Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-10-22
TIE STAR ROUTE BUSINESS.
Assistant Postmaster-General Tyner's Sup
pressed Report.
TBy Telegraph.

Assistant Postmaster General Tyners Sup
pressed Report
by Telegraph
NEW YORK, October 20th. The Times this
morning prints Tyner's report of date of
August 5. 1879, and entitled "Memoranda of
| suggestions as TO star service in the Pacific
section, made out as addenda to report to
the Postmaster-Generalo on star service in the
| Pacific section"
THE DALLEs STAR ROUTE.
| The following, taken from the report, Illus
| trates the character of the whole report No.
| 44,154, IN Oregon, from The Dalles to Lake
! View, was let under advertise ment of Novsm-
| her l, 1872 once week, for SO. 0SS. The route
was advertised and let as 227 miles in length,
on schedule of 1oS hours, or fraction over
two aud Que half miles per hour 1t has
since been increased TO six times per week be-
tween The Dalles and Princeville, and iatsr-
! mediate Office situated lis miles fran The
Dalles, or northern terminus, aud it has also
| tesn expedited between said points. The in
crease Of frequency cost S6,114 additional,
and the expedition cost Sl1, ,777 The
expedited schedule requires pro rata
running time Of three and a half
mics per hour between the points
named, as against two aud half miles per
hour under the award of the contracts. No
connections are formed at Princeville and no
benefit Of consequence accrues to anybody,
| except the contractor, for the increased speed.
| The Department pays nearly So. 900, and
yet the Importance of the mails passing over
the route-a route which does not carry
through mails or form link in a great
| through line-rnay be estimated by the ;act
that the aggregate compensation of the Post
masters at all Offices from The Dalles to
Princeville (includiug the latter and exclud-
ing the former. which is not dependent on it
for supply is s490.
AN UNNECESSARY LINK.
Between Prncevile and Silver Like fan
other intermediate offics) there is really no
need OF service at ALL There is 10 postofice
or any population to supply, nor, indeed,
country in which civilized people can live.
The route as an entirety is not essential for
north and south connections, as other routes
snbserve this end, and the Ink between Sill
yer Lake and Princsville might therefore be
dropped without detriment, leaving Silver
Lake to be supplied from the south only.
EXPENSIVE CAMP M'pEsMITT MAILS.
Route II, 160 (Oregon) from Canyon City
20 Camp McDefmitt, was let at the same
time as the above-named. It is 24S miles
long, as advertised. and was let on schedule
of 132 hours, rot quite two miles per hour,
once week cost g, ,9SS. It ought to have
service oace week, to supply the military
posts, scarcely any one eiss bsing interested
in it. A supply OF twice a week at double
the cost named above would be very liberal.
Since the letting it has been increased to
three times Der week and expedited at cost
of SIS 612 additional, making the total an
nual amount $21, 500 The expedited sehe6nle
requires q speed OF two and balf miles per
hour instead of a speed of two miles per
hour, and for this hit increase the Depart
ment pays S12, S23 The importance Of the
route for local purposes (it not being through
line in any ssAss) Is indicated by the fact
that the offices solely dependent upon it for
supply yield an aggregate compensation to
Postmasters of S47 90, and a gross revenue Of
less than SlO0. Canyon City. the northern
terminus, rec9ives its supply from route A..
l55, and Camp McDernitC (nos Fort McDer-
nltt), now the southern terminus, has 2 daily
supply from Winnemucca Station, on the
Central Pacific Railway. But if the last
named Offices we're both supplied by this
route, the expenditure for supply would cnt
eff over S19 coo more than the entire revenues
demand from them. The Importance of mails
ever this route viii not justify more than one-
fourth Of the present cost.
THE BAKER CITY ROUTE.
Speaking of route AZ I55, let originally at
SIS, ,2SS per &nnum, bns by expedition and fre-
Guency increased to ST. $40, Mr.. Tyner
says The compensation Of Postmasters on
the route amounts 10 81, 776, and this includes
compensation at Baker City, S662, which is
on great overland stage route between The
Dsiios snd Keltsr, and upon which it is de-
pendent for It's supply. Without Baker City
the aggregate compensation is 81, ,l54, and the
gross revenues about s2 800, including the
compensation named above. To supply it.
therefore, the Department pays over $40 600
more than it derives from IT, a service Of
three times. week on this route would be
liberal and such an expedition at the great
cost named, is, upon its face, unjustihable.
ROUTES IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
Closely connected with the Redding and
R9seburg route are routes 46 245 (Redding to
Weaverville) and 46 263 Yreka to Shastal
the two routes so as TO form route from
Redding Co Yreka to the west of the mail
route from Redding to Roseburg At Yrska
they join the main route. A glance at the
map viii show that the route is formed nearly
parallel with the main route The three
routes are let to two contractors, one of the
contractors having bsen the lowest bidder Of
two OF them, but they are under common
management.
TYNER's CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS.
Tyner closes His memoranda of suggestions
as follows: It will be discovered that the
principal mistake made in the changed SER
vice upon the routes named resulted from the
policy of expediting, that always involves
great expenses and is always of doubtful
propriety. The Department has bus little
control over it after an expedition is once de-
cided upon, for the law provides that increase
of pay shall be based upon the increased
amount of stock necessary TO execute the ex-
pedition. The contractor is the only person
who can intelhgently state such increase. It
is also evident that the plan of advertising
for grade service on low schedule is i'll.
advised. The maximum service as to fre-
quency and speed should De called for, and to
reduce It is not expensive TO the Department,
| If promptly ordered. In fact, if the adver-
| tised schedules were carefully and intelli-
gently made up, no changes would be neess-
sary, except occasionally when the rapidly
| shifsing populations that gather about mining
centers suddenly remove TO other localities,
on when a star route is supplaDted, IN whole
or ia part, by new railroads. The adverti=e-
mens under WHICH the routes named were let
contained several other examples Of calling
for minimum instead Of maximum service.
Many routes were advertised for much lower
services than was being performed on them.
The cost of expediting upon proper sched-
ules as to time would have teen but little, II
any, greater than upon slow schedules.
POSSIBLE ECONOMIES.
Experience has demonstrated that a rorlte
over a road ordinarily good can be let at
three and half to fopr miles per hour
| as low as ct three miles, and at fonr and
| half to FIVE mics per hour as low as three to
three and half miles per hour, and so on
within reasonable limits. think it is safe
| to say that each of the routes named could
have been let at the rate OF speed represented
1 by the expedited schedules st q sum not
l IL ~ g..
alone The cost Of expedition would thereby
have been saved. The changes upon all
routes have particularly referred to were
strongly petitioned for by communities OF
prominent citizens, Congressional delegations,
etc. The Departments record fully justifies
its action. with the exception of one
route increased on the recommendations of
the Departments azenGs, and in that case
| THAT Of Soedad and Newhall) the agent,
] =. - IL tof oil