Garfield Launches Investigation of Star Route Postal Fraud Scheme

President James A. Garfield launches an investigation in April 1881 into the Star Route scandal, a massive postal fraud scheme that has defrauded the Post Office of $4 million through rigged bidding on rural mail delivery contracts. The scandal involves a ring of contractors, brokers, and appointed postal officials—including Second Assistant Postmaster-General Thomas J. Brady and Arkansas Senator Stephen W. Dorsey (who served as Secretary of the Republican National Committee during Garfield’s 1880 presidential campaign). The investigation reveals how Gilded Age corruption operates through sophisticated bid-rigging schemes where straw bidders submit artificially low bids while ring members bid extremely high, then use default patterns to award contracts at inflated rates and divide profits among conspirators.

Star Routes, established by Congress on March 3, 1845, and derived from the “***” postal registry designation (shortened from “celerity, certainty and security”), are inland mail routes not serviced directly by the Post Office because they cannot be accessed easily from train depots or ports. Instead, private contractors deliver the mail. By 1880, nearly 10,000 star routes exist, costing the federal government nearly $6 million annually—creating enormous opportunity for fraud. The corruption scheme at the helm of the scandal involves contractors making low straw bids while those in the ring make extremely high ones. Through a series of default bid patterns, the contractor gets the contract at a very high rate, and the profits are divided among ring heads.

No fewer than four federal investigations examine bribery in the postal service from 1872 through 1883, demonstrating both the scandal’s persistence and the difficulty of prosecuting well-connected conspirators. The scandal captures the nation’s attention for more than a decade, with newspapers throughout the United States characterizing it as an unprecedented case of Gilded Age graft. After Garfield’s assassination in July 1881, President Chester A. Arthur continues pursuing the investigation despite the political awkwardness of investigating his own party’s national committee secretary. Two federal prosecution trials take place in 1882 and 1883, finally shutting down the postal ring.

Although the fraudulent scheme proves widespread, few convictions result. Many defendants are successfully defended by noted lawyer and orator Robert Ingersoll, demonstrating how elite legal representation enables wealthy conspirators to escape accountability even when evidence of corruption is overwhelming. The scandal’s exposure and public reaction contribute to passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883, as Americans demand reforms within the civil service to prevent political appointees from converting government positions into profit centers. The Star Route scandal illustrates a fundamental pattern of Gilded Age corruption: systematic fraud requires collaboration between political appointees, private contractors, and elected officials; investigations occur only when reformist presidents prioritize them; and prosecution rarely results in convictions when defendants can afford sophisticated legal defense. The scandal helps establish that in an era before professional civil service, government procurement is simply another form of organized theft, distinguished from ordinary crime primarily by its scale and the social status of its perpetrators.