Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1847-12-28


dollars. And we thus have it asceIlaineo,
by the statement of the Postmaster Gehelal
himself, thai he has gone Tor Slower foulcs
10 save 90, 772 and tha. instead OF any sucn sa-
wing, the immediate effect of his experiment Is 10
bring upon the department an Increased charge o!
S5,2a5 But the Postmaster General tells US Inc
service between Richmond and Petersburg which
now costs So SIS As is 10 be DISCONTINUED; and II
il be discontinued there will Then De ditIeIence
between the cid and new service ct 1913 4o-
that is 10 say, propiheG The Postmaster General can.
cei he seyrice performed bctpeen Richmond and
PETERSBURG for nOfhinF--a result which. so lar,
has moi been Itaned, and is mol ue'y likely to be
attained
The slereolyped grounds which The Postmaster
Genera is constantly setting up 10 justify This most
extraordinary proceeding OF his wont answer
E1e talks about The Railroad Company demand.
ing more than he was authorized by The acs oil
Congress 10 pay. There 1cas no such demand. he
was asked 10 pay what the acgs dtd auhorIZe-ask-
ed 10 continue 10 pay al the same rate al wnlch ne
himself had always paid before. IL ne 'houshl
what he had been paying was more man me Ia"
allowed-ii he wanted farther act 0l Congress
10 Justify him in continuing TO pay, al The same
rate, be was told the company would go on 10
perform the service without contract, il he
would undertake to apply for such an act
But he declined making any such application.
All that he would consent 10 was, that The com
panv should carry the mail at his reduced rate and
90 i'self before Congress asking an increase OF
paw. This was not the proper function OF The
company. They are TO receive Tor The l!ahsporta-
ton of the mail ,uch sum as they may agree Tor.
II there be failure to agree, because The depart
men, will not continue 10 pay what it has been
paying, and what The company deems reasonable,
il is mailer of regret but imposes upon The com
No M, lioa o. before Congress-
1.-THE exacing spirit Of little bret authority
"could not display itself in more despoIic form
than is exhibited in This case" The Postmaster
General assumes that his tpse diIn is absolutely
10 govern. The law must be interpreted, as we'll
as executed, in conformity with his opinion; and
even after we have the law interpreted by Pres-
dent oil The United States, and The Postmaster Gene
raj and his predeces .ors have executed laccordiDg
10 that Interpretation, he is TO be ID liberty, when
ever he pIeases, TO disregard that Interpretation,
(Which has been prac,ised upon Tor four years,)
and 10 set up another for himself-and the COM
pany is made the subject OF Gsparaging comments
10 his communications 10 Congress and The COM
miitee, because does not a. once yield 10 his die
lalion.
The lalier part of his communication, 10 the
committee, shows npon what The Postmaster Ge.
neral resis his hopes. tle hopes thai the interest
which The Stale of Virginia has in The company,
(nearly two-hfhs of The old stock will lead il 10
eXer, an influence in support Of his views Bul
those who have that interest in charge, see thai
he finds no difficulty in paying 300 dollars mile
for the great mail North Of Washington CRY, and
they are moi satisfied of The necessity of reducing
the compensation To 1927 so GEMS mile the
very moment The Potomac is crossed. No Viz
GINA feeling is faitered by such Discriminating.
Nor will The interest which the State Is now ma
niiesling, in internal improvement, be promoted
by it, True, the companies between Washing
ton and New York, having much larger travel
than exists in the Southern States, run for their
passengers each Two or three trains day, and part
ofIhe mai goes by one train, and part by another.
But there is daily carried South oil Washington
City as much mail matter in weight as goes
North. Aud so Tar from its being proper TO make
any discrimination in the mail pay unavorahe
10 The Southern companies, there should rather
be disposition in The Department 10 aid them as
lar as practicable, because OF the iacl that the
income from their travel is so much less than il is
al The North
On Southern railroads it is particularly i'm
porant thai there should be liberal income from
the mail in addition TO The income from The travel
and The freight. All these sources are to be LOOK
ed 10 for such receipt as will pay the annual
current expenses and yield dividend 10 the State
and other Stockholders on the money invested in
the work. And neither The State nor any other
stakeholder can see how that a proper income
would bc received from The mail il the company
were to lake whatihe Postmaster General offered.
According Ia his own showing, hc is Gc alalip paD
Ing Tor slower and inferior service SS,0l5 more
than he offered the steamboat and railroad Com
panes between Richmond and Washington; and
even il The department could ge, the mail between
Richmond and Petersburg carried for nothing
and save the IS SlS 4S cents which he is now
paying for that service, he would still be paying
Tor the new service AZ, 1876 So cents more than he
offered In pay for the old.
Al this cry then from the department, of exor-
bancy on the part OF the railroad company, is
ascerained by The experiment of that department
10 be without foundation At all events, the
Postmaster General will have 10 understand that
the works and property OF The railroad company
belong 10 The stockholders, and that it is no more
in his power 10 dictate 10 them what they are
to take for particular service on thei!
road, than il would be in his power 10 die
tate 10 the owners OF stages or steamboats,
what they are to take. The stockholders, or the
President and Directors under their authority,
must deerminc this matter, according 10 The best
Judgment which they can form OF the interest Of
The company. | am one Of those Stockholders
am mol in the Board myself, nor have shown
or mentioned This article to any Of the Board or
any body else. But | will take occasion 10 say
that am entirely satisfied with The course which
the Board has pursued.
ONE OF YOUR SUBSCRIBERS.