The weekly Arizona miner., 1873-10-25

Di""b LiNb hANIED'' '-SuCn IS Jnc | heading under which the Los Angeles Ex. | press of recent date shoots it to Mir. James | Grant, who has pretty fat contract for car rying mails over the route from San Bernar- dino to Prescott, and over other routes in this southern section of country. Here is what the Express says:
 Notwithstanding the nearest and most direct point of departure from this coast to Northern Arizona is Los Angeles, no regular facilities are established 10 convey passen- gers to that Territory. Frequently people arrive here from San Francisco for the pur- pose ot making the trip overland, and when they hnd that there is no stage-lne running rom here to Prescott, and only an accidental team every now and then, they either aban- don the object, or at great expense, hire private conveyance to carry them to their destination. This condition of things should not be permitted to continue. There is busi- ness Tor at least weekly stage-line from here to Prescott. Without such line Nor thern Arizona is rendered totally inaccessible to those who wish to visit it. but who will not make extraordinary sacrifices to do so.
 "One of the principal ideas which under lies the postal policy of the United States is giving out mail contracts through sparcely settled countries to stage companies, is to open those sections to public travel by means of the mail coaches. Extraordinary subsi- dies are allowed to contractors. with the i'm piled understanding that the aid of the Gov ernment IS intended in part to make up for
 the losses necessarily incurred in stocking and staging thinly settled region. We do not know how large mail subsidy Mr. Grant has, but as he had no serious competitor, and has enjoyed especial facilities for procuring Government favor for number of years, We presume be receives a compensation which is consistent with the policy We have explained above.
 "The mail is now carried by blackboard alone; and this mode of conveyance is no ac. commodation to the travelling public. As long as he holds the mail contract, and fails to run line of stages, so long will enter prising stage men refuse to stock the road. lie has the plum of the pudding. We do not know that Mir. Grant is to blame in this matter, but we do know that the public and the city of Los Angeles are suffering because of the departure, in this instance, from the general policy of the Postal Department which connects mail service with q line of public coaches. The time for the making of new mail contracts throughout this region of the United States IS again at hand and we hope that the Post Office Department may so arrange the required proposals that the tune -honored policy of coupling the mail service with travelling facilities for the pub lc will be carried out.n
 Dr. J. II. Pierson, MT. Grants general su- perintendent, states that he has always been prepared to accommodate any number of passengers by running "extra" stages, and that, owing to lack of travel" they would not have been justified in increasing expenses by running four-horse coaches, which is why the "racking,n neck and back cracking buck boards have been allowed to almost kill peo- pie.
 This statement we have, until recently, i gulped down with considerable eas, for we very well knew that passengers have not been numerous. But, there is another pillar to this edifice. Mir. Postmaster General Cresswell informs us that, for carrying mail | over the route in question twice week, MT. | Grant receives Sl7, 1896 per annum which is a much larger sum than we or any outsider | had any idea he received, and is by all con sidered very fair compensation for the service, if not, also, bonus to induce the contractor to help the country" by enabling him to | run decent vehicles, for men women and chil- | dren to travel in. Certain it is that Mir. Grant has done well with the mails. but friendly as We feel toward him and his. we cannot but say that our present knowledge of the large sums he has been, is yet. receiy- ing for carrying mails over the San Bernar- dino route, the route along the Colorado river, and that little route in California. have been, are, in our poor opinion, sufficient, with the money paid by passengers, and that received for carrying express packages, enough to keep up good line of stages and leave him decent balance. We say this with the knowledge that prices of grain, la bor, provisions, everything, have fallen great ly in the past year, and with the hope that buckboards will soon give way to stages upon our principal mail route and thoroughfare. Better travelling accommodation would surely orlng us more people, put more money in hr' Grants pocket, accomodate the travelling public and ''help the country"
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