report is written by Milliken in the first
person, and reads as follows:
1.-The late period at which the majority re-
port is presented for my approval with the
intimation that my assent or dissent must
be signified within less than a week, prevents
me, amid other engagements, from express
sing my views as fully as would like.
cannot at all treat OF the commission of the
report, and can only refer TO one or two of
its direct statements. There is an apparent
desire to insinuate, without stating it, that
Bliss, one Of the counsel, did not place be-
fore the grand jury as fully as
he might, evidence in what
is known as the Salisbury and
Parker cases. But the mere fact that briefs
of the evidence were made up by Bliss for
the grand jury and presented the committee
with the endorsement of the foreman upon
them, show thathe did present all pertinent
evidence which was then available TO the
government, fully dispOses this insinuation.
1t WAS certainly not Bliss fault that the pro-
posed ordinations were not proceeded with.
The government abandoned the proceedings
before u tribunal of which two of the three
members were selected by itself, and which
was authorized to receive such evidence as
they chose and to decide by majority vote.
Without criticising this action and recogniz-
ing the force Of legal reasons by
which il is justified, it is sufficient
to say that Bliss was certainly not
responsible for the failure of the proposed
arbitrations. There is great force in his
claim that the government could not have
been preiudiced by the proceeding at least
till the other side objected. am not quite
sure whether the majority intended to insin-
uate anything against Elmer, one Of the
proposed arbitrator. His record as second
assistant postmaster general should prevent
such an attempt. The majority report is in
error in asserting that pending the hesitation
OF the government as 10 proceeding with the
arbitrations, the statute Limitations ran
against criminal proceedings. On the con
tTary, II each quarterly receipt of money
]
as think it clearly was, the statute may in
some of the cases not even yet have run,
The majority report devotes some space 10
the disagreement between witnesses as to
whether il was represented TO the grand
Jury in June. 1SS2, that Price would come
before them as witness. Without undertaking
to reconcile this discrepancy, suggest that ii
arise. on the mere side issue that all wit
nesses TO this point were obviously siucere
and intended to be truthful, and that there
/ is no dispute that there was presented to that
grand jury ali the evidence which the gov
I ernment then had under its control. The
gingerly manner in which the majority treat
the extraordinary witness, Walsh, and The
statement they give % the nature of Kellogg
own testimony, mas, perhaps, indicate that
the majority do not greatly differ from the
grand jury.
There are other statements in the report
which had intended 10 refer 10. They all
gather about an obvious attempt 10 throw dis
credit upon one of the government counsel
an attempt, which, as / think, finds
its animus in his personal
Citations and political activity, but
has no real support either in evidence befOr,
the committee or III his standing in the
parently regarded by TIE majority as relia
bic, concur in aseribing entire good faith t
all the counsel. 1t is possible, however, tina
the Philadelphia gentleman, whose ideas o.
: professional propriety surprised the commit
tee, should, SO far as his final conclusion
after his feelings were aroused, be considered
an exception to this remark. The star route
frauds were uudoubtcd and enormous, bu
the prosecution was not successful. Th
want OF success seems TO me TO be ascribing
! not 70 any want Of earnestness, sincerity Of
ability on the part of the prosecution, but
rather the magnitude Of the interests in
volved, and to the deficiencies in the crimi
| nal statutes Of the United States. However
this may be the truth, that the committee o
congress, partisan or otherwise
is no better adapted to supervise
or criTicise legal campaign
than !. Is to conduct military one, finds al
apt illustration in the inadequate and par
tial report of the majority"
Aillikan has also appended to the minOrit
I report Of the committee concerning fees, etc.
charged against the government by tn
] United States marshals and other officer
! under the department of justice on expires