Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1834-06-17


ment without interest. The committee there
fore applied by letter to the Postmaster General
for a statement of his opinion Of the amount
which would relieve his department from pecu-
mary embarrassment. In answer to this lnqul~
ry he stated that if, of the moneys formerly
paid by that department into the Treasury the
sum of $450,000 could now be placed at the dis
posa of his department, it would effect the de-
sired relief and that he should be able to restore
it to the Treasury in the following instruments
without injury to the successful administration
Of the department.
On the 1st of July, 1885, $l5O,O0O
On the lst Of July, 1886, 10000
On the 1st of March, 1887, 10000
$4,000
We therefore recommend the passage of
law authorizing the measure, to the amount and
on the condition thus stated by the Postmaster
General.
The Postmaster General has been in the habit
of reporting annually to Congress the contracts
made for Transporting the mail, with the name
Of each contractor, and the annual amount OF
compensation, stipulated in the contract. In
comparing the contracts made in the fall OF
1881 with the report of the Postmaster General
made to Congress in the beginning of 1882, 1t
was found that in some cases the contracts, as
they are in actual operation, do not agree with
that report. An inquiry was Instituted into the
cause of this disagreement; and we are INFORM
ed that when proposals are received tor the ad-
vertised contracts they are registered in a book
called the "Proposal Book" that when these
bids are decided by tine Postmaster General,
the word "accepted" is written against the
name Of the person to whom route Is assign
ed; that this is regarded virtually as the con-
tract, though sometimes the written instrument
is not executed for months AFTER that from the
proposal book the report for Congress is made
no oft no
sum at which the proposal was accepted; that
sometimes notifications are subsequently made
in the contracts, even before the services under
them commence; and that in such cases there
will appear disagreement as above stated
Upon further examination, we found that such
had been the practice of the department under
former administrations; and as proof OF IT,
we state few similar cases which we have
noted from comparison made by ourselves, of
the contracts made by the Postmaster General
in the fall 1923, with his report to Congress, in
the beginning of 1929. They as follows:
Eli Ensign is reported as having contracted
to transport the mail between Hudson and Pitts
field for 500 year; but his contract made in
1923 is for $1,000 year. Thomas j. Magee is
reported as having contracted to carry the mail
on several routs for $10225 year; but his con-
tract made in 1923 is for l,843 year. Rus
sell Case is reported as having contract to car
ry the mail between Utica and Ithaca for $3.50
year; but the contract was made with Parker
G. Go. in 1923 for S l. 425 d year. Eli Ensign is
reported as having contracted to carry the mail
between Bridgeport and Bennington for LOO
year; but his contract made in 1923 is for
1850 a year. He is also reported as having
contracted to carry the mail between Hartford
and Albany for $1,000 year, but his contract
made in 1923 is for 1900 year Pettis, Day
& Co. are reported as having contracted to car
ry the mail between Boston and Windsor and
between Windsor and Burlington, for $4,000
year; but their contract made in 1928 is for
$4,000 a year. Hiram Plummer is reported as
having contracted to carry the mail between
Boston and Dover for $500 a year; but his con-
tract made in 1928 is for $3.50 year. In all
these cases, the report to Congress is made to
agree with the Proposal Book though the con-
tracts were differently executed. The fact is
therefore established that the report Of 1882
was made in conformity with the ancient US
age of the department.; and under this mode of
reporting, disagreement will exist whenever
a modification of the contract shall be made
subsequent to the acceptance of the proposal.
This practice, however, we consider errone-
ous and are pleased to see that it is changed in
the report of contracts made to the present SEES
sion of Congress, in Which, not the proposals
accepted, but the contracts according to the
changes and notifications afterwards made
are reported; this is proper and necessary to
enable Congress to have a full and correct view
of the contracts and engagements made by the
department.
The Postmaster General, in his report of No
vember Both, 1882, stated the annual transpor
tation Of the mail to be %, 625, O21 miles, max
ing an increase from 1929 Of 1925, 021 miles. A
suspicion had been intimated OF the correctness
of this statements and on an investigation of the
subject, the following appeared to be the facts
The late Postm aster General, in his last re-
port, November, 1928, stated, that on the 1st Ju-