, 1880-05-03
Wells-Fargo and the Post Office
Department.

A determined attack has been made
upon Wells. Fargo & Co. g express by
the Postal Department, q Commission
having reported that the company, by
CARRYING letters, enters into serious
competition with the United States
mails, and diminishes the revenue of
the department. Tbs representations
OF the Commission are by no means
faithful or exact. The truth is that the
express company has supplied public
wants which the Government did not
supply that it has afforded the public
a measure of security which the Gov
ernment did not afford that it has
actually increased the revenues of the
Postal Department by establishing an
active mail service with u multitude of
points wholly neglected by the Govern
ment. 1t is ground of complaint
company have a letter service which
they endeavor by every means in their
power to render more efficient than the
regular SERVICE" and which has conse-
quentIy "become formidable compet-
itor with the Government for public
patronage" This is not complaint
in which the public can sympathlzs,
nor Can it be regarded as furnishing
any ground for the abolition of the ex-
press letter service. The latter has
rendered to the people of the Pacific
coast most Invaluable service. and they
are nos in fay or of such action as is
pro posed. The express company has
been from the pioneer times until now
the only means of communication avail
able by hundreds of mining camps and
frontier settlements. To abolish lis
letter service even now would deprive
a large number of such places of all
mail facilities. For it is emphatically
not true, as the Commission assert, that
"the Postoffice has extended its routes
to every hamlet In that (this) region"
1t has cone nothing of the kind. There
Is still IA very large and important por-
ton of the mail service attended to
solely by Wells, Fargo & Co. But
even if this were not SO the demand for
the abolition of the letter service would
be III justltiable. for as regards the i'm
portaut question of safe transmission,
the Government cannot pretend to
compete with the company. Before
such proposition can be made with
any pretense of justice, it must be dem
Onstrated that the Government is both
ready and able to take up and carry on
the work hitherto done by the express
company. That this is hot likely to be
the case for some time has been shown
recently through the scandals growing
out of the s. star route business. The
abolition of Wells-Fargo's letter-carry-
lug of course would involve large ex
tension of star routes, and we are
satisfied that the country wants no
more of those kind Of contracts than
are unavoidable. The express compa-
ny have organized mag g1licent, exren
sive and splendidly eff ;ient service,
which is and has been of the greatest
possible utility to the people OF the
Pacific coast. They have Eade tue
most liberal expenditures in order to
accommodate the public. They under
took this work years before the Govern
ment thought of bestowing upon US
more than the most slovenly and made
quate service. They carry mails to-day
on scores of routes where there is no
postal service. The superior eff :iency
of their service is everywhere recog
nized. They do not, however. rob the
revenues OF the department. They
make new business, which simply
would not exist if the department had
the monopoly it demands. AS regards
the legal aspects of the matter we do
not propose to say anything now, but
there Can be no doubt whatever that
the suppression of the express letter
carriage on this coast would be most
serious injury to the public. and that
it could not be compensated by the
postal department. We trust that Con-
gress will proceed with the utmost eau
tion upon this business.
Record Uniom.