New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-12-09
WHAT THE LETTERS COST.
PAY OF RAILWAYS FOR CARRNlNG MAILS
THE METHOD OF DECIDING THE RATE AT WHICH,
VARIOUS LINES ARE COMPENSATED.

THE METHOD OF DECIDING THE RATE AT WHiCli
VARIOUS LINES ARE COMPENSATED
The largest single item in the postal expense ac'
count of the National Government is that ior inc
TRANSPORTATION of the mails the various railways
throughout the country. Over So,ooo,ooo Is ahhu
ally appropriated for this purpose The system ul'-
dor which the conversation of the various railways
for carrying the mails Is fixed is one involving many
details, and as the rate of payment IS hAed ior i'
wears al a time. the proper expenditure vi o'o'
500 600 600 of the public money depends on the ac-
curacy with which the system Is carried out u. v"
Dvencer the SUPERINTENDENT of Weighing OF the Rail
wav Mail Service will begin next month the work OF
computing the compensation TO be paid 10 the great
trunk lines FOR carrying the malls for fouf years from
July l. 1889 Mr.. Dwenger Is clear headed assist
an, in the second Division OF the Railway Mail Ser
vice He is not dismayed by tho largest aggregation
of figures and he and his assistants. from mass OF
documents weighing several thousand pounds deduce
a few columns OF figures which form the basis OF the
settlement of accounts aggregatng millions OF dollars
The preparatory work for the next computation Is now
In progress.
All the mail matter carried The various railroads
for thirty sixty days IS actually weighed once In four
Gears and payments are made the railroad compac
MES on the theory that the average amount of mall
matter on all the days of the four years term VIII
be the same the daily average for the one month
or two months when the amount is accurately ascer-
tanned. Tie weighing for Tho local rOuVcS II '"Nio
under the direction OF the division superintendent OF
the Railway Mail Service and Mr. Dwcngcr has charge
Of the Weighing for the second Division. In which
New-York Is situated. He will begin however, on
January Is under direction of the Post ohce depart
ment the supcrv sion of weighing tie mails carmel
over the great trunk lines out OF New'iorh Inc
great through routes known in the postal service as
trunk Ives arr that Ooer the Ncw-fork central ana
Lake shore roads Buffalo and Chicago that over the
Pennsylvania to Philadelphia, PittSburg, Columbus,
INDIANAPOLIS Chicago and 81. Louis; and The local
service on the Erie Railway. The amounts annually
paid for the transportation of mails over these routes
are New-YOrk and Buffalo route New YORK central,
SGs1 900: Buffalo and Chicago lake shorel. $'oOoo0'
Ncw-York to Philadelphia, $3.50 Philadelphia to
Pittsburg s4s4 900: Pttsburg to Chicago, $4,000;
Pttsburg to Columbus, S2O3 900; Columbus TO lndi-
annapolis, $4,000: indianapolis TO st. Louis,
$4,000. The aggregate is nearly S3,oo0'0Oo year
The time of the year which shall be selected for
weighing the ais is important, the amount OF mail
matter varies greatly in the several parts of the year.
December month in which the largest mails are
carried and November In a Presidential wear and the
taly part OF January arr also periods in which the
Hallway Mail Service is especially busy. The period
from January March - has been selected for the
next weighing the trunk lines. Every mail sent
cut from tie Ncw-l ork Office or received there will
car wcgher will be stationed whose
duty IL win be TO weigh the mail received dcllv
cred At each station As most of the malls
carried on express which have no postal cars
attached, All The postmasters al stations
along the railroad lines VIII be re,
Quird TO report directly 10 The superintendent OF
Weighing the weight of the mails received
and dispatched. over 900 reports from pOstmasers
will be received each day for one or two monthn:
These report, handed 10 experienced accountants
connected with the weighing bureau and the average
amount COR day IS asceriancd, and by multiplication
The average amount for year Then II becomes
pccc->a,y ascertain how much OF the mail Is
carried for ShJit distances and how much Cor long
Gi stances. The tables first prepared contain many
column, OF Ggire>. INT these reduced I'm number
o. avcrac,, obtained until The final result Is
contain a. a. 9 few columns. over go Weighcrs
age employed and score Of clerks,
Tho Iat- OF compensation oil the trunk lines was
s2l . yer ton per mite per annum'-that Is, the
accounts a.rcrtaucd how many ions were carried
in ye@~ over each mile Of The road, and on that
basis he payments made. superintendent
pwcncel pointed Yesterday 10 pile Of documents
which reached nearly the ceiling Of IN" lofty
IN the Post Office building which he occupies. and
sad: There few of Inc reports which we
received al Tire last weighing. We shall receive
Iaanv morc Ills time than VIC did four years ago
end When you consider that all the information on
these shea. must be condensed into tables, and
that tho expenditure OF S.OOOOOO depends upon
Cur work. you may understand something Of its
magnitude