Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1847-12-28
To The Editors Of tie Enquirer.
NAH. BETWEEN RICHMOND AND WASHING

To The Editors Of tie Enquirer.
NAH. BETWEEN RICHMOND AND WASHING.
TON.
Ifevery body were TO read The correspondence
between he Pos, Office Departments, and The Rail
road and Steamboat Companies, between Rich
mond and Washington, in relation 10 the mail,
there would &c but little occasion 10 correct The
| erroneous statements Of the postmaster General,
or of the Union, or If any OF he writer's who
have appeared in The Enquirer on The inject Bu
many o. line readers OF the Enquirer, il is be'iev
ed will nu, what is published in other papers
or ia ranviel i.rrl, a. to Hi, maer And
therefore, il i. proper nui 20 ie The one sided
statements wdich have Appeared, remain Who'll
" unuo!jccd. When | "a. ne-siicj do not
mean 10 apply the iema!k 10 any editorial Of
youIs, tuF aaYe seen noDc snch
Whai, then, Is the course oil onr conscientious
aud lar.i,UHg Postmaster General? The ACT OF
Congress is imperative that he snail cause the
mail TO be transported Tn The railroad provided
he can I've il done upon reasonable terms, and
mol paying therefor more Than twenty five per een-
tum above what similar transportation would cost
in post coaches. There is no limitation upon
him, except hat he shall not allow more Than
three hundred dollars ger mile, per aDnum, 10 a
Railroad Company. Il vi i; is only IN case he
shall not be able TO conclude contract Tor carry-
rate, or :or what be maY tsc;n a reasonable and
fair compensation, that The act authorizes The
mail 10 be transported by ether means.
Now, what has been alowed the Richmond and
Potomac Railroad Company In lS43, there being
a question between The department and the com.
panv As to wha' was reasonable, il was agreed 10
refer The matter to President Tyler, and he award
cd the company 200 dollars mile, being 500
dollars year. And contract was made al that
49, -. l,l = III
Isl OF July, 1914. Since then there has been no
contract, hui The company continued 10 carry the
mail, and the department continued 10 pay quar-
,eIly, al that rate, until the Isl OF Jny lS47.
And now the question is why The mail is no
longer carried by The railroad2 Is it because the
company would no, continue 10 carry it al the
rate which had been paid from the Isl OF July,
Isl, 10 The i>t of Jaly 1917? Not alai IS
JccGpsc the Postmaster General FIR The quarter end
iag tie Is Of Gc.ojer, 1917, yefns,d n p7g al The
rate i'rt he and iS psedcc ssors lad BEEN past"g
(ortf. jar 5,c,odsng Ys@F& because iri that quar-
ter he pad reduced ra,e; and trCauSe h. SAID nc
won pay no more than this reiaced rate in iu-
tire.
perusal iihe correspondence will show ,ha,
the company anXiously eDdeavored 10 avoid any
breach between it and the Department In the
spring Of lS41 the Department had expressed is
readiness to contract Tor tour years, from The Isl
Of Julr, 1917, al 1887 80 per annum. The unrea
so,,at cncss 81 reducing the compensation of the
company wa> pointed out in communicated Of
| the = OF Jane. si7 They Iben ieiu ed 10 sign
contact 10! less ;bsn heY' had before received
and s- than was Fat % c'ncr companies for SER
vices less valuable 30, ihcy said, il no contract
should he made before The Is: Of iuiy, The" would
still carry The mail il il should be rendered them
after that date and rely on OF Justice oil the
Department 10 pay lair compensation Tor il.
When this remark was made The company
supposed the sense oil justice" o. The Poslmas-
Ter General would induce him 10 pay al The rate
at which ne had been paving belure, il i, should
he made apparent lha, there nothing in the
l.w 10 prevent his continuing The compensation
a, that r4le; and that the sum paid, so far from
being lwenty-fv per ccnttnR above VIA! similar
transportation would cost in post coaches, was
actually less than such transportation would cost
on the Stage road between Richmond and Wash
nclon il the great mail were brought in shat way.
IL this reliance upon IN sense OF justice OF The
department., he company was disappointed; and
il was noi uniii j, lOuni scli thus appointed-
not until lie 2iilh Of Ocuber when The Postmas
ter General fer the quarter ending the lsl Of that
monh, actually reduced tie pay below what had
heen pad in lS43 Tor Tighter mails, slower sche.
dulles and inferior service, ihatlhe boa d Of drec-
| iuIs TOOK their final resolution on tn" subject.
The Postmaster General having, in conversation
with the president, requested il this reduced COM
psnsalion was not satisfactory, that the board
would give Al least iUcniy days notice 10 enable
him To prDvi &c ether means OF iranspcnatit q. The
board then UNANIMOUSLY a'opiet a resolution &C.
ciaring that he: most reluctantly decline The
further ud;i>p ;.a,ion Of HE mail on the terms
offered by him aiIcr ne l0lh Of December
This final res iuiiDl Of the Board, thea, il will
be perceivei, gave hlIa no; merely twenty days
bat Sl1 iceeis 10 make his arrangea cas. And
what soft OF arrangements has he made2 Has
he made an arrangement by which similar trans
porlation is eff cled in post coaches on the Stage
road between Richmond ana Washing'o on Tor
twenty five per eenttm less han what it would
cost on Inc railroad2 He has not done or even
attempted anything of the kind Tie has only
SET up n 1.-TWO horse carriage conveyance from
Washington 10 Richmond and back, for loe0i
suppl" and this he tells us COSTS Sl3 GOO
Had he attempted 10 carry The great Southern
mail along with this locaI supply. the in
creased cost for diminished expedition would
have been striking even 10 his comprehen.
sion. He did no.. therefore, attempt it. What
he Goes attempt, would seem TO be, 10 see al how
low tate per mile he great mail can he car
ried by circuiioGs route. for. 10 make The price
per mile less, seems 10 him much more impor-
tant than to nciease expedition or diminish the
total cost Of transportation. His statement is
shat The price 10 he paid the Bay line is S34,
900 ger annum, distance Of $50 m,les, being less
than 500 per mile Tor taking The great Southern
mail TO Petersburg aud for the supply OF Rich
mond;" making, as he says, with the $4,000
paid for his two.horse carriage conveyance, in
all, $4,000. Aud yet, he is most loud in his COM
plants, that the railroad and steamboat compa-
mes would no, agree TO let him reduce their pay
below what hey had been receiving for four
years Ele tells rs the sum they had been re-
ceiving, from Washington 10 Richmond, and the
loves, hey would take, vas So, 2252--tha he al.
Tered them $50 4o0, teins, as Eesays, only 81, 10
less. And the amount OF his sialemeG! is, that,
because they would no, take this much less Than
they had been receiving for four years, he deter
mined 10 have the mails carried by slower and
more circuitous routes. Was his determination
caused by desire 10 save 10 The United States
this prodisious difference Of 2,772 dollars If
he had this desire, there has been no such saw
ing. How much, according 10 his own &C cunt,
does he save? Why, he says the local supply
between Mort TX and Baltimore, and Norfolk nd
Richmond, COS; $1,000, and lhere is a balance Of
service on horse, routes discontinued, OF 305 dol
lars, and these sums must be added 10 The 81, $50
dollars TO show the cost OF The service superseded
| by the new contracts. Let them be added: Do