The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1872-01-29
Mail Arrangements on the Central
Ohio Railroad.

do not know, but Tor q year or mora
very unsatisfactory arrangement las OK
listed for the distribution Of waymail mat
ter from this city westward, on the Cen.
trail Ohio division Of tho Baltimore Il
Ohio railroad. The mail carrying matter
for the offices along the road, and the
cross.routes supplied through those Offices,
Is sent out from the Wheeling pOst.oillcc
at tho extraordinary hour Of one O'Clock
in the morning. AS this Is five or six
hours before the poslmastcrs can he OK,
pected TO be in their offices, no mails can
be distributed ill the train has run over
some IS or 100 miles OF the route. Tie
mail for the people along this part Of the
route is carried through 70 come western
point, Newark or Columbus, and sent
back and distributed over this end OF the
roadby the afternoon train, which reaches
this city few minutes before six Up the
evening. Grra't ,r-. .i "
See how this works A Main street
merchant has correspondent at Nef's,
halt a dozen miles beyond Bellaire. This
correspondent has made some inquiries
he wishes answered at once. The mer-
chant writes him this morning flrst thing
sfteF breakfast and 10 insure 'prohiphess
sends his letter u tho posLOtlicc at once,
That letter lies in the postofllce here till
one o'clock Tuesday morning It issent
QUITO Newark or Columbus -to Columbus
we presume, for IL will get there before the
return train leaves that point. There It is
put aboard The return train and sent back
TO within ten miles of tic starting point,
where 1t Is delivered about five o'clock
Tuesday evening-nearly 80 hours after
1t was posted. III Is necessary to write
again our friend at NeA's cannot post his
letter till tho next evening "Wednesday, }
SO that three whole days and two nights
are consumed in getting letter ten miles
and receiving an answer. So that by mail
Philadelphia or New York is. as near
as the first fifty miles Of the Cen.
trail Ohio Railroad. That delays like
this embarrass people out there in
transacLing business with Wheeling, and
drive them in the other direction, will be
obvious TO every one. We presume there
are lew merchants in the city who have
not suffered in consequence.
We do not profess to be entirely disin-
terested In referring TO this injurious ar.
rangemcnt We arc one Of the sufferers
by il and our neighbor, the Register, is
another, See how it operates against the
city papers. When the mail that ought
to carry this mornings papers out on that
route leaves the city, our Geographic dis
patches are still coming in. The papers
cannot he Issued in time for that mail and
have any news IN them. At half.past four
or at five this morning the INTELLIGEN-
GERS and Registers for subscribers along
the Central Ohio Railroad arc sent to the
post Office, They must lie there till l
o'clock Tuesday morning; then they so 10
Columbus and come back, reaching our
readers at the railroad post offices late in
the afternoon and, missing that days con.
nectiOn with all the cross routes, get to
points off tho road Wednesday, where
there are daily mails, and still later where
there are not. Now this kind Of mail nc
c0mmoIlaLiOn, when so much money Is
expended TO accommodate the public, is
simply atrocious Perhaps the papers
suffer little more than any other indi.
vlduals, but undoubtedly all the business
Interests Of the city are hurt by an or
rangement that 50 eflectualIy discrimi.
mates against Wheeling. The people for
fly 10 seVenty-tive miles out that road are
the natural customers of Wheeling, It is
populous and wealthy region, and there
ought 10 be the closest business relations
between them and US. But as long as they
can get Columbus and Cincinnati ncwspa-
pers "a hours earlier than Wheeling news
papers, they will read Cincinnati and Col,
umbus advertisements instead of Wheel
ing advertisements, and while they can
communicate with Cincinnati in half
the timo they can with Wheeling,
they will send their orders 10
merchants there instead OF here. We
cannot say that the existing arrange
ment was intended to have such an opera.
tion rs this, but this is the effect Of it.
Nor can we say positively who is re.
sponsible Tor it. II was concocted by u
Mr. BALDWIN, an Ohio man, who is u
special agent OF the p. o. Department,
and appears to be maintained by his in
fuence in spite Of all efforts by the Post.
master here to have it changed. Recently
Capt. RGwLINs renewed his recommends
tionO TO the Department for change, and
memorial signed by the postmasters
along the route, praying for change, ac-
companied his letter. Upon this the
Superintendent of the Mail Service sent
out a special agent to look into the ma /.
ter. Hc was here and went over tho
route, two or three days ago, and very
soon satisfied himself, as we are in.
formed, that the complaints were well
founded. His representation Of the
case ought to be sufficient, but as
there is .pertinacious influence
somewhere seeking to maintain the pres.
emit arrangement, We suggest That our own