The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1838-12-18

were 4l7923
The surplus on hand has prevented embarrass-
ment from this excess of liabilities.
Compared with the preceding year, the revenue
has increased about four per cent. This Is an I'M
expected and most gratifying result.
The cash on hand on the LIST inst was as follows,
viz: " .' ., =, ."-<+
In banks, available expected TO be so after the LIST
of January next SS4 ,220 OIL
In draft Offices and due from the Cana
da post office. 29 ,S4S IA
Total .a#-# $3l4,O6s rs
Ii will be seen that the surplus funds of the De-
partmen which at one time exceeded $500, 600, have
been greatly diminished.
The determination of Congress not TO reduce letter
hostages, as suggested in my annual report OF 1886,
considered the light Of an instruction to apply
the cash hand, and the increasing current revenue
to improvements Of the mail service. twas estimated
that the 700 new routes established in 1886, and the
improvements Of service many old ones, IN conjunc-
ton with The usual annual increase Of business IN the
country, would add at least fifteen per cent to the
venue for the last year. which would be maintained with
still further increase during the present year The
extension Of mail service accordingly carried far
enough this anticipated increase, and also,
the progress Of few years, reduced the surplus
hand to the lowest amount consistent with the conve
"ience Of the department. The general financial dsas-
ters OF yea h."s not reduced the revenue might
have been expected, but hass prevented Of the
anticipated increase and thrown the deps. upon
ITS surplus to sustain large portion Of its extensions
The indications now are, that there will be slight inn
provementin the the fiscal year the
preceding but not enough produce any material effect
An advance somewhat greater may be reasonably ex-
pected next year, but not great enough to meet the In
creasng cost Of mail service, and put into operation
the routes established at the last session Of Con-
gtess II will hence be SEEN that, for than year
TO come the curtalmen,, rather than the extension of
service, routes in operation is to be expected
In general the accounts of postmasters rendered
and the duties of contractors performed with the utmost
fidelity and precision Indeed the world may be chal
lenged for any similar establishment embracing much
intelligence, activity, and energy, and yielding to mil
lions Of mank ind much unqualified good The chief
distractions which it has recently encountered in its
Of usefulness have arisen from the deficiencies
and unreasonable demands Of corporate bodies which
it had employed deemed it useful 10 employ, in the
public service.
In managing its funds through the public agents. who
are under bonds for their security and removable WILL
aud in dealing with the individual eemen Of the States
and Of the United States in competition with each
other, it finds all its operations easy, safe, and pros
porous. ...:. ". .....
AT their last session, Congress enacted "that each
and every railroad within the limits of the United States
which Is, or hereafter may be made and completed.
shall be post route, and the Postmaster General shall
the mail to be transported provided he can
have it done reasonable terms, and not paying more
than twenty-five per cent over and above what similar
transportation would cost IN pos. coaches"
To avoid further trouble with the railroad companies
on the main mail lines it determined to pay them,
upon renewal Of existing contracts, the highest price
which this law would admit. But there was difficulty
in fixing that price. In the first place, 1t was tobe
asccraned what Congress meant by the phrase sint
lar transportation" and, in the next place ichai that
transportation roud cost in post coaches 1t was OBJ
vious that they could not mean transportation equal
IN speed, for that would be impossible. They could
the transportation the transportation
tka Tho
the word same would have been used instead Of the
word similar" 1t seemed probable that they had re-
ference to the ordinary post coach transportation IN the
section OF country and to the points OF similarity
between that and railroad transportation intending the
additional % per cent compensation FOR the Increased
speed. This construction would have gwen the rail,
road companies as liberal compensation as they had
right to expect nasmuch as it would have materially
increased the Of mail transportation, while. in re-
spec to passengers produce and merchandise the cost
is every where cheapened by them.
But upon careful consideration Of the words OF the
law, in connection with the mail service existing at the
time OF its passage, the department felt itself consain-
ed to adopt construction more favorable to the rail-
road companies. That the word similar" should be
construed having reference to speed was posi-.
ton which, according to legal well as just rules OF
construction, could not be maintained From New ork
to Baltimore. the great Southern aud Western mails are
united IN one, At the latter point they separate one
portion believed to be larger going West and the other
South IL could not be doubted That the transportation
Of the Western mail was, in its bulk, it's wright It's nm
portdRcc and also lis speed more "simar" to that on
the main Southern line than any other apperalnng to
the department The department. therefore, felt con-
strained TO take the Of that transportation as It's
guide in fixing the basis for the allowance to railroad
companies on the main Southern line. provided for by
law The average Of this line, from Baltimore to
Cincinnati, was found to be $3.50 per mile, To this
sum, 25 per cent added, and the aggregate
1927 so offered to the railroad companies between
Fredericksburg Va, and the Roanoke river, as the
highest compensation which could be allowed them by
law. The same rule intended TO be applied to oil
railroads under like circumstances IL was not doubted
that this provision would be readily accepted as more
ample than the railroad companies had rghtt expect