The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-05-19
CARRYING THE MAILS.
A Job That Pays the Railroads 100000
900 Per Year.

A Dob That rays the NallrOaOs $4V,VOO,-
900 Per Year.
The railroads carry the vast bulk of the
mails nowadays, says the Cincinnati Times
Star. People want their letters qnickly, so
the railroads get the carrying wherever
they reach. OF course considerable mail
goes by steamboat, and by stage, s'star
route,'' and by pony post. The transpor-
tation of Uncle Sans mails is something
enormous. II will be interesting to consid-
er how the railroads are paid for carrying
the mails. A Times-star reporter sought
Superintendent Burt of the railway mail
service:
eyes, imagine that would be interesting,
for the transportation of mails cover ire
mendous fgure.'' said Mr.. Burt.
"ln the first place, the government has a
monopoly of all mail transportion. There
is no such thing as private carrier or a
private delivery. Otherwise man might
set himself up in business and make money
carrying and delivering for less than Uncle
Sam could. For instance, suppose Proctor
& Gamble wanted to send out soc, 600 circa-
lars. Somebody might offer to deliver those
circulars for, say $1,000. Well, he would be
arrested very quickly. Business men can
have their boxes at the postoftice and send
their messengers for mail, but no business
man or men can have private route and
pay man for serving it. Everything must
90 through the postofioe. Envelopes with
X. r. b. on them (railroad business) go
through without postage. You can employ
messenger boy to carry letter for you,
or you can hand letter to friend to de-
liver as personal accommodation.
ITO get at the matter of transportation it
were better to know first what are post
roads. Well, all waters of the United
States. all railroads or parts of railroads,
all canals, all plank roads and the road on
which the mail is carried to any court
house or county seat. The mails must be
carried on any train that the postmaster
general may select.
Now as to the pay, ! might say that
land-grant roads, that is, roads that get
help from the government, only receive SO
per cent for transporting. The railroads
must furnish all cars or parts of cars for the
tanned, heated and lighted by the railroad
companies. The government pays $25 per
mile per annum for mail cars forty feet in
length, $40 for fifty-foot car and $50 for a
sixty-foot car. The government does not
own anything about the equipment except,
"A good postal car will cost from 81. 900
to 5000. Now you have got the figures
for the cars. The government pays $50 per an
mum per mile every 200 pounds; $40 pounds.
$75; LOCO pounds, 800: l.5OO pounds. Tl25;
1900 $156; $500 pounds $175; 5000 pounds
800, and $25 for every additional 20O0
pounds. The government paid about $aO.-
100000 last year for transporting the mails:
for rental of postal oars. $2.s6O, 900, and for
pay of clerks, $5.6O0.OOO. This is for rail
road service alone.
"The steamboat service cost $500, 000
and the stage coach and horseback
service S95O,OOO; the mail equipment,
pouches, locks ETC. about $2OO. Coo So YOU
see the government pays nearly $4O,0o0,0OO
for mail SERVICE
Mr.. Burt's division, the fifth, comprising
Ohio, Indiana, kentucky and Tennessee,
pays about 8, 5O0, 900 year for transporta-
ton and $3.50, 600 for clerks.