The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1874-12-10
POstal.Car Service.


WASHINGTON, Nov. "a.
George s. Bangs, Superintendent of the
annual report. From this report 1t appears |
that, at the close of the fiscal year ending.
June SO, 1874, there were in operation fifty.
nine lines of railway postoffice cars, extending
over Il, $3.50 miles of railroad, on which was
performed 34,9s5 miles of service daily and
II, Az s5 miles of service annually, by 152
railway postoffice clerks. These clerks are
classified as follows: 2s3 head clerks,
379 clerks, and ninety assistant clerks. By
the establishment of new lines of railroad the
postal facilities have been greatly increased.
During the threatened refusal Of the rail-
roads to carry the mails an offer of the Bal
timorc y Ohio was accepted by the depart
ment. This gave daily service between Gin.
cinnati, Ohio, and Chicago, ILL.,, 80 miles,
This completes a through line between Wash.
ington and Chicago, and forms u connection
between the roads .centering at Cincinnati, In
dianapolis and Chicago.
OF the present condition of the railway post-
office service Mr. Bangs says: 1.-THE railway
postof1ice cars are now in operation on most
OF the most important connecting and trunk
lines Of railroad, giving the most direct and
available transit to the mails between the
office OF origin and destination, and forming
nearly perfect connection between the
| various railroads upon which service is per.
formed by route agents,
1.-THE Pennsylvania Railroad system. per.
haps the most important and extended il, the
country for mail transportation, is now used
to great extent ia the forwarding of through
and direct mails; but, owing to the moor
postal facilities ut present furnished by that
| road, it cannot be utilized to any great ex-
| tent in the distribution of mails IN transit.
| As this company has expressed its willing
| ness to grant improved accommodations the
benefit to be derived would fully warrant the
department in the acceptance of the same.
| The necessity of this addition to the postal.
car lines can best be judged by the follow.
ing statement of the bulk of mails passing
| between the East and West: New York
! city originates fifty-tive to sixty tons of
mail matter daily, as shown by their official
statement. Forty-tivc to fifty tons of this is
forwarded on the trunk lines leading to the
| West and Southwest Three of these lines
the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Il Erie
Railroad, and New York Central Il Hudson
| River Railroad-carry daily over their whole
| length an average of $1,000 pounds of mall
| and as the bulk of this mail is deposited in
| the offices at the latest hour possible to make
| the trains, or arrives on connecting trains, it
must he distributed in transit. taxing the
present accommodations to the utmost, es-
| pecially as the Erie Railroad is the only one
upon which the department have such ac-
commodatlons as are required. The propriety
| OF establishing fast and exclusive mail train
between New York and Chicago has been dis
cussed for some time and there appears to be
| growing necessity for the same, this train
| TO be under the control Of the department so
far as it is necessary for the purposes de-
signed, and to run the distance In about
road officials that this can be done. The i'm
portancc of line like this cannot be over
estimated. 1t would reduce the actual
time OF the mail between the East and
| west from twelve to twenty four hours, as it
would necessaril " be established upon one
or more OF the trunk lines having Ell ex-
| tended system of connections Its benefits
would be in no wise confined, but extended
70 all parts OF the country alike. 1t would
| also, II this line be established be practicable
10 reduce toonc line daily, beside this through
me, the service upon the three trunk lines
TO the West. The reduction would compcn-
safe for all the additional expense incurred nv
the fast mail ,rain especially as, bv the opera
uon ol the law governing mail transportation,
the more mail concentrated upon a single
Inc OF railway the less is the aggregate cost
VI transportation per pou I'D or ton per mile''
WITH reference to the complaints of some
railroads that the compensation is inadeo,ate
Mr.. Bangs thinks it advisable to recommend
legislation placing the compensation to rail-
roads on the basis Of weight alone
with regard to the extra cost of the railway
postal service the Superintendent thinks
erroneous opinions obta.i, and that the amount
!si'Mc'bSo) is more apparent than real, owing
10 the 1act that many minor distributing
ofhces and large amount of clerk hire along
the railroad routes and at the termini. not
now required, would be necessary in the alb
sehce oi the present system. The superin-
tendency would be necessary under any svs-
tem, as the distribution and dispatch of mails
"ouau REQUIRE inc same general supervision
as now To secure the best possible results.
Not the least consideration in favor of the
railway postoffice is the avoidance of DELAYS
resulting from any other system than the dis