An 1884 cartoon depicting a woman as the symbol of the Republican Party, struggling to carry its leaders. Stephen W. Dorsey and Thomas J. Brady are depicted in sacks labeled "Star Route Swindle."
The Star Route scandal was a political scandal in the United States, stemming from allegations of bribery and bid rigging in the United States Post Office Department which came to light as early as 1872 and which were the focus of public scrutiny following the election of President James A. Garfield. There were no fewer than four federal investigations into bribery in the postal service from 1872 through 1883. The scandal and public reaction to it contributed to the passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act.
On March 3, 1845, the United States Congress established inland mail routes, eventually known as "Star Routes", derived from the "* * *" postal registry designation. The Star Routes were not officially serviced by the Post Office because they could not be accessed easily from a train depot or port. Instead, they were serviced by private contractors who delivered the mail.
In the period surrounding the American Civil War, transit along these routes increased due to rapid expansion in the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States, and the government contracts to service the routes became increasingly sought-after.[1] As population along the routes increased, contractors demanded increasingly high rates with little government oversight.[2] Contractors would first make low "straw" bids for the routes, while other contractors in the ring would make exorbitantly high bids. Through a series of default bidding, the ring contractor would receive the contract route at an exorbitant high price.[1] Profits from the excessively high contracts would be split between ringleaders. The ring consisted of a complex relationship between brokers, contractors, and appointed members of the Post Office. Millions of dollars were being depleted from the national treasury.
Political scandal
The implication of Stephen Wallace Dorsey, United States Senator and later the secretary of the Republican National Committee, added a political element to the scandal.
In 1876, United States Senator Stephen Wallace Dorsey of Arkansas and Assistant Postmaster General Thomas J. Brady, along with three other men, established the firm of Miner, Peck and Company and filed applications for the route contracts.[2] In 1878, Miner Peck, Senator Dorsey, and other firms were the subject of the public allegations of improper benefit.
During the ensuing investigation, Dorsey convinced his fellow members of Congress that he had no knowledge of any illegality and had limited ties to the firm. However, when his term in the Senate expired in 1879, Dorsey became increasingly active in the management of Miner Peck.[2]
In 1880, Dorsey was named secretary of the Republican National Committee following the nomination of his friend, James Garfield, for president. Dorsey was then accused of improper campaign spending in the state of Indiana, which Garfield won.[2] Garfield appointed a reformer, Thomas Lemuel James, to serve as United States Postmaster General, and James raised the bid-rigging scandal to the President's attention. At the same time, The New York Times reported that the "Dorsey gang" had profited $412,000 (equivalent to $12,493,545in 2022) from the scheme.[2]
At an ensuing congressional investigation, Postmaster General James testified, according to Dorsey's personal secretary, Dorsey had "shammed sickness" during the congressional investigation and, during that time, the financial records of Miner Peck had been revised to cover up the fraud.[3]
Investigations
Investigations by Congress into corruption in the Post Office began as early as 1872 during the Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant. This investigation result had been tainted by bribery, while an 1876 investigation managed to shut down the Star Route frauds temporarily. A resurgence of graft stealthily took place in 1878 during the Presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes, continuing into the Garfield Administration. In April 1880, another Congressional investigation was launched. President Hayes stopped further awarding of Star Route contracts.
In April 1881, President James A. Garfield launched an investigation within the Star Routes corruption. Garfield's investigation revealed among the major players involved were some of the large contractors, the ex-US Representative Bradley Barlow of Vermont, the Second Assistant Postmaster-General, Thomas J. Brady, some of the subordinates in the department, and Arkansas Senator Stephen W. Dorsey, who became Secretary of the Republican National Committee during Garfield's 1880 presidential campaign. After Garfield's assassination, Chester A. Arthur (who assumed the presidency) pursued the investigation. Two federal prosecution trials took place in 1882 and 1883, and the postal ring was finally shut down.[4] Although the fraudulent scheme was widespread, there were few convictions. Many of the defendants in the Star Routes trials were successfully defended by noted lawyer and orator, Robert Ingersoll.[5] Brady and Dorsey were acquitted by the jury in the 1883 trial. Public disgust over the Star Routes graft served as an impetus for civil service reform and the passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act in 1883.
1 2 Klotsche, J. Martin (December 1935). "The Star Route Cases". The Mississippi Valley Historical Review. 22 (3): 407–408. doi:10.2307/1892626. JSTOR1892626.
James Abram Garfield was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 1881 until his death the following September after being shot by an assassin in July. A lawyer and Civil War general, Garfield served nine terms in the United States House of Representatives and is the only sitting member of the House to be elected president. Before his candidacy for the presidency, he had been elected to the U.S. Senate by the Ohio General Assembly—a position he declined when he became president-elect.
Montgomery Blair was an American politician and lawyer from Maryland. He served in the Lincoln administration cabinet as Postmaster-General from 1861 to 1864, during the Civil War. He was the son of Francis Preston Blair, elder brother of Francis Preston Blair Jr. and cousin of B. Gratz Brown.
The Crédit Mobilier scandal was a two-part fraud conducted from 1864 to 1867 by the Union Pacific Railroad and the Crédit Mobilier of America construction company in the building of the eastern portion of the first transcontinental railroad. The story was broken by The New York Sun during the 1872 campaign of Ulysses S. Grant.
James Noble Tyner was a lawyer, U.S. Representative from Indiana and U.S. Postmaster General. Tyner was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1869 and served three terms from 1869 to 1875. While in the House, Tyner opposed granting railroad subsidies, promoted gradual western industrial expansion, and spoke out against the Congressional franking privilege. In 1873, Tyner voted for the controversial Salary Grab Act that raised congressional pay, which resulted in his losing the Republican nomination for a fourth term. President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Tyner Second Assistant Postmaster General in 1875 then U.S. Postmaster General in 1876, and he served until 1877. Tyner served as First Assistant Postmaster General under President Rutherford B. Hayes from 1877 to 1881. In October 1881, President Chester A. Arthur requested his resignation because of his involvement in the Star Route postal frauds and for giving his son, whom he had appointed Superintendent of the Chicago Post Office, a $1,000 salary increase. Tyner served as Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Post Office Department from 1889 to 1893 and from 1897 to 1903. Tyner was a delegate to the International Postal Congresses in 1878 and 1897. Postmaster General Henry C. Payne requested his resignation in April 1903, after which Tyner was indicted for fraud and bribery. Tyner was acquitted after his family controversially removed pertinent papers from his office safe. In poor health, Tyner died the following year.
John Andrew Jackson Creswell was an American politician and abolitionist from Maryland, who served as United States Representative, United States Senator, and as Postmaster General of the United States appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant. Creswell is considered to be one of the ablest, if not the best, Postmaster General in United States history. Creswell modernized the U.S. Postal system to adapt to an expanding demand for increased postal routes throughout the Western states and remain competitive worldwide. Creswell also integrated the U.S. Postal system appointing both male and female African American postmasters throughout the United States, giving them significant positions of federal authority. Sweeping and constructive reforms of the U.S. Postal system took place during Creswell's tenure, including securing fair competition among Star Route carriages, and the abolishment of the franking system. Creswell developed a codified classification system of offenses against postal laws. Creswell streamlined and reduced postal costs making the United States Postal System run efficiently creating a fair pricing system domestically, and reducing international mailing prices. Creswell developed and implemented the United States first penny postcard.
Thomas Lemuel James was an American journalist, government official, and banker who served as the United States Postmaster General in 1881.
Marshall Jewell was a manufacturer, pioneer telegrapher, telephone entrepreneur, world traveler, and political figure who served as 44th and 46th Governor of Connecticut, the US Minister to Russia, the 25th United States Postmaster General, and Republican Party National Chairman. Jewell, distinguished for his fine "china" skin, grey eyes, and white eyebrows, was popularly known as the "Porcelain Man". As Postmaster General, Jewell made reforms and was intent on cleaning up the Postal Service from internal corruption and profiteering. Postmaster Jewell helped Secretary of the Treasury Benjamin H. Bristow shut down and prosecute the Whiskey Ring. President Grant, however, became suspicious of Jewell's loyalty after Jewell fired a Boston postmaster over non payment of a surety bond and asked for his resignation.
Star routes is a term used in connection with the United States postal service and the contracting of mail delivery services. The term is defunct as of 1970, but still is occasionally used to refer to Highway Contract Routes (HCRs), which replaced the Star routes. The term is mostly used in connection with a series of scandals in the 1870s involving bribes to postal officials.
Philip Bloom is an American businessman who pleaded guilty on April 18, 2006 to conspiracy, bribery and money laundering in connection with a scheme to defraud the Coalition Provisional Authority – South Central Region (CPA-SC) during the occupation of Iraq. According to the Sydney Morning Herald Bloom used CPA funds to pay out over $2 million USD in bribes, in cash, real estate, designer cars, watches, and the services of prostitutes he brought to Bagdad. Bloom accepted at least $1 million in bribes and stole a further $600,000 in cash and goods from CPA funds.
Bradley Barlow was a nineteenth-century banker and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Vermont for one term from 1879 to 1881.
Chester A. Arthur's tenure as the 21st president of the United States began on September 19, 1881, when he succeeded to the presidency upon the assassination of President James A. Garfield, and ended on March 4, 1885. Arthur, a Republican, had been vice president for 199 days when he succeeded to the presidency. In ill health and lacking the full support of his party by the end of his term, Arthur made only a token effort for the Republican presidential nomination in the 1884 presidential election. He was succeeded by Democrat Grover Cleveland.
Chester Alan Arthur was an American politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He was a Republican lawyer from New York who briefly served as the 20th vice president under President James A. Garfield. Arthur assumed the presidency after Garfield's death on September 19, 1881, and served the remainder of his term until March 4, 1885.
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