Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1881-11-09
STAR ROUTES.
How They Operate in This Stats
"A Caustic Letter.

public enquiry in this State, relativet2
the carrying OF the mails OF the Unite,
States OH the Star Routes, with a b.
"S'') OF the same, and invited CORES
pondence on that head, beg to oae'
my statement to the general fund.
The Postohice Department offered f'r
sale, during the early spring, to ap-
proved bids, many routes OF this State;
service to begin July lst.
Macy Such Routes,
of which am perfectly cognizant, wer'
bid upon at barely living figures, b.
good and responsible, and what the D.
partment required, sufficiently bonde
men, living convenient to the route
but in no single instance wa
such:bid entertained. And frequently.
before time for starting ser
vice had arrived, often
But One Day,
a stranger would appear III the particu.
lar territory, seeking a mail carrier, Oh
route No. 20 and so, when if one could
be gotten for less than starvation prices
or iuvcigled into contract to carry thr
mail 80 far on the route, and back, IA
which case the laws Of the departmeE
Obliged such foolish fellow to accept an
to perform the entire service, the roui,'
would be supplied; otherwise the mam
from Kentucky or elsewhere would ride
awav leaving the route 10 its fate and
OF course unprovided tor.
Owing to want oi clearncss IN thr
law, postmasters do not wish 10 take
upon themselves, in such manner as II
directs, the responsibility Of employing
service, as the expense would come on
Of their individual pockets, and many
OF them, as We all know, are not
Bent Double
with weight OF money, but on the con
trary. As stated the law is intendedto 10 bc
so that in case OF failure on part OF c"a-
tract or, the postmaster at the head OF tine
route employs service and pays II, ad-
vising the Department., and continuing
the good work until such time rs good
old "Encle Samuel" can get on his Swal-
low tailed coat, white beaver tile, the
ends OF his lower pantaIoOn cxtremetIcS
arranged At regulation dis
t.nce, two inches below his boot tops.
and slips around 10 see the original con-
when ii he is not ready 10 pay
up he collects from the security, (ire-
ouentl7 in his eve, as it were). But in
MANY instances it takes tho bucoic old
party somewhat" OF a spell to get
around" hence the hencenrs5. Let us
Get Down TO Figures
for a while, to help make plain nv
points, and imagine that because Of the
action of the Department this
spring in taking foreign, worth es,
and "straw" bids, fifty, (which
| take to be low cstimate), routes IN
this State are entirely abandoned. Ga
such average, embracing thirty.elght
States, ten Territories and Alaska, We
have iorty-nine to multiply by fifty,
taken as an average. but very low one
IN view of the greatness OF the most o!
the other States, We have total OF two
thousand four hundred and fifty absn-
doned routes, which, taken ut another
low estimate Of $1,000 each, when thus
for, would make a gross say
ing of S4 100000 per year exclusive ci
the wear and tear OF material necessary
to conduct such business AS result
we have the 'reiorm' and
Correction OF Abuses
SO loudly talked Of aud libcrally leadeA
in the headlines Of sensational newspa-
pers for the iast lew months. The org.
inaturs OF the great blowout don't stop To
think of Father Jones back in the State,
who wonders to old Mother Jones why
i'm the tarnation our boy Sammy don't
write; he used to do so every week o.
so, until he went West, but has not
done so for ever SO long, and as lar "A
sentiment is concerned, ditto, sammy.
Good simple folks, they don't know
the DELAY is not OH the part OF Sammy,
or old Father Jones, but part and
parcel
Ola Boom,
with BIZ B, but likely each will know
the cause before next election.
But still, don't know that the
generally will effect politics,
as the class which hopes for the aboli-
ton OF the mails and desPise duns are
universally Republicans. Then it may
be smart turn Cf the Jeems, Il Ia Viz
ginia, for an 1881 boom.
However things may he, his presnmp-
ton and smart-alcckneSs has placed
the Postmaster General in omit" q
leading post on. j say leading becau So
the man who had the bear by the tai
said he choos. that hold because II Was
the only chance he saw, where he him'
III l,a, ,l,a lf..St u l.r,. fine nj
will be filled until the
Tail Fail, Out,
or the worthy Postmaster General loses
his grip. In the former case there will
be discovered a vacancy on some OF the
benches oi high court, and in the lat
ter, WHICH is too probable for Joke,
there will be discovered vacancy III
the Cabinet and rush Of cold air, FOL
lowed by the grabbing OF the five toes
of President Arthur's kicking foot by
the President himself, and exclamatlons
about lean men, &c, &c.
On many OF the important routes OF
this State, up to late date, no service has
been performed since the last OF June,
and the people on such routes arc en-
tirely cut oil from the outer world, aud
no system looking TO the bctterng o!
such. has so far been advanced.
Shame upon such measures II the
people who pay dearly for such ferv.c",
cannot be accommo lated let them have
re.ource to the old method, as any Kind
is better than no kind.
Already many merchants, mills, etc,
are employing the
Carrying of Their Own Mails.
to and from railroads and river routes.
Even this is not all, for by rIg lIy en-.
forced law Of the department, III III mat
ter cannot b. dsiirsrcd 10 eng Db p'.'r
H.du III, one 10 which Il IS Gtd'. n, by
which people never get their IN .I.
have no doubt you will g'l much
complaint from over the Stat, il not
this year, some other year, orw r'n gour
very kind invitation shall hsva ,.a ICED
those who are so unfortunate =, g. n-
at the mercy Of boomists OF tn. peoples
mails.