Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1854-11-06
WASHINGTON NkWs AND GOSSIP.

WASHINGTON NEWS AND GOSSIP.
The Railroad Mail Controversy.-It is
high time that the country should come to
know the whole truth concerning the facts in
volved in the controversy which has existed
between the Post Office Department and the
railroad companies of the United States under
every National Administration, from that of
Andrew Jackson to the present time. Thus,
it is necessary that the facts should be prop
erly understood, in order that State and Ma
tional legislation may be applied in time to
cure the evil. If not, it will not be long be-
fore railroad cor porations govern the country
more completely than the Bank of the United
States did before old jackson put his iron
heel upon it. When Amos Kendall admins
tered the affairs of the Post Office Department.
he found it impossible to make satisfactory
contracts with the few railroad companies
then In existence and operation, owing to the
enormous increased pay they demanded for
carrying the mails. The newspapers in the
interest of those companies raised an unjust
hue and cry against Kendall's policy with
reference to them, and really made him OBJ
noxious to the country on that account
When Mr.. Granger succeeded Kendall, he
entered office firmly of opinion that K had
been governed by an imprudent and niggard-
ly policy towards the corporations, and de-
clared his purpose of making contracts with
them. But he soon found himself at fault
That is, that he could not submit to their ex-
actions without an entire sacrifice of the in
terests committed to his care lie, too, left
office without making single legal mail con-
tract with a railroad company. Mr.. Wick.
life, his successor, essayed new policy on
taking Office. He called convention of the
Presidents or representatives of all the (by
that time greatly increased number of rail-
roads on which it was desirable that the mails
should be transported This body met here,
and Mr.. w. entered into formal negotiations
with them, in order to fix tariff of rates per
mile, which should be mutually satisfactory.
To clinch the thing, We remember, he gave
them grand entertainment here. They ate
his picked oysters and chicken salad and
drank his champagne; but made no contracts
not they. ALI his labors with them were in
| vain; hardly any of them would enter into such
| a contract as the law specifies, for any sum that
Mr.. W. felt at liberty to accord.
The history las we recollect it) of the open
| ing of the route from Harrisburg to Pitts
burg (the Pennsylvania great central route)
affords an illustration of their system of " do
A.
road was opened while coach contract over
the route had some time to run. The COM
pany carried the mails for the contractor dur
| ing the balance of his term at their rates for
its weight as freight. At the termination of
| his contract, they refused to carry it longer
| as freight, and demanded and obtained from
| the Department a compensation for the SER
vice three or four times as great as they had
been receiving from the contractor There
was no help for it. They had an absolute
| monopoly of the fast means Of conveying it,
and the public called for its transportation by
the fastest conveyance within the reach of the
Department. The case of the South Carolina
| railroad company, whose controversy with the
Department is just now occupying space in
the newspapers, affords another illustration
of this grasping disposition of these monopo-
lies equally as glazing. The contract of -
Mclean over the route on which they opened
their road, had some time to run when they
commenced operations. They carried the
mails for him, at $40, 900 per annum at the
conclusion of his contract, they demanded
and obtained from the Department $40, 900
per annum for much the same service
Cave Johnson had his troubles with them
and so had his successors up to this time, no
one of whom, if we are not greatly mistaken,
have been more fortunate than he (Mr. John
SOM and his predecessors, in their efforts to
make legal contracts with most of the railroad
companies. The law provides the terms on
which the Postmaster General shall make
mail contracts. Few railroad companies in the
country have yet come fully into these terms
Thus, though they are receiving annually
enormous sums from the Treasury for the trans
portatiOn of the mails, few Of them, indeed, ire
under obligations to submit to the fines and for
FIXTURES which the laws provide for mail fail
ures, &C.; 60 the arrangements between them
and the Department are in most cases, we be.
lieve, merely temporary. These things are the
more remarkable, in view Of the fact that Con-
gress have legislated the National Treasury be.
tween six and seven millions of dollars out of
pocket, in the way of the remission and de-
crease of duties on railroad iron! We know
this to be So That is, up to this time, the
total amount ofduties on railroad iron RENTED
for the benefit of various railroad companies
in this country, make an aggregate of between
six and seven millions of dollars! Pretty
trea ,ment, indeed, has the Government re-
ceived in return for this iberality.
L The State of New York has wisely legislated
against monopolist exactions On the part of
Railroad Companies within its limits, not.
outstanding their CRY of the possession of
rio ohoua nd bovon1 tbo .,o>b