Mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado Co., Cal.) 1854-1860, 1860-06-16
SENATOR OWNS REPLY.
SENATE CHAMBER, !

cvipt Of your favor dated Yesterday, inclosing
a printed letter addressed to me bv a commit.
tee Of Califnrnians temporarily in New York.
dated on the eth inst. Coming as this does
from committee Of Gentlemen representing
a portion Of my constituents. feel justified H.
adopting different line Of conduct from thar
| hive heretofore pursued in regard TO similar
publications.
The committee Of which you are chairman.
and those they repr, sent, have in my opinion.
been led into error in regard to my action and
that OF the Po>tefiice Committee of the S,.n-
ate, Of which I am a member, by designing
men. The most a1rcit Of whom is l. {. Woods
well known in California as the manager Of
the Adams Express and Banking COMPANY
The Postoffice Committee has been besicccd
by these men since December last. to induce
it to shape its action not to promote the pub.
lie interest, but 10 put money into their
pockets.
1t has been the object Of the Committee
t-on the first 10 cstabishpermanrnt overland
ma: service that would entirely supcrcedc
the ocean service. The first and great obsta.
Gle to the accomplishment Of this policy was
the transmission of printed matter, and cspc
cially ranked documents. The Committee,
to remove, as far as in its power, this obsta-
Gle, reported. at an carly period Of the session,
bill ahoshing the Thanking privilege which
passed the Senate by an almost unanimous
vote. and is yet pending in the House.
The Committee next proposed 10 establish
Eemi.weekly letter mail from St. Joseph to
Placerve, service to be performed within
twenty days. and to form semiweekly connec-
tons from New Orleans with the present Over.
land mail from ST. Louis 10 San Francisco, and
TO arrange the schedule on the several routes
so as to have the departures from the Eastern
termini as follows: Departures from St. 10
seph, Monday and Thursday Of each week; st.
Louis and Memphis, Tuesday and Friday !;
New Orleans, Wednesday and Saturday, to
connect with the St. Louis and Memphis mail
at Conanche Springs north Of San Antonio.
This would have given daily departures from
the Eastern termini, Sunday cxcepted,) and
four times a week from San Francisco and
Placervie, and at an expense Of about 81
100000 per annum. This service would have
carried all the letters to and from the Atlantic
coast and intermediate points on the routes,
and left provision to be made only for the print
ed and fianked matter Responsible parties
assured the Committee this could be done by
express companies for $l50000 per annup,
and upon this assurance that sum was inserted
in the bill. Subsequent investigation made it
doubtful whether the printed and frankcd mat
ter could be conveyed for this sum, and the
Committee intended " leave this open for sub
sequent legislation.
In order to create perfect mail system for
the Pacific coast, the Committee also proposed
TO establish weekly service from Lake Supe-
rior to Oregon and Washington Territory, and
n daily mail from Sacramento City, California,
to Portland, in Oregon.
But this programme did not suit Mr.. !. c.
Woods and his confederates. 1t superseded
their connection with the mail service by abol-
ishing a route established atextravagant rates
Of compensation, to be discontinued, by the
express terms Of their contract, when the
PoStOffice Department established other and
more efficient service on the route. They
have opposed the programme with skill aud
activity, and brought to their aid powerful
lobby influence, and have up to this period
succeeded in embarrassing the action Of the
Senate. The bills subsequently reported by
me were intended to ncutralizo the effect Of
this combination, and TO secure, if possible,
speedy legislation on the subject.
The only hope that Mr.. |. Z. Woods and
those acting with him have OF success is to
break the contract made 10y the Government
with Buttertcld & Co. ] am opposed to this
Congress passed a law creating this service
1t has been we'll performed, and is now our
most reliable mail service to the Pacific coast
The contract has more than four years to run.
and if unimpared we are assured of certain
overland service for that period.
The great want of the people OF California
and the Pacific coast is, at least, semi-weekly
twenty days service from st. Joseph TO Pla-
cerville, weekly service from Lake Superior to
Washington Territory and Oregon, and daily
service from Sacramento city to Portland. If
Congress will give us this, we will be content,
and should he for the present For this shall
labor with my colleagues from California,
Oregon and Washington Territory, eagerly
and earnestly. If a majority Of the Senate de-
termino to break the Buttertield contract then
shall, with my colleagues, as earnestly urge
q daily mail from St. Joseph to PIacerviI e.
with the daily service from Sacramento city
to Portland and the semi weekly service from
Lake Superior to Oregon and Washington.
Every section of the Union, from Maine to
Florida, has daily railroad connection with St.
Joseph. The mails can be conveyed there as
rapidly from New Orleans, Mobile, Savannah
and Charleston, as from New York, Philadcl-
phia, Baltimore and Washington, and there
find daily conveyance to the Pacific Coast.
The whole mail matter, letters, printed and
ranked documents, can be conveyed over this
route Tor VI ,1OU,OUO per ahhuiIl' which, WIN
8 100, 900 daily service from Sacramento to
Portland, and 100000 for weekly service
from Lake Superior to Oregon and Washing
ton, will make the aggregate service 81 800
900, and give US all the mail facilities we desire.
As to the stale SANDER that | am favoring
the Ocean Mail Service to California, treat it !
with the contempt always have. There never
shall be letter conveyed under a steamship |
contract tn California after the first of July |
next, if | can prevent il. If steamship con-
tract is made to convey printed matter, it will
be caused by the impossibility Of getting it
transported overland.
Very respectfully,
Yo,.r ohad;unk oorvanf