The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-01-07

231 POI pounds. The average weight OF
the mail hauled between New York and
Philadelphia daily is 2S3,914- The New
York Central gets a little matter OF
$219,7 $50 a year rent for mail cars on
the New York-Buffalo route. But that
includes special compensation for the
special fast mail train that runs from
New York to Chicago.
The Philadelphia-Wa Washington route
which is covered by the Philadelphia
Wilmington & Baltimore road pays
81, 735 a mile. 1t jumped from $106, 113
a year in the four years preceding the
1st of last July to $23S,5S7 year which
will be the rate of compensation until
July 1, 1897. Doubtless a reweighing
on the Pennsylvania, Wilmington q
Baltimore two years ago would have
increased the compensation 100000 a
year. The postoffice department is
about 100000 ahead on this one route
under the quadrennial average" sys-
tenn.
The route from Baltimore to Bel
laire, o., on the Baltimore & Ohio road
now pays $4,000 more than it did last
year-an increase of ~ per cent. The
Boston & Albany road will get $244, 1873
year up to the 30th of June, 1897,
where it used to get $167, 039 for haul
bany. The Pittsburg-Cumberlan
route on the Baltimore & Ohio is worth
nearly 100000 more than it was last
yearan increase of 35 per cent
The places where railway mail ser
vice does not pay on a small road
where the mail is light and the post
offices are near the stations. Under
the law governing compensation for
transporting the mails by railroad, it
lis provided that the railroad company
shall deliver the mail to all poStoffices
which are within eighty rods of the
railroad station. Some railroads doubt
less pay out as much for messenger
service to small postoffices as they re-
ceive from Uncle Sam for hauling his
mail bags. But there is prestige
about carrying the mail that atoneS
in a great degree for the lack of profit
| in hauling it. Even since the railway
mail was established, there has been
something attractive to railroad man
ayers in having their lines known as
fast mail routes" The railroad com
panies have continually starred the
mail car in their advertising literature
for to be known as the carrier of the
ION time"-a reputation which is so
seldom deserved even by the best of
railroads
Although the railroads protest con-
stantly of the injustice of their treat
ment by the postoffice department they
very seldom rebel against it. The
Philadelphia, Washington & Baltimore
did one year-ard the postmaster-g gen.
eral threatened to send all of the Phil
adelphia-Washingt mail around by
way of Harrisburg. The railroad finally
came to terms. When Congress in 1875
reduced the compensation of the rail-
roads 10 per cent. William H. Wander
bilt, for the New York Central and
Thomas A. Scott, for the Pennsylvania
railroad notified the postmaster-generd
that they would not make any further
effort to assist in establishing the fast
mail. 1t was an unhappy day for the
superintendent of the railway mail for
these two roads were the first to hold
out helping hand to the postoffice de-
partment and they had just begun to
cooperate With the department in
quickening the time between the east
and the west. But Congress atoned
for it's parsimony by making a special
appropriation for fast mail trains and
now the postof1ice department controls
special trains which run between Chi
cago and New York, st. Louis and New
York, st. Louis and Kansas City and
Chicago and the Pacific coast
One matter which is usually not
considered when the work of the rail-
roads in hauling the mails is figured
out is the transportation of railway
mail clerks. The railroad companies
cannot charge for this service and they
also agree to haul supplies without
charge. The 6,O82 clerks of the railway
mail service travelled last year 1913 00O.-
coo miles. Figure their transportation
at the low rate of cent a mile and it
makes a total of $1,530 OOO-not an in
considerable part of the $50, 1000, 600
which is paid to the railroads every
year for mail facilities.
GEORGE GT;ANTF[AM Balm.