Star Route Scandal (1882)
By the 1880s, most of the mail sent to the American west was transported by rail
or steamship. The post office delivered mail to more rural areas through private contracts
for horse and wagon transport. The contracts demanded that service on the routes be
executed with “certainty, celerity and security,” the words being used with such
frequency that three asterisks often abbreviated them. The three asterisks, or stars, gave
this category of routes the name “star routes.” In issuing these contracts, however,
numerous corrupt officials within the postal department conspired with mail contractors
to charge inflated prices and to establish unnecessary new routes. Postal officials and the
contractors split the illegally obtained profits. As suggestions of corruption began to
circulate, the affair came to be referred to as the “star route scandal.”
Congress first launched investigations into the postal service during the Hayes
administration, but turned up nothing. After President Garfield took office in 1881, he
demanded further investigation of the star route frauds. Special agent P. J. Woodward
headed this inquiry and linked corrupt post office employees to a number of high-ranking
officials from both parties. One of the most prominent offenders, former Arkansas
Senator Stephen W. Dorsey, was Garfield’s campaign manager. When Arthur took office
following Garfield’s assassination, he pledged to prosecute those responsible. Arthur had
actually known about the illicit deeds for some time as he had worked closely with
Dorsey. Nonetheless, he strongly supported the prosecution when the trails began on
June 1, largely because it was a political necessity. Any failure to do so would have given
Arthur’s opponents an opportunity to criticize him. The trials, however, were slow,
frustrating, and often inconclusive. The first trail ended with a mere two convictions; a
subsequent retrial produced none. A series of additional trials took place in smaller
courts, but only two convictions resulted. The Cleveland administration later dropped all
charges.
The star route scandal attracted significant public attention and was an
embarrassment to the government. Investigations determined that the post office had
been defrauded of $4,000,000. President Arthur earned praise for his attacks on
corruption within his administration, although his opponents criticized the paltry number
of convictions. Most important, the affair created a public outcry against corruption and
helped lead to civil service reform legislation.
Sources:
Justus D. Doenecke, The Presidencies of James A. Garfield & Chester A. Arthur
(Lawrence: The Regents Press of Kansas, 1981)
Ari Hoogenboom, Rutherford B. Hayes (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1995),
Allan Peskin, Garfield (Kent State University Press, 1978)
George Frederick Howe, Chester A. Arthur (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1934)