The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1870-12-08

e out of the General Treasury for tn
e year 1870 is S2,SI4,116 9S, as against
l S3, $40, ,2S7 As for the year 1860.
There were in the service of the De
= partment on the 30th ofJune, 1S707, %
r contractors for the transportation
: of the mails. OF mail routes In Oper,
alton, there were S SCI, aggregatinl
; in length 231 ,232 miles in annua
cost SIS, S., ,653, adding the eOmpen.
satiOn Of railway, pOstOffice clerks
: route agents, local agents, mail mes
sengers, mail route messengers auC
baggage masters in charge of register.
ed packages amounting to 81, ,476, $50
the aggregate annual cost was 81, !,
355, ,543.
The services was divided as follows
There was an increase over the pro
ceeding year in length of routes of =
! 601 miles, in annual transportation
{, ,301, ,593 miles, and in coast, S47S. .152
Adding the increased cost for railway
/. pOstofice, clerks, route, local, and
ether agents, S19j, ,653, the total in
/ crease in cost was S673, SIS. The fore
going statements of distances and
costs do not include the services for
special offices. There were at the
close Of the year 2, l69 Of these, each
with a mail carrier whose pay from
the department is not allowed 70 ex-
ceed the net postal yield of the office.
Special rOntes and their carriers are
included, however, in the number of
contracts and routes as given above.
The attention Of Congress is again
called to the necessity of a revision
and readjustment of the rates OfeOm-
pensation established by law for the
transportation of mails on railroad
routes. The managers Of railroads
insist that the pay awarded them un-
/ der the operation of the Act of the Sd
of March, 1915, is inadequate to the
rervices required, and many of them
have refused and still refuse to enter
into contracts with the department
alleging that they will not bind
/ themselves by a permanent arrange
ment at the present prices. The con-
| sequence is, that on many of the
most important roads the mails are
/ carried as suits the convenience of the
companies, and with but little regard
/ to the public interests. Many COM
plants of inefficient service, and in
some instances of gross neglect on
the part of railroad companies, have
been made during the past year, by
some Of the leading newspapers of
/ the country, but, Notwithstanding
the most active and persistent efforts
to remedy the evils complained of,
very little, If any, improvement has
as vet been effected, the department
having no legal control of the time
or manner of running trains, except
4 In nh
regularly executed. After a careful
examination Of the subject, am sat
isfied that the compensation fixed by
law, is il not fair return for the inn
/ pOrtant services rendered by the rail-
road companies, and here Irepeat my
recommendation, that a readjustment
of their pay be made by law, and at
the same time they be required to en-
ter into contract with the Depart
ment as a condition precedent to
| drawing any increase of eOmpensa-
| ton.
The amount of fines imposed on
contractors and deductions made
from their pay, on account Of failures
and other delinquences, during the
last year, was Si00,375 80, and the
amount remitted forthe same period
SOS, ,75S %, leaving the net amount of
81, ,622 o.. This shows an increase
on the net amount Of fines and deduc-
tiOns over the year 1869 of 81, ,379 %
and a decrease in the amount of re-
missions of Sl51, ,597 "A. The increase
in the fines and deductions is not at
tributable to increased delinquinces,
but to the fact since the first of April
1859, provision in mail contracts for
forfeiture of the pay of trip when
the trip is not made has been enforced
in conformity with the act of July, 2d
1886. Since the adoption of this rule
contractors have eyinced a much
greater amount Of energy in their
efforts to,carry the mails through TO the
points Of destination.
During the past year, SOL cases of
loss by mail depredations, of which
| ,574 were registered letters, were re-
ported TO the department, involving
losses in bonds, drafts and money to
the amount of 81 1893, ,76S q, a consid-
cradle portion of which has been re-
covered. The number of arrests for
violation of the Postal laws was 143,
and the number of convictions of
those who were brought to trial, 81,
the remainder being released, acquit-
ted or held for trial. The department
is constantly availing itself Of all the
means within its reach to give perfect
security to the mails, and to bring to
Justice any Of its employees who yield
TO the temptations to violate the trust
repOsed in them.
The cost of the transatlantic
mail steamship service during the
three preceding fiscal years was a.
follows: For the fiscal year ended
June 80, 1867, S551 1888 0S; for the fisca
year ended June so, 1868; S421, ,764 A;
for the fiscal year ended June 80, 1859,
S336, ,207 40. From July l. to Decem-
Der 81, 1859, the transatlantic mail
service has been performed by steam
ships Of the Hamburg, Cunard, Bre-
men and Inman lines, sailing from
New York on Tuesdays. Wednesdays,
Thursdays and Saturdays Of each
week. The agents of each of these
lines having declined to transport the
mails for the reduced rates of sea post
al established by the additional postal
convention with the United Kingdom,
which went into operation on the
first Of January, 1870, the service was
for a short time interrupted, out new
arrangements were speedily concluded
on the basis Of the reduced rates of
compensation for a regular semi
weekly conveyance Of mails to Eu-
rope by the steamships Of the Liver
pool & Great Western Company, Will
liams & Guwn, agents, on Wednes-
day, and by the steamships Of the
North German Lloyd, Of Bremen, on
Saturdays, which were soon followed
by an arrangement with the Ham
burg American Packet Company for
an additional weekly service on Tues
on the same terms, thus securing a
tri-weekly dispatch of mails by steam
ers Of average grade Of speed For
NAL contracts were executed with
each Of these companies for the con-
veyance of the mails during the term
of two years, commencing January l,
1870, and ending December 81, 1871,
copies Of which are annexed. In the
month Of July last, the steamships Of
the North German Lloyd and Ham
burg lines were withdrawn from SER
vice on their respective routes, and a
temporary arrangement was made
with the agents Of the Inman Line to
convey the nails from New York on
Saturday Of each week, supplying the
omitted trips Of the North German
Lloyd Line, and after aperiOd Of near
| " three months had elapsed, with no
prospect Of an early resumption Of the
service by the steamships OF the North
German Lloyd, OF Bremen, 1 was con-
strained to annUl the contract with
that company for repeated failures,
| and to make a permanent contract
with the Liverpool, New York &
Philadelphia Steamship Company,
Inman Line, TO transport the mails
from New York on Saturdays for
term Of two years, commencing OctC-
Der !, 1870, and ending September 30,
I 1872, a COPY Of which is also annexed.
/ At present the tri-weekly mails ara
\ dispatched from New York TO Great
Britain by the steamships of the Liv-
erpOoi and Great Western, Cunard
and Innan Lines, starting on Wsdnes-
D