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If to any of these points there is no telegraph, I suggest that you forward through the postmaster at the nearest telegraph station.

Your obedient servant,

Hon. T. O. HOWE, Postmaster-General.

MR. BLISS TO MR. HOWE.

GEORGE BLISS, Special Assistant Attorney.

POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT,

Washington, D. C., May 10, 1882.

DEAR SIR: I verbally requested Mr. Lyman, who was accidentally in the office, to ask that John C. Manning, postmaster at San Antonio, be directed to report here as soon as possible with all correspondence, letters, and telegrams in his possession or under his control from Thomas J. Brady, J. B. Price, John L. French, and J. J. Ellis, or either of them. I now repeat the request, and add that I will see that his reasonable expenses are paid by the Department of Justice. A subpœna has been issued, but I desire his attendance earlier than a subpœna could go and return.

Your obedient servant,

Hon. T. O. HOWE,
Postmaster-General.

GEORGE BLISS, Special Assistant Attorney.

MR. BLISS TO MR. HOWE.

POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT,

Washington, D. C., May 20, 1882.

DEAR SIR: I will be obliged if you will, by telegraph, request William M. Krider, postmaster at Mineral Park, Ariz., to come to Washington at once. He proves to be a necessary witness in the case against Dorsey. His expenses will be paid by the Department of Justice.

I see by the papers that heretofore it has been the practice to reach Mineral Park by telegraphing to Prescott, and forwarding thence to Mineral Park, but there may be more direct communication now.

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SIR: With this I send you the correspondence between Mr. George Bliss and myself with reference to star-route prosecutions-more especially those that are against Salisbury and others.

Mr. Bliss makes a full report with reference to these cases, and expresses an opinion of the necessity for some preparation and assistance before further proceedings are had in these cases against Salisbury and others named in his letter, and indicates that the preparation and assistance should come from your Department.

I call your attention to this correspondence, and I also desire you to say if it is the wish of your Department to have these cases further pursued, or if, in your opinion, they cannot be pursued prosperously. If you think they ought to be pursued, will you give directions to have the assistance furnished that Mr. Bliss calls for?

The preparation and arrangement of the evidence in your Department must necessarily be made by officers of your Department.

And oblige, truly and respectfully,

Hon. TIMOTHY O. HOWE,

BREWSTER,

Attorney-General.

Postmaster-General.

MR. BREWSTER TO MR. GRESHAM.

HOWLAND HOTEL, LONG BRANCH, N. J. July 25, 1883.

SIR: With this I send to you a copy of a letter this day received by me from George Bliss, esq. I also inclose you a copy of my answer to him.

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POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT,
OFFICE OF THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL,
Washington, D. C., November 8, 1882.

SIR: I have your favor of yesterday, covering a correspondence between yourself and Mr. George Bliss with reference to star-route prosecutions."

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You say Mr. Bliss " 'expresses an opinion of the necessity for some preparation and assistance before further proceedings are had in those cases," and indicates

that the preparation and assistance should come from this Department.

I am sure you could not mean to intimate that this Department had neglected any preparation in its power to make, or refused any assistance in its power to give. This Department has no means of aiding any prosecution, save its records and its officers. I understand that long before you took charge of the Department of Justice, and longer still before I came to this Department, attorneys representing your Department were assigned to rooms in the Post-Office Department. So far as they wished they took possession of its records. More than once I have been called upon for certified copies of records of this Department, which I could not give at the time without assistance from the Department of Justice.

So far as I know, the attorneys representing your Department have had as complete control of the officers of this Department as they asked to have. Indeed, "the energy, perseverance, judgment, and fidelity displayed" of the inspectors of this Department not only led Mr. Bliss to ask that the difficult task of summoning witnesses should be as far as possible intrusted to them rather than to the marshals of the United States, but drew from him a special letter of acknowledgment to the chief of that division. As for myself, knowing I was quite unable to aid the attorneys specially charged with the prosecution of these important causes, I was so scrupulous not to embarrass him that, at the personal request of Mr. Bliss, I declined to take charge of this Department for some days after I reached Washington.

You desire me "to say if it is the wish of your (this) Department to have these cases further pursued, or if in your (my) opinion they cannot be pursued prosperously," I am anxious as you are, and as every good citizen must be, that if crime has been committed it should be punished. If liability has been incurred to the United States, the proper remedy should be applied.

But when you remember how much time was consumed by the learned assistants specially retained to aid the Department of Justice in the prosecution of these cases, I am sure you will not think it safe to put the legal rights of the United States under the direction of the Postmaster-General.

You also say that the preparation and arrangement of evidence in this Department must necessarily be made by officers of this Department. On reflection I think you will see that the postal officers can prepare no evidence which does not exist, and you will prefer to have evidence which does exist arranged by your officers rather than by

ours.

You may be very sure Mr. Bliss will have all the assistance he "calls for," if it is in the power of this Department to render it.

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

Hon. BENJAMIN HARRIS BREWSTER,

Attorney-General of the United Sta'es, Washington, D. C.

T. O. HOWE, Postmaster-General.

MR. INGERSOLL TO MR. ELMER.

WASHINGTON, D. C., December 11, 1882.

DEAR SIR: When will it suit your covenience to make arrangements for taking the testimony in the Salisbury & Parker routes submitted to you and to Col. George Bliss and myself as persons selected by said Bliss and myself?

On the part of Salisbury & Parker I am ready to take testimony.

Yours truly,

Hon. R. A. ELMER,

R. G. INGERSOLL, Counsel for Parker & Salisbury.

Second Assistant Postmaster-General.

MR. INGERSOLL TO MR. ELMER.

DECEMBER 16, 1882.

MY DEAR SIR: I only want to let you know that I called according to promise. Yours always,

R. G. INGERSOLL.

Hon. R. A. ELMER.

MR. GRESHAM TO MR. BREWSTER.

POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT,
OFFICE OF THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL,
Washington, D. C., June 19, 1883.

SIR: It is proper to inform you that under the provisions of section 4057 of the Revised Statutes I have taken the preliminary steps towards suits for the recovery, on account of fraud, of all moneys paid for expedition on all the routes, save one, that were included in the case of the United States vs. John W. Dorsey et al., recently tried in the supreme court of the District of Columbia.

The same course has also been taken in regard to other routes in which what are known as the Parker & Salisbury combinations were interested, and in due course these as well as other cases will reach the Solicitor of the Treasury from the Auditor of the Treasury for the Post-Office Department.

This is the usual method of proceeding in such cases.

Very respectfully,

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W. Q. GRESHAM,
Postmaster-General.

MR. BREWSTER TO MR. GRESHAM.

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
Washington, June 22, 1883.

SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith, for your information, copy of indictment No. 14249, in the case of the United States vs. John R. Miner, for perjury; also, a list of all indictments against persons charged with violations of the postal laws. Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

BENJAMIN HARRIS BREWSTER,
Attorney-General.

Hon. WALTER Q. GRESHAM,

Postmaster-General.

MR. BREWSTER TO MR. BLISS.

HOWLAND HOTEL, LONG BRANCH, N. J., July 25, 1883. SIR Your letter of the 24th of July was handed to me to-day. Some month or more ago, perhaps two months, as I have advised you, the Postmaster-General communicated with me upon the subject of the civil suits arising out of the star-route

cases. In consequence of that I put you in direct communication with him, and I conveyed to him copies of all the correspondence between the Department of Justice and yourself as to these cases. You gave me a verbal but brief account of your interview with the Postmaster-General, and I understood you to say that you were to be retained to assist him in some general way in the prosecution of those civil suits. I have not the correspondence by me at this place, or probably I would find in some one of your notes written to me at or about that time a statement of the result of your interview with the Postmaster-General, and what you understood your position to be. My recollection now is that you were to have charge of them in some general way, and much was to be left to your discretion as to when and where you would appear, your desire being that you would not add expense to the case by going to any remote point, if it would be necessary to bring suits other than in Washington or New York, or in some other convenient jurisdiction. Indeed, if I am not much amiss, I now remember that it was your purpose mainly to supervise such suits as might be brought in Washington or New York, so as to avoid expense that would be occasioned by your absence from your business in New York.

Since that time the Postmaster-General has verbally said to me that he was having the papers prepared for the purpose of directing suits to be brought. I believe much labor was necessary to arrange the papers and adjust the accounts and get things ready for the suits. You know that by statute it lies with the Postmaster-General alone to direct suits or not to direct them. I have no power except as I am requested by him to direct action to be taken, or to take action myself. When he reports to me the result of his preparations and requests me to bring certain suits to recover certain claims, of which I can know nothing unless they are so reported to me, I will then be ready and prepared to communicate with you.

When I first became Attorney-General and we advised together upon this subject, it was after you conveyed to me the information that Mr. James had deputed you to take charge of those civil cases, and I understood from you that before you intended to act it was your wish that I should know that you so proposed to do, that I should know by what authority you would undertake to act, and that you wished to have my sanction as the head of the Department of Justice to any such suits as you might think it proper to bring under the authority given to you to Mr. James. Then I promptly accepted your proposals and suggestions, and assented to your immediate action if you thought it necessary under the instructions you had received from the Post-Office Department.

The impression I had soon after that communication made by you, and in which I responded, I believe, in writing, was that it was considered inexpedient to begin those civil suits at that time, because of the urgency of the criminal proceedings; and from time to time since then, in my letters to you, I have adverted to these outstanding cases, and reminded you of them, indicating my intention to speed them whenever the Post-Office Department and yourself were ready to act; and I have been ever since prepared to sanction such suits, and instruct and direct them when they were brought. The suggestions of your letter of the 24th of July I will remember; I will also send a copy of that letter to the Postmaster-General, and of this also.

Very respectfully, yours,

GEORGE BLISS, Esq.,

BENJAMIN HARRIS BREWSTER,
Attorney-General.

Special Assistant United States Attorney in the star-route cases, New York City.

MR. GRESHAM TO MR. BREWSTER.

POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT,
OFFICE OF THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL,
Washington, D. C., July 27, 1883.

SIR: I am just in receipt of your letter of the 25th instant, inclosing a letter addressed to you by George Bliss, esq., on the 24th instant, and your reply thereto of the 25th instant.

The Second Assistant Postmaster-General is at work industriously preparing cases for civil suits against a number of star-route contractors. In his abscence his chief clerk informs me that it will be ten days before they will be able to turn the cases over to me for my examination.

Colonel Ingersoll requested yesterday that before suits were brought against some of the contractors whom he represents, I should inform him of the amount which was demanded. While he did not say so in terms, I inferred that perhaps the Salisburys and others contemplated paying the amount which the Government claimed, or will claim, is due from them. I told Colonel Ingersoll that he and his clients should have an opportunity to settle without suit, if they desired to do so, before I addressed you again upon the subject.

If it shall appear from the papers submitted to me by the Second Assistant Postmaster-General that any star-route contractors have obtained money from the De

partment by fraud, I shall address a communication to you, requesting that suit be brought against such persons.

Respectfully, yours,

W. Q. GRESHAM,
Postmaster-General.

Hon. BENJAMIN HARRIS BREWSTER,

Attorney-General.

Q. Did you make any estimates of the amounts due on account of overcharges by contractors on all the routes in question?-A. The Postmaster-General wrote a letter to the Auditor of the Treasury for the Post-Office Department, asking him to prepare certified statements showing the amounts paid for expedition on the routes embraced in this sheet [marked C], showing the numbers and termini of the different routes, the names of the contractors, and the amounts paid for expedition, less fines and deductions for failure to perform the expedited service.

Q. During what time?-A. During the contract term of the several routes mentioned in the statement. You see, expedition was put on after the begining of the service, and sometimes it ceased before the end of the contract term.

Q. What is the aggregate amount estimated to be due, as shown by this statement?—A. $2,172,132.87. There are 40 routes.

The statement is as follows:

Statement showing the number and termini of routes, names of contractors, and the amount paid for expedition, less fines and deductions for failures to perform expedition.

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