The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1884-10-10
The Star Route Frauds.

The Star Route Frauds.
REPORT MADE BY THL COMMITTEE ON Ex-
pESDlTCREs.
The committee on expenditures in the
department Of justice. which during the
last session Of Congress investigated
the Star route prosecutions, has com
pleted its report for submission to the
house on reassembling. The report is
signed by Messrs Springer (chairman),
Van Alstyne, Hemphil, Fyan and
Crisp, the Democratic members of the
committee. II is al exhaustive review
Of the fraudulent mail contracts, the
Investigations which led to the prose
cution OF Dorsey, Brady and others,
and the Intellectual efforts to have Park
er, Salisbury and other contractors in.
dlcted.
The report says during The Hayes
administration when the greatest frauds
were accomplished Brady was second
assistant postmaster general and frauds
could not have been committed without
his knowledge and assistance. The ex-
act amount which the government was
defrauded of can never be accurately
known. An examination of forty
routes made which showed by fraudu-
lent representations or false af1idavits
the government had made over pay
ments Of $2,172,l32 and estimated on
other fifty routes upon which fraudu-
lent service was proven showed an
over-payment aggregating over 81 900
600. One route was cited on which
the compensation had been increased
TO $4,000 per annum when the re-
ceipts to the government therefrom for
the year amounted to only !s591.
During thirty nine days it appeared
that not single letter or paper passed
over the route. On eighteen routes
controlled by the Dorsey combination
the pay to the contractors was in
creased from S4l,135 20 S44s,67O
year, while the revenues from all The
offices Oh these routes amounted to only
$11,822.
The failure TO secure indictments in
the Salisbury and Parker cases is re-
ferred to and an intimation made that
Colonel Bliss, the counsel for the gov
ernment, did not intend TO obtain them.
T. III. Woodward, who was engaged
as special agent by the government,
had obtained the statement from Thos.
A. McDevitt, a nominal contractor.
McDevitt had been indicted in Phila-
delphia for fraudulent bidding on GER
tain routes in Texas He told Wood
ward all he knew regarding the frauds
i'll the Salisbury cases upon the promise
Of immunity, which promise Wood
ward had been authorized To give by
MacVeagh, and James McDevitt's trial
was pressed, however, and ne was sent
to the penitentiary for one year. His
presence in Washington could not
therefore be had, and Woodward urged
executive clemency, but without avail.
The committee find that upwards of
Sl50,OO0 was paid attorneys and de-
tectives in addition to other expenses,
such as long and expensive trials ir the
Dorsey and Brady case. The report
refers to the removal of local officers
in the District of Columbia who were
hindering the prosecution OF the cases
and says Marshal Henry, according TO
the testimony of the attorney general,
was removed for "a fragrant violation
of his duty in aiding the defendants"
Mr.. MacVeagh, declined to act az
CHIEF prosecutor in the Star route cases
upon the ground that ne did not see
how he could hope to have any moral
support in the cases. Other reasons
for MIR. MacVeagh's retirement which
were published at the time We're also
embodied in the report.
In conclusion the report says: "Your
committee is of the opinion that there are
many causes which operated to prevent
the successful prosecution of the Star
route offenders Whatever these
causes may have been it is doubtless
true that those who will take the pains
to read carefully the testimony taken
by your committee on this subject,
comprising nearl y one thousand pages
of printed matter, will reach different
conclusions. There was a great diver
sity in the testimony and many contra
dictions will be found wholly irrecon-
cilable upon any other theory than that
of willful perjury. 1t is sufficient,
however, for the purpose of this inves-
tigation to state that while the evil
dence against the Star route contract
ors and public officials was strong and
conclusive as to their guilt and that the
government was defrauded out of large
sums of money and that large sums
were also expended to secure indict-
ments and convictions, yet no person
was convicted or punished and no civil
suits have as yet been instituted to re-
cover the vast sums illegally and fraud
ulentiy obtained from the public treas.
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