Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1885-12-04
THE POSTMASTER GENERAL AND
THE FOREIGN MAIL SERVICE.

New York Tribune, and commun.-
cations to other newspapers which
will not dare to editorially take
such untenable ground as the ad-
vocates of the steamship monopoly
stand upon, are the means en-
ployed in the desperate attempt
to prejudice public opinion against
the Postmaster General, who has
daled to act in the interest Of the
whole people instead Of the interest
of a greedy monopoly. The follow
ing editorial from The Washington
Post Of Nov. %, so fully and COM
pletely anwers the charges OF the
thwarted subsidy seekers that we
publish it III full:
The Postofice Department has made no
formal reply TO the bitter and persistent attacks
Of the Pacific Mail press, headed by the New
York Tribune, There was al no time necessity
-
American steamship companies chose to resent
the exercise by the Postmaster General OF Il
discretion expressly conferred upon him III the
act Of March g. 1885, aud being baked OF what
they regarded as their appointed prey, elected
10 sever all relations with the Department, and
to organize. through the newspapers controlled
by them, II war Of Misrepresentation upon the
Department and its management.
II Is fair TO assume that the intelligent and
lnir.minded people Of the country fathomed the
motive Of this persecution II So ii follows that
they knew how much weight to attach to its
material. And II was. u" doubt in this view
of the mater mat me department chose TO
ignore allegations so seriously impeachlng It's
integrity and its usefulness.
The time is approaching, however, when the
Postmaster General will through the medium
nf his regular annual report, and without ref.
.rence TO the calumnies Of which he has been
Inude the target set forth the unyarnlshed truth
Of the affair. All who have carefully eX,
amincd the law itself know, independently OF
this statement, that II presented these essential
features
First It contained no mandate. The Post
master General was lett entirely Tree 10 enforce
secondly. il. in his judgment, he saw fit to
hnbilitate the law, he then became subject to
the stipulation Tint the contracts contemplated
therein shohld be awarded to the lowest re
sporisiblc bidder after genuine competition.
Thirdly. The TOTAL amount 10 De tlSflDuteb
under this arrangement was sIO00U.
The text Of the law was very concise. 1t
laid down only these three propositions and II
len the Postmaster General absolutely To his
own discretion as To whether he would avail
himself of its provisions. The laws already on
the statute. hooks furnished abundant material
whercwIth to conduct the routine OF the De
pirtmcnt within limits winch hitherto have
proved quite satisfactory. The new law was
fealIy suggestion which the Postmaster General
,yns invited To weigh and dispose OF as his in
might warrant He
under no Obligations 10 ADOPT the suggestion
unless he found IT to the advantage of the
Government to do so. ON the contrary, the
met that 1T was made discretionary imposed
upon him the obligation 10 exercise the utmost
vigilance in reaching conclusion
These were the conditions under which the
Postmaster General approached the solution Of
the problem. IL were the silliest Of nonsense
10 assume that he sought to Illustrate the pop
ulnr wish or to obstruct the public good.
such accusations are implied in the Tribune
but they are unworthy place i'll any Cnlght-
cned discussion of the subject Gen Villas was
fresh from the people. lie had not been indu-
rated by long years of official tenure. lie was
an eminent citizen mn ardent democrat, young
ambitious and intelligent. There was, every
reason why lac should wish to do the
right thing, the honest thing the best thing
There was absolutely no incentive to wish
anything else
This, however, Is question OF fact and from
the facts all our conclusions must be drawn
Whatever the organs of the Pacific Mail
steamship Company may say to the contrary
the incoming Postmaster General explored with
genuine and anxious vigilance the field
bronChCd by the net OF March }. The taYes
iigation disclosed insuperubc difficulties. 1t ap-
prareG first, TINT the assigning OF contracts Ms "A
result OF competitive bids was hopclCsSly i'm
possible. In only two instances among the
numerous ocean routes over which the mails
wcrg 10 be sent was there competition. The
Others were III the hands of monopOnCS. In
only two eases, therefore, could the law be
oheved. In all the rest the law would have to
lac nagrRntly set at naught Between New
York aud Havana and between san Francisco
and ASIA the Department could have secured
for the government the benefit OF competition
ever the other routes to South America, Central
America Australia and New Zealand. the
monopoly lines would have been without re
straiuI. They were free to demand the max
lmuIn of fifty cents per mile specified i'll the
law According 10 the figures found in the
Department when the democratic administration
,nme In, the total OF miles sailed in 1851 by
ships carrying United States mails was 2,O50 coo.
At the fifty cents rate allowed in the act, this
would call for Sl,O25oO0--two and n half times
the whole amount appropriated for the purpose
Argument runs into II Cul DE SAC. The thing
was out of the question. In order To execute
the law Il was necessary first 10 violate the law.
In deciding to neither execute nor violate the
law but TO ignore II entirely as by Its terms,
he was authorized 20 do, the Postmaster Gen
crai called down upon himself the uuStinted
abuse and malignant Misrepresentation of the
whole subsidy seeking press. The list of the
ulicnscs charged against him we shall not at
tempt to reproduce. II would consume too
much space. II would fatigue the public who
are not interested i'll II. The question which
concerns the country is simply this: Have we
been injured by the action of the Department,
and IL SO, to what extent
The acts in the eases of the 1--WE principal
mail routcs-of course excepting the European.
which nrC not included in the controversy
will furnish sufficient answer 10 this question.
Take the South and Central American mails
first Under the old arrangement they went
from san Francisco, by the Pacific Mail and
the California mud Mexican steamship lines.
The time from san Frame iSCo TO Aspinwall was
eighteen days and twenty hours. Under the
prPRinitatpI ~ he rsT Lot
those lines 10 handle the mail. the matter is
seut by rail Ia New Orleans and thence by the
various steamships i'll the trade 10 Central
American ports, letter may now leave
San Francisco, travelling over the Southern
Pacific Railway 10 New Orleans and shipped
thence by steamer and IL will reach Port
lmon In eight or at the outside nine tlays-
about half the old time.
The service is better, more expeditions and
more frequent than beiOre-coStS no more and
is altogether more satisfactory,
In the case OF the Havana service the improve
ment is stll more conspicuous. Prior 10 August
I, at which date those eminent benehCiarics,
the Alexandra and the New York and Cuba
steamship companies. Withdrew their cuunten-
ance from this struggling government, all IIa-
vana mails. except purely local ones, from
Key West and New Orleans, had To go by way
OF New York, letter from Memphis or
san Francisco or from Nickshurg. or even from
Jacksonville, Florida, was sent the CircuitouS
route to New York, in order doubtless, that it
might help To swell the bills OF those favored
liucs and commemorate the heneHceut fruits
Of republican institutions Now. thanks to the
SECESSION of the subsidy seeking lines, the mails
are all sent IL Tampa, Fla, by rail- and then
crossed over to Cuba. The old time from
New York 10 Havana was III hours; the present
lime is vi. CT course all other times are re.
iuCcd accordingly. The old service was twice
IA week. Now II Is three times week, Time
~ shorter, service more frequent The improve
rucut Is general and pervaStvc.
The service between San Francisco aud China
and Japan Is practically unchanged. II has
been rs reliable and sufficient MS ii ever was
M to this month. During November and De.
ccmber There will be reduced service but
with the new year there will be new SEIZED.
ue. in which the temporary deficiency will
be remcdicd. The public may safely assume
that commercial interests will suffer no an
preciable inconvenience over this route.
Between San Francisco and New Zealand and
Australia there has been decided gam After
the indignant Withdrawal OF the old compauy,
the mails were sent via England and the Suez
Canal. The time was ten days longer but
the service was much more frequent. This ar
rangemenI however, endured only seventeen
pauy resumed its relations with the Department
which have been maintained ever since
Within the present month a new company has
been organized TO cover the mail routes be
tween San Francisco and Australia aud New
Zealand. Two OF the old Pacific Mail shipS
and two American vessels added comprise the
new line, which Is now subsidized by the New
Zealand government, and is running uner a
three years'mail contract over that route. The
present service. therefore, is more reliable and
more regular than il was before, and is strength
ened by the addition of one II the original
number of the feet. lu the case of the Ven