The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1858-01-08
THE MAILS BETWEEN NEW YORK AND
NEW ORLEANS.

Fost Master General Brown, Out VIC hhu VIC
following paragraph in reference to that Re
port, in a late number Of the New York Day
Book:
The system Of express agents to have charge
of through. mails is earnestly commanded
In regard to delays and failures on the great
mail route from New Orleans to New York,
the Report Is very full This line is composed
Of sixteen links, each under separate con
tract. The causes Of delay are reported upon
consisting Of railroad disasters. broken
bridges, ice and snow. &e.-and as remedy,
the closing OF a contract with the FLORIDA
Railroad Company is recommended, whereby
one party, instead Of sixteen, becomes the
contraetor-the mails to be conveyed from
Neac Orleans TO Neu York by sea in fue ddys-an
arrangement which, the Postmaster General
thinks, will obviate not only the delays that
attend land carriage but will tend also TO
prevent robberies and losses OF the mails, as
well as to effect the preservation OF mail mat.
ter from the damages 1t now frequently IN
curs. The Company referred to offer to per-
form daily service during the year Tor
s456, $50. An extension Of this great South
ern route may be made to include the con
veyance Of the California mails, by way OF
Cedar Key, Aspnwall, Grsytown, or Huasa-
cuaico.
With all due respect for the distinguished
head Of the Post Office Department, 1t seems
to us that the plan suggested above in refer
ence 10 the transportation of the mails be.
tween New York and New Orleans is founded
in a mistaken economy, both as regards the
item of expenditure and the subscribing the
public interest and convenience. 1t will be
seen that the proposition is for the New York
and Ner Orleans mails aione-the price fixed
is 1856, $50, and the time to be occupied fpe
days. Now, it is demonstrable that the mails
can, in one year from this time, be carried on
the Great Railroad Thoroughfare, between
the points indicated, in four days, (once day
each way, for $3.50, 900 less money than the
price stated above, at the same time the entire
country between points along the line would
be accommodated with their mails at no add.
tional cost-when, without the great mail, the
local mails would of themselves cost the De-
partment half million Of dollars. This fact
alone should cause the Postmaster General
to pause before entertaining contract as pro.
posed in the extract from the Day Book, ex-
tending over q number of years, and in
curing, unnecessarily as we conceive, an ex.
penditure of half million Of dollars annu.
ally, without obtaining any compromising ad.
vantage to the public interests or conven.
fence.
In regard to the position in the extract
about delays and losses of the mails. we think
the error is equally palpable, and may be
easily and better remedied than bv snbsti.
tuting water for land carriage. 1t is indis.
putably true, that whenever contract is to
be made with Rail Road, the price is put
down to the lowest figure possible, and the
speed required up to the highest-necessarily
ensuring fdiiwes-and as it is Rail Road
nothing less than double daily service will
do. The last, we contend, is the secret of
all the mail confusions and failures If the
Department would agree to less rate of
speed, pay fair rates, and be satisfied with a
daily mail, with fewer and more compe.
tent men for Route Agents. we should seldom
hear Of failures, missent packages or lost
mail bags.
We have said above that the mails can be
carried by Rail Road, in less than twelve
months from this date between the points
named, in good deal less time than is pro
posed and the public interests be much bet
ter served; and now to the figures demon.
strating the fact and showing, by comparison,
the route which ought to be selected for the
service The distance from New Orleans to
point North of Canton, Mississippi, is 240
miles, on which the cars now run 2l0 miles.
The other 80 miles will be completed before
the let of March next, as we are reliably in
formed From that point to Water Valley is
80 miles-62 of which is graded and the
track being put down from both ends, and it
is expected and believed that the whole will
be completed in 1858. From Water Valley
to the junction with the Memphis and Charles.
ton Road is ~ miles, all complete. From the
junction 10 Knoxville, uia Dalton, Ca, is 40S
miles, all complete-making the distance
from New Orleans to Knoxville S02 miles
The Cleveland and Chattanooga cut off will
reduce this to 1852 miles.
From Knoxville to Washington City, by
way of Richmond, Va, is 5ss miles, all com.
plete except rs miles on the East Tennessee
ard Virginia Road, which the officers of that
Road expect to finish in April ensuing. The
Alexandria and Orange Road will oe extend
ed to Lynchburg during the present year.
From Washington City to Lynchburg by that
route the distance is III miles, against 254 as
now travelled ola Richmond-a saving of 50
miles. Only So miles of the Alexandria and
Orange Road remain to be finished, nearly
all of which is graded. (Gov. Wise has recon-.
mended an appropriation of s25O,OOO to fur.
nish the iron. A larger sum is needed, and
asked for, and is now being urged upon the
Legislature by the Hon. WIN. c. Rives and
other influential VirgiaianS, and no doubts
are entertained that the requisite amount
will be readily appropriated. The State of
Virginia owns about one half the Stock in
the Alexandria and Orange lire as far as con
structed and, also, about one half the stock
in the Virginia and Tennessee Road. The
entire distance from, Alexandria 10 Bristol,
Tenn. lie $40 miles-and the State is owner Of
one half of all except this So miles, which &C.
ours about midway of the line, and as that