Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-12-30
MAIL CONTRACTS AND MAIL
CONTRACTORS.
How the Speculative Bidder In Said to
Benefit the Governments by Keeping
Down Prices.

The clerks in the Office OF the Second Assistant
Postmaster General will be very much occupied
next month in looking over the bids which are
now being received for carrying the mails on
the star and steamboat routes in the western
section of the country. AS is known, the coun-
try is divided into four sections and each year
contracts are awarded for carrying the mails in
one of these sections for the four ensuing years.
The value Of the service thus contracted for is
about three millions Of dollars, which the gov
eminent pays In addition to the compensation
given to railroads. which forms another branch
of the mail service. The western section
comprises all the country west of the
ably. less than in any other section,
and hence the star service is more extensively
in use. Four years ago, when these contracts
were awarded, the rates obtained by the gov
eminent were, it is claimed by the contractors,
too low, and in consequence they have rot
made much money. II is hoped that better
prices will be allowed this year, although, na;u-
rally, there is no disposition ON the part OF the
government officials to have the expenditure
contractor has a great deal to do with low bid
ding, for the reason that he gets large number
OF contracts, which he subjects either at the
same price paid him by the government or for
more. When man has four or five hundred
contracts he can afford to sublet one here and
there at profit of $40 or $40, because on
profit, and as long as the average brings q good
balance in his favor he Is not inclined to make
d
fact, he could not do it If he chose, because in
order to get the contract he is obliged to bid low
in order to beat the local competition, or the man
who will actually do the service, and the conse-
quence is that the actual mail carrier has the
great satisfaction, while going through with the
fatigue of performing the service, of knowing
that the profit is going into the pockets of some
one else, while he is barely making his expenses
Naturally the local mail carrier hates the gen.
erai speculative bidder, but he brings the cost
of the service down to the government and that
Is q great consideration. Various measures
of legislation have been devised to head off the
speculative contractor. and one that was re.
Gently proposed, but never made into law
contemplated that the sureties on the bond OF a
contractor should be persons who resided i'm the
vicinity of the route for which the bid was
made. This would prevent q bidder who lives
in Washington and knows no one in Arizona
from competing for a mail route In that terri
tory. Because it would be effective in shutting
out the speculative contractor to q large ex-
tent such 8 law is objected to in the interest OF
the government. Still 1t Is stated that there is
not so much money in these mail contracts as
is supposed, and that the books of the depart
ment, where the contracts and sub contracts
are placed on file, show that of the three
million paid for this service but two hundred
and fifty thousand is profit, although the
books do not show when the routes have been
sold hight out and other changes which might
make this amount somewhat large.