The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-10-18

operated to disturb THE schedule of the Deer
Lodge route. Ever since the terminls was
moved to Dillon the Eastern mail for the
lower country has been forced to lay in Deer
Lodge for a number Of hours, sometimes ap
p%roximating twenty-four. 1t is stated by :
: gentleman who came up from Missoula last
spring that he arrived in Deer Lodge just =
half hour after the soutE-bouud coach had de-
parted, and that, consequently, the whole of
the mail from the lower country to the East
was compelled to lie in Deer Lodge for twen-
ty-three and one-half, hours.
The only reason why such a state of mail
facilities should exist is explainable only on
the theory of negligence OH the part OF the
people Interested. The people living On this
side of Deer Lodge areinterested in having
speedy communication with their ~neighbors
below but the preponderence Of interest is
with those people who are concerned with
the dispatch and receipt Of their Eastern
mails. \ schedule can be prepared hat will
not interfere with celebrity in local commune
cation, but will greatly add to that
of outside communication. In Mis-
soula county, at the census of 1880
there was a population Of over $500, and
it is safe to estimate that in Philipsburg,
New Chicago. Bear. Pioneer, Flint Creek
and He'll Gate valleys, there are enough
more, with the increase in population since
the census was taken, to bring the gross mum.
Der OF people interested in a change of sched-
ule up to 5000 The eastern mails arriving
by railroad now leave this place at two
O'Clock a. m, and should arrive in Deer
Lodge by nine q. nj. They lie in Deer Lodge
until the Helena coach arrives--from eight
to ten hours a~fterward. The same is true of
letters from the lower country going east.
1t is a manifest injustice to so large a num-
her of people that these mails should lie any
where upon the road for nearly half a day.
The fault in this instance is not due 10 any
star route operators or to any one except the
people, who have failed to call the attention
of the proper authorities to a state of postal
affairs that is continually operating to their
detrimeEt. 1t is of no advantage to the gov
eminent or contractor that mails should lie
any where or the road.
The rectiication of this anomoly in mail
connections seems to belong to the eighth di-
vision of the SUPPLEMENTARY of railway mail
service, which attends to the distribution and
dispatch of mails from all ost offices, and
the instruction of postmasters in the regula-
tions relating thereto. What the people want
everywhere is the most direct connection
with the railroad possible. II this can be &C.
compllshed by starting the Helena and Mis-
soula coach upon a schedule that will make
connection with the terminus coach it will
no doubt be as satisfactory to the people as
any other method. When the terminus
reaches Silver Bow the mails will depart
from that place about 8 o'clock p. m, and if
there is no change in schedule Ell the Helena
and Missoula route the mails for the lower
country will necessarily have to lay over for
a much longer time i'll Deer Lodge than they
had during the summer The matter can
be adjusted by a proper representation of the
facts to H.. }. McKusick. superintendent of
the railway mail service, San Francisco Cali
fornia. 1t is now possible for Helena and
the whole country adjacent thereto TO get
their mails one day soonerfrom the terminus
than they are now doing from Dillon; tut
this is q question they are abundantIy able to
grapple with and turn to their own advan-
tage.