Democratic Sentinel, Volume 8, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 February 1884 — STEVE DORSEY. [ARTICLE]

STEVE DORSEY.

The Ex-Secretary of the Republican National Committee Makes More Interesting Revelations. Tremendous Bribes Received by Government Star-route Counsel—GarConkling, EtAL “They talk about Dorsey's revelations,” said the notorious ex-Secretary of the Na. tional Republican Committee to a Washington correspondent the other day; “but I have made no revelations in comparison with what I could make. However, I have perhaps said enough. Friends think I have, and perhaps they are right. The October and November oompaigns of 1880 are now old stories, and I shall say no more about them for the present. The sta-rroute trials are also rather old matters to talk about.” “But there had been new revelations about the star-route troubles recently,” suggested the correspondent. “It has been stated within the last two weeks that Mr. Salisbury, one of the largest of the star-route contractors, publicly asserted here in Washington that he had secured immunity from criminal prosecution by the payment of *IOO,OOO. Do you know anything about this?” “The only doubt about the truth of that statement is that it was *200,000 instead of *IOO,OOO. In saying this I don’t mean to intimate that Mr. Salisbury was any more guilty than you are. You know it is better sometimes to sell a vicious dog than to kill him. Mr. Salisbury was by far the largest of the star-route contractors, and, therefore, afforded the best subject for blackmail. Of the ninety routes that were expedited over *5,000 each Mr. Salisbury owned 48 per cent., Mr. J. L. Sanderson owned 18 per cent., Kerns, Root & Elkins 15 per cent., and Parker most of the remainder. I owtred a half interest in less than 1 per cent. I have not heard that any of these parties have been prosecuted either criminally or civilly. It is said that one of these large contracting firms agreed to pay a large sum for the appointment of a Board of Arbitrators, and after the trial was concluded refused to pay.” “Do you know anything of the details of these transactions?” “Parties to bribery have no companions, and when you add bribery to cowardice they . bavp no associates. The dirty muck of the Blisses and Brewsters and the gang with which they associate was only worthy to fertilize the garden of their infamy.” “Were you ever offered immunity by the payment of money to persons representing the Government?” “Why, certainly. Don't you know the whole star-route business had two purposes? One was to gratify the ambition of idiots and pretenders, and the other was to fill the pockets of the blackmailers. A demand was made upon me for *30,000 to guarantee immunity. I remembered that some man had said ‘millions for defense, not one cent for tribute.’ A man who commits a wrong knows it, and is generally willing to atone for it. Resentment is not always wise, but as against power unlawfully used the man who would not resent is not worthy the name of man.” “Who made you this offer?” “That I will not tell.” “Was political influence used as well as money to shield those large contractors, or any of them?" “I had not married the relative of a Cabinet officer, nor had I contributed large sums to the personal success of ambitious people.” “Do you know whether the Government got the money paid by these men for immunity?” “Bribe-takers never divide with anybody. The books of the Treasury Department will show whether any of this ever went into the vaults or not, and if you keen-eyed newspager men can discover a dollar of it that ever did reach the Treasury I will give you *IO,OOO for eaqh dollar you find.” “If this money was paid, and it did not go into the Treasury, where did it go, if you know?” “While I didn’t see it paid, nor trace it after it was paid, I will make a wild guess that the bank account of George Bliss, in New York, shows pretty large deposits outside of his $l5O a day about the time this money was paid. And Ker’s (it ought to be spelt with a C) account in Philadelphia—i! he knows

enough to keep a bank account—makes a good showing. It is more than likely that the other two parties to this fraud, Brewster and Merrick, have 8 pen 6 their share for whisky. These enormous sums taken from those contractors under duress were obtained by a blackmail of the lowest and vilest character, and were stolen by the men who demanded them.” “You say ‘these enormous sums.’ Was anybody besides Salisbury let off by the payment of money!” “Well, Sanderson was indicted with me—in the very same indictment. Some of the persons I have mentioned as being heavily interested in expedited star routes were not indicted at all, and others who were indicted have not been tried, and will not be.” “ You say your interest in star routes was very small as compared with those other people?" • “ I had no interest except what came to me by loaning a little money, and every contract I was interested in was transferred to the late Mr. J. W. Bosler the day I came in possession of It. After three years, on a settlement of the accounts, Mr. Bosler being in charge all the time and drawing every cent of the mofiey, it was found that the profits of all the routes were $11,600, which we divided.” “Was there any political reason for prosecuting you and leaving the great contractors out?” “Well, answering that question will involve a good bit of political history. The appointment of MacVeagh from Pennsylvania as a member of the Cabinet seemed to me to be an insult to the best element of the Republican party of that State, and when I was asked to express my opinion to Gen. Garfield I did it with frankness and, I believe, with entire truth. There is nothing to MacVeagh except that he is the little son-in-law of a great father-in-law. The only thing he represented ■was cranks, and he is worthy to be Chairman of that entire class. When Gen. Garfield asked me to write him about James, of New York, I didn't know whether he referred to a letter-carrier or a policeman. I han never hefird of any James that ought to represent that great State in a President's Cabinet. I made some inquiries and found out who James was, and I learned, as I expected, that he was a sycophant—a fellow that had always licked the toes of power, bowed down to whatever was able to give him an office, or take one away from him. Without character, ■or standing, or Intelligence, he wormed himself into the Cabinet as the representative of New York. Now, I will tell you a story about James, and In doing so I don’t want to advertise a person so unworthy as he. I was in iGen. Garfield’s rooms at the Riggs House the night before James’ nomination, when Mr. James came in. Gen. Garfield, even at that early day, seemed to fear the (influence of Senator Conkling,, and was then consulting Mr. James about taking a Ece In his Cabinet and among other things asked Mr. James If, In the event of a break ween himself and the Senator, he could rely on his support. In reply Mr. James said that if he was appointed In the Cabinet he ■would do everyth ingni his power for the administration against Mr. Conkling or any lOther New York politician. He reiterated this statement several times in my hearing, pnd I heard it with amazement, as I knew all that James was he owed to Mr. Conkling. While this conversation was going on, I left the room agd went to call on Senator Conkling. While there, sitting in a room adjoining the parlor with Gen. Arthur, Mr. James came la, and Mr. ConkMng expressed his disapprobation at the idea of James going into the Cabinet, and James said to him that it was better for him (Senator Conkling) to have a man tn the Cabinet upon whom he cpuld always rely, as he could upon him (James). I don’t know anything that illustrates James better than this. “Now to show the weakness of Gen. Garfield. The letters I had written to him at his request In regard to James and MacVeagh, which, it seems to me, should have been secured, he turned over to them after they had

been appointed. to show them the Influences he had had to overcome to appoint them. There was enough in these letters to make these men ugly, but nothing ' except what feebly described their capacity and representative character. I would have said more if I had known how. Forcible facta applied to individuals are always unsatisfactory to the indiviuals themselves. Picturesque descriptions of men’s weaknesses are never admired by the men they refer to. My urgent advice to Garfield was, that, if he wanted to appoint any member of his Cabinet outside of his own party, instead of selecting MaeVeagh he should take a Democrat as a Democrat, without pledge of any kind on his part. I advised him that it might be Wise to make Gen. Hancock Secretary of State; that we had only carried the election by a very small majority; that the voters were nearly equally balanced; that on the theory of civil-service reform he should give the minority—that was scarcely a mi-nority-representation in the Cabinet. I suggest to him that pretense wasn’t statesmanship; that assumption Iwaya represented small things, that accomplished anything except to wear out their own tongues; that James and MacVeagh represented the pretenders and the scolds—the sycophants and incapacity of disappointed am bition MacVeagh and James -know what I said to Garfield. Doesn't this answer this question?” • “Was there not another reason why you opposed these appointments, or at least one of them? Had not Gen. Garfiqjd pledged Senator Platt, Mr. Crowley, Gen. Arthur, Levi P. Morton, yourself, and others that New York should have the Secretary of the Treasury, and was not that pledge made in the presence of the parties named?” “ yes, sir, and if you want to know—though I don't see any good now—its Old history, I will tell you about it. When we had our so-called conference at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, a meeting was had in my room, at which the abovenamed persons were present. It is not worth while to go into details in regard to that meeting, or of the so-called conference. The whole matter is that the leading men of New York had been kicked around the country for four years by Hayes, and didn't want four years more of the kicking business. Mr. Conkling was in nowidb responsible for the gathering or its results, but had, like all other prominent NewYorkers, thought the State was entitled to recognition, and was not full of trust and confidence. Gen. Garfield there promised the persons above named to appoint a New-Yorker* Secretary of the Treasury if among the names presented to him by those present that of Levi P. Merton was included. This of course was -a substantial pledge to Mr. Morton. With this understanding, which seemed to be perfectly clear, a committee on finance was organized to raise all proper means to conduct the campaign, and they, raised the money. When Gen. Garfield was elected this promise that he had made was characteristically disregarded.” “What method did Garfield suggest to change the political convictions of the members of the Campbellite church?” “Gen. Garfield seemed to think it best where we found a church in debt that represented a large number of voters that, if we had the means, we should phy off the debt, and where we found a oonrtnunity with a good number of Campbellite voters without a church we had better contribute liberally toward building one, and especially if the voters were Democrats. I carried out these suggestions to the best of my ability, under the guardianship of Mr. Phillips and others. We tried to make the lonely way of the Campbellite as pleasant as possible, and there were about 25,000 of them in the State.” “It has been suggested that you changed the probable result in New York by an understanding with John Kelly. Is that so?” “There is not a grain of truth in .it. I don’t believe that either money or office could induce John Kelly to swerve one iota from the line he lays down for his party and himself. If there is a perfectly upright man in politics in this country—and I mean upright in politics and political methods—that man is John Kelly.”