The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1840-12-22

the railroad Companies did not satisfy the spirit of Gu
pidy which belongs TO corporate monopolesi and 1t
was found impractcabe to obtain contracts from seye-
raj oil the railroad companies And Congress, by the
act of 18th January, 1889, extended the maximum
rate OF compensation for railroad service to three hun
dred dollars per mile.
The new routes established by the act Of 18th of
July 1888, mostly put into service in 1889 and
contracts have been made for service the railroads
then IN existence, and most of those which have since
been completed, at rates of compensation, varying
from twenty-five TO three hundred per cent. above
what had been paid for coach service on the same
routes. In England the average rate of compensation
for railroad service is about ninety dollars per mile
and the highest sum paid on the most important
routes Is hundred and dollars per mile and
the contractors are required to convey mails as often,
and at such times may be ordered by the Postnas
Ter General Here with rate Of compensation near
" two hundred per cent higher il has been found inn
practicable many Of the routes to obtain that con-
troll over the time of the departure and delivery of the
mail which is 50 essential to the service, and is exer-
csed on other routes. In addition TO the compensa-
ton paid TO the railroad companies, there con-
siderable incidental expenses incurred for travelling
agents on the more important routes for conveying
he mail To and from the the ends of the routes
and for supplying intermediate Offices, not the line
of the roads The substitution Of railroad for coach
service has borne very heavily the revenue of the
Department.
The new routes established in 1886 and 1893 being,
many OF them in sections of the country where the
an income bearing but small proportion to the ex-
pcnse of the transportation.
The great extension Of the service and the substi-
tuition of higher and more expensive for cheaper
grade under the act of Congress referred to- and the
Improvements other routes which the public inter
ests seemed to demand, since 1886 have carried the
expenditures of the Department for three successive
years, beyond its accrung revenue.
In the year ending on the Both june
1888, the expenditures 1851 ,S37 90
The revenue which accrued was 4,235,O77 90
Excess of expenditure over the
enue 1886, 76o 90
The expenditures in the year ending
June 80 1889 were 1864, 7lS w
The revenue which accrued was 4,477,64 90
Excess of expenditure GIT, 104 90
The excess Of he expenditure for these two years
was met by the surplus funds which had accumulated
in 1887 and nearly exhausted all that surplus which
was available.
In the annual report of my predecessor, made in
December 1898 he saws " The general financial dis
asters of last year have not reduced the revenue
might have been expected but have prevented most of
the anticipated increase and thrown the Department
upon its surplus to sustain most of its extensions
The indications now are, that there will be slight
improvement in the of the current fiscal year
over the preceding but not enough TO produce any
material effect An advance somewhat greater may be
reasonably expected, year. but not great enough
meet the increasing cost of mail servce and put into
operation the routes established at the last session
of Congress. twill hence be that for more than
year to come, the curtalmen rather than the extern
sion, of service routes in operation Is to be
expected"
The anticipated increase during the year 1889, was
realized, and amounted TO l-2 per cent. producing
S4l 500 But the greater increase looked for In 1910
has essentially failed and the quarter ending 10th of
September last, exhibits an actual declension in the
revenue as compared with the corresponding quarter
Of last veal of about per cent. This unfavorable
result has been occasioned mainly by the second
pension of the banks in large section of the Union,
followed by general depression of the commercial in
terests of the country which appears TO have been
apprehended at the close of the last year, the Post
master General then said 1t is possible that the
cent suspension of specie payments by the banks in
large portion of the Union, may again check the in
crease in the of the Department to make
retrenchments necessary; but in any event, they will
be incoDsderable."
But the present apparently unfavorabe financial
condition Of the Department need occasion anxiety
1t can be sustained upon its own resources and soon
placed in safe and prosperous condition. Yet, to af
ford it temporary relief curtailmcnts of service to
limited extent, necessary. This has already been
commenced, and will be continued as far as may be
found requisite TO place its finances in sound cond
ton The curtailments suspensions of service will
be made to occasion little Inconvenience to the
public, injustice to the contractors such ope
ration will admit of As periodical retrenchments are
unavoidable il deserves consideration, whether il
by which all general curailments TO be effected, so
to remove executive discretion and secure equal
apportonment of the reduction of service among the
different sections of the country
In examining the causes which have placed the De
partmcnt in its present condition, discover its
sources, and its ability not only to sustain itself but
probably with the aid of remedial legislation, to admit
of prospective reduction of the tariff of letter postage
which public sentiment seems to demand.
These causes are to be found in the unexampled
fluctuations since 1884 in the financial interests and
commercial business of the country. The period of
unprecedented overacton in trade from the fall Of
1884 to the spring of 1887, occasioned extraord
nary increase of revenue, which produced the large
surplus that existed in 1886 and 1887 This surplus
formed the basis of the great extension of mail service
since 1886 which far exceeded the limits to which
il could have been carried by the ordinary increase of
revenue as to absorb nearly the whole of this surplus
in two years. When the reaction came on, which,
under any circumstances, would have depressed its
venues, the Department had to sustain itself with an
extent of service beyond its natural limits which had
originated from the extraordinary increase of its
venues in 1886 and 1897. But the unusual increase
of revenue the expenditures during those two
years not entirely owing to the great activity of
trade The contracts for transportation, during that
period, had mostly been made when prices were low,
and revenue accruing from their performance
ceivcd when prices had advanced from fifty to one hun
bred per cent The Department therefore enjoyed the
advantages of an excited state of business without the
drawback, which, under other circumstances, the adj
vance i'm prices would have occasoned.
On the other hand the excess of the expenditures
the receipts for hostages the last three years,
not be attributed to the depression of the
from the state Of the times than to the crcum-
stances that all the existing contracts made dur
ing the high state of prices and average advance
of about fifty per cent above the rate Of compensation
paid prior to 1886,
Should prices not vary essentially from their pre-
sent standard it is reasonable to suppose that the fu
ture lettings be made at greatly reduced rates Of
in few years without any retrcnchment of service,
could hardly fail Of placing the finances of the De
partment in prosperous condition. But it cannot be
made Immediately available, so that suspension or