Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-09-30
STAR ROUTE BANDITTJ,
THE REIGN OF THE REPURIJ-
CAN ROBBERS REVIEWED.

/ THE REIGN OF THE REPTrRTJ-
CAN ROBBERS REVIEWED.
How they Sprung up and Thrivcd Under
the PetticOat Regime of Rutberford
the First-The Cost of Their Existence
beyond COmputatIon-someo of the Cd
ditles of the Prosecutions.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 29.-The Commit
tee on Expenditures in the Department
OF Justice, which, during the last session
Of Congress, investigated the star route
prosecutions, has completed its report for
submission to the House on reassembIing.
The report is signed by Messrs. Springer
| Chairman, Van Alstyne, Hemphill.
Fyan and Crisp, the Democratic members
Of the committee. 1t saws:
During President Hayes administration
/ certain contractors in the star route mail SER
vice entered into cOnspiracies to defra I'D the
/ S ESSe eI iiieht IN the lettlng and performance
1 oI man contracts. The contract division of
( the Post Office Department is under SUPER
/ vision of the Sec md Assistant Postmaster
| General. During the letting and perform
/ ance OF the fraudulent mail service, Thomas
/ j. Brady filed this office. The frauds upon the
/ service could not have been committed with
| out his knowledge, cooperation and assist
| ance. The attention Of the country to the
I star route frauds was first attracted by the
| increased expenditures under Gen Brady 3
aiministratiOn for that service. There was a
/ large deficit reported TO the Forty-sixth Con-
/ gress, and a deficiency APPROPRIATION was
! asked Tor the purpose Of meeting largely IN
1 creased expenditures. A partial investiga-
| ton into the frauds was made bv The snh
/ committee on Appropriations and report adj
/ Nerse TO the granting OF the increase required
| Dy lne f0st Omce Department was made
/ Dy the Committee. But so great was the
/ pressure OF ne star route contractors, their
agents and attorneys. backed bv the powerful
| influence Of the Post Office Department that
/ an appropriation was made to meet a large
l part OF this deficiency. The fraudulent con-
/ tractors thus obtained new lease Of power
/ and continued TO draw immense sums from
4 the treasury for fraudulent and fictitious
/ service.
THE ERA OF REFORM.
Reference is made to the Inauguration
| of President Garfield and his appoint
| ment of I. l.. James to the Postmaster
| Generalship, who "entered upon the
! duties of his office with determination
/ to reform the abuses and run the service
| on strictly business principles" There
| port continues:
President Garfield was of the opinion that
/ there had been great extravaganza, if not cor
/ ruptlOu, IN the department, and directed Mr.
/ james to proceed with thorough and ex-
| haustlyc investigation.
| 4 review is made of the efforts Of p. H..
| Woodward, who as confidential agent
was given the details of the investigating
! of the tabulated statement of the cost Of
| the 93 routes; of the removal of Thomas
| j. Brady and his chief clerk. John L.
| French; OF the sending OF a post office in
| spectOr into the West and Southwest "tO
| investigate the star routes upon which
| the increases were most glaring;" of the
| testimony of MOntfort @. RerdeIl, which
''the Attorney General did not consider Of
value to the government, and allowed Mr..
| Rerdell to return to his old associates
! without securing his papers or his affida-
| Wit, and whose credit as witness subse-
| quently was much impaired by contradict
| tory affidaVits made under the influence
of his former employees and of the re-
| port of A. NJ. Gibson on the general sub
Ject of the star route frauds.
The reports prepared by Mr.. Woodward,
| the committees report says, and the reports
| Of the post office inspectors made under his
direction. the report Of Mr.. Gibson, and the
testimony Of the witnesses before your COM
mittee, show that glarng and stupend0us
| frauds were perpetrated on the government
In the star route mail service, and that not
| only contractors. but that many other persons
| in high official positions in the government
were either Crlmlnally cOgnlZant OF the frauds
| or guilty as participants therein. The exact
| amount out Of which the government was de-
| frauded IN the star route service during Pre-i-
| dent Hayes administration can never be ac-
| curately known.
LYMAN's FIGURES.
Henry d. Lyman the present Second As
| sstant Postmaster General. submitted to
| your committee report showing the number
| and termini of forty routes, the names of the
| contractors and the amount paid for eNpedi-
tiOn, less fines and deductions for failures to
| perform expedition. Expedition on these
| forty routes was obtained through fraudu-
| lent representations or false afidavits, and
| the aggregate amount estimated to be due
| the government on account of over payments
| on fraudulent service was 81. .l72 1872. The
/ hol a
| lent service was proven amounted to 95. In
| case civil suits are brought against the con-
| tractors to recover over payments on account
| of fraudulent expedition, the amount the gov
| ernment would claim of the forty routes Just
| mentioned above no estimate has been made
/ by the Post Office Department. Ofthe amounts
! due upon the fifty other routes impli-
| Gated in the fraudulent transactions, the
| whole amount OF which the government was
| defrauded in the star route mail service dur
| ing President Hayes administration. will eX-
| eighteen-cOntrolled by the Dorsey cOmbna-
! tiOn are cited, showing the amount of increase
/ secured. The report says: "The evidence
| showed that the receipts from the offices on
| these routes for mail matter carried over
| them were inconsiderable in comparison with
| the vast amount of money required for the
| service. On the Mineral Park and Piereche
| route. which was expedited so to cost about
| $4,000 per annum, the emOluments on all the
| offices on the route were but S16l per annum.
/ This amount after expedition ran down to
| S599.
| ROUTES WITHOUT MAIL.
| During thirty-nine days it appeared that
| not a single letter or paper passed over this
| route. although the government was paying
| nearly $50.00O for carrying the mails. On an
/ other route it appeared that the contractor
| carried the entire mail in the leg Of his boot
/ over the mountain and received $4,000 for the
/ service. The original pay of the contractors
/ on all of these routes was S4l,l35 per year.
| Ii was increased so that IL became $iiS.6I0 a
/ year. The revenue from the offices depend
/ ing solely upon these routes amounted the
first year to So 297. IN the second year to Sl3.
| 6S. and in the third year to Sll ,622, actually
! diminishing during the third year when the
| paw for the service was greatest. The gov
4 ernment was paying at that time nearly $780,
| COO per year for carving mails to offices that
| VieldeO less than Sl2, 900 for revenue" Other
/ expeditions are cited, on one OF which 1.-THE
| sneed al which the service was let was one
| mile and eight -hundredths per hour; a time
| much slower than a horse could walk" Rela-
| tive to the route from Las Vegas. n NJ, to
/ Vnita, I. T.. the report says, that the pay
I began at $3.50 and was increased 10 Sl3b, SIS
| per anDum; that the post office inspectors re-
| ported that some of the Offices could not be
| found and that several others might as well
| not have been found; that Col. Bliss testified
| that these offices were all established on the
| recommendation of ex-senator Dorsey, and
! that Mr.. Woodward testified that the net rev
| euue derived from all the Offices which de-
| pended exclusively for their mail supply on
| this route reached the sum of $751; for the year
/ ending June 80, 1879, S2 for the year ending
1 June 30. loSu, anu s-0- LOT tuc hlne months
/ ending March 81, 1881, 10 Offset an annual eX-
| penditure of Sl50,592.
BLISS EFFORTS TO COMPROMISE.
The efforts Of Col. Bliss to arbitrate the
4 Salisbury and Parker cases, one Of which was
/ the route mentioned above, after the grand
1 Jury had failed to Indict, are thus mentioned
| nv the Committee; at appears from the
| testimony of Col Bliss that the proposition for
/ arbitration in the Salisbury and Parker cases
| were propOsed pending their consideration be-
| fore the grand jury, but rejected; that Cot.
| Bliss affected surprise when the grand jury
/ failed TO indict and Immediately desired to
| secure something from the wreck by conceal
| ing the fact of the grand juryis failure 10 in
| dict from the attorneys Of Messrs. Parker and
| Salisbury until there could be renewal Of
| the efforts at arbitration. and au agreement to
| submit the cases so as to secure return
| to the government of the moneys Illegally
/ obtained by these combinations. But the
/ testimony of Attorney General Brewster and
| Nessrs Merrfck and her seems to be con-
| elusive that Col. Bliss had no expectation,
| nor, perhaps, Intention. OF procuring indict
| ments against Mr.. Salisbury. and he could
! not have been surprised when he learned that
| the grand jury mad failed TO indict. There is
! evidence on record also that the evidence
/ presented to the grand jury in these cases was
1 meagre. and that the jury could scarcely have
! understood, sn4 Gid not understand, the
| character and extent OF ttat evidence.
| The EFFORT TO arbitrate the cIgil liabilities Of
| these parties utterly failed, and, pending con-
| sideratiOn Of the arbitration proceedings. tue
| statutes Of limitation ran against the parties
! in criminal actions. Postmaster General
| Howe and the Attorney General held that the
| proposed arpitTrtion was void.
THE TWO BIG COSIBINAIIOEs.
Other extracts from the reports are
made as follows;