, 1874-09-17
guest Sound 1ispateh.


MAIL ON PUGET SouND.-Proposals
have been advertised for carrying the
mails between Olympia and Victoria Cor
between Tacoma and Victoria, as the
Postmaster General may hereafter di-
rect twice week each way, and an
additional trip once week between
Seattle and Olympia, making an aggre-
gate distance, each week, of 700 miles
36. 400 miles year-the schedule time
two first class steamers, cost
ing at least 100000 each, to perform
the service. The law of last session re-
quires that every proposal shall be &C
companied by bond, fixed in this case
at $4,000 with good and sufficient
sureties, to be forfeited as liquidated
damages IN case CT failure; also certi-
fed check, lin this case SS10) to be
forfeited in case of failure. "No pro-
posal shall be considered unless it shall
be accompanied by such bond, and there
shall have been affixed to said proposal
the oath of the bidder, taken before an
officer qualified TO administer oaths,
that he has the ability, pecuniarily, to
fulfil hi- obligations, and that the bid is
made in good faith. and with the inten-
ton to enter into contract and perform
the service in case his bid is accepted.
That before the bond of bidder proyi-
ded for in the aforesaid section is ap-
proved, there shall, be endorsed thereon
the oaths of the sureties therein, taken
before an officer qualified to administer
oaths, that they are owners of real estate
worth, in the aggregate, d sum double
the amount of the said bond, over and
above all debts due and owing by them,
and all judgments, mortgages. and exc
cutions against them. after allowing all
exemptions of every character whatev-
er."
If this law is strictly construed, no
man can bid for the contract wbo cannot
swear that he is worth al least $500, 900,
the amount required to give him the
Z" ability, peeuniarily, to fulfil his obli-
gations.'' a1. .....A
The bid Of Capt. Starr, which was re-
jected at the regular lettings on the
ground of being excessive. was for
$36, 900 O year, or thereabout. That
is considerably less in proportion to the
number of miles and the prescribed
schedule time, than any other steamship
mail route upon the Pacific Coast. Ben
Holiday is paid much more per mile on
the Sitka route, and ons-quarter of the
route the portion between Portland
and Port Townsend-gives no additions
al mail facilities to any one, and the
expense of the same to the Government
might be dispensed with without the
least detriment to the public service;
and yet this unnecessary expense is in
Cured by the Department for no other
purpose than to favor monopoly which
is seeking to absorb and control the
entire steamship transportation of this
upper coast.
Nearly twenty years ago John Scran-
ton (of blessed memory was paid $500
trip-$3 33 a mile, for carrying less
than one-tenth of the present amount of
mail matter once week between Olym-
pia and Victoria, choosing his own
mode of conveyance and making his
own time schedule. limited only to a
week for each trip. Now the Starr
Brothers propose to perform the service
upon a time schedule requiring first
class steamships, for less than one doll
lar mile, and their bid is rejected as
excessive, while higher rates are paid to
every other contractor on the coast. and
against all rules of fair dealing, and all
previous custom of the Department,
the amount of their bid was exposed to
the public before it was acted on, and a
huckstering policy of competition IN
vited. Scranton probably never had
$4,000 invested in his contract; the
tarrs have nearly $200,0O0 in steamers
on this line. They have run here four
years. bought off the old line. reduced
fares and freights more than one half,
given the best kind of accommodations.
sunk large amonnt of money by their
liberal and public spirit. and deserve
better treatment for their efforts to pro-
mote commerce and carrying business
of this section than they have received
from the Government. 1t is difficult to
understand why the Department so un,
Justly discri ninates against contractors
on Puget Sound, as in case of Garfelde
in the Sitka contract and the STAIRS III
this
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