The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-01-20

1898, the New. York Central will receive
for four years for hauling the mail be
tween New York and Buffalo 81 137, 517 a
year, or $4,550,06S. But the distance
from New York to Buffalo is 1882 miles
and the'compensation per mile therefore is
only 2,5sS. The, average weight. of the
NAH carried between New York and
Rltfalc every day IS 231 POI pounds. The
average weight of the mail hauled be-
tween New,York and Philadelphia daily
is >. 2S3, 9l4. e. The New: York Cen
trail gets a little matter of $2l9T6O a
year for rent of mail cars on the New
York Buffalo route. But that includes
special compensation for the special fast
mail train which runs from New York to
Chicago.
The Philadelphia Washington route,
which is covered by the Philadelphia,
Wilmington and Baltimore road. pays
81, 735 a. mile. 1t jumped from Sl06, lib a
year in the four years preceding the first
of last July to S23S. 5S7 year, which will
be the rate of compensation until July /,
1897. Doubtless reweighing on the
p, w. & B. two years ago, would have
increased the compensation 100000 a
year. The postofflce department is about
5000, 900 ahead on this one route under the
quadrennialN average" system.
The route from Baltimore to Bellalre,
O., on the Baltimore and Ohio road, now
pays $50, 600 more than it did last year
an increase of AZ per cent The Boston
and Albany road will get $244, 1888 a wear
up to the 3oth of June, 1897, where it used
TO get Sl67. 058 for hauling the mails be-
tween Boston and Albany. The Pittsburg-
Cum berland route on tine Baltimore and
Ohio is worth nearly 100000 more than
it was last year-an increase of 30 per
cent.
FAST MAIL ROUTES.
The place where railway mail service
does not pay is on a small road where the
mail is light and the postoffices are near
the stations. Under the law governing
cOmpensat ion for transporting the mail
| by railroad it is provided that the rail
road company shall deliver the mail to all
postofices which are within eighty rods
of the railroad station. Some railroads
doubtless pay out as much for messenger
service to small postofices as they re-
ceive from Uncle Sam for hauling his mail
bags. But there is prestige about car
rying the mall that atones in a great de
gree for the lack of profit in hauling 1T.
Ever since the railway mail was estab-
lished there has been something attract
| i've to railroad managers in having their
lines known as Fast Mail Routes" The
railroad companies have continually
STARRED" the mail car in their advertis
ing literature-for to be known as the
u bl16 Uldll Is W nave buO ECpubdl-
| ton of being Ion time"-a reputation
which is so seldom deserved even by the
best of railroads.
. &c. COMPROMISES.
Although the railroads protest con
stantly of the injustice of their treatment
| by the postoftice department they very
seldom rebel against it, The p, w. and
! B.. did one year-and the Postmaster
General threatened to send all of the
| Philadelphia Washington mail around by
way of Harrisburg The railroad finally
came to terms. When congress in 1876
reduced the compensation of the railroads
| 10 per cent, William H. Vanderbilt for
| the New York Central and Thomas A.
! Scott for the Pennsylvania railroad noti-
| fed the Postmaster General that they
would not make any further effort to as
sist in establishing the fast mail. 1t was
an unhappy day for the superintendent
of the railway mail, for these two roads
were theitirst to hold out helping hand
to the postofflce department, and they
| had Just begun to cooperate with the de-
| partment in quickening the time between
! the east and the west. But congress
atoned for its parsimony by making a
| special appropria ton for fast mail trains,
and now the postoffice department con
trolls special trains which run between
Chicago 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 con
sidered when the work Of the railroads 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 6,092 clerks
of the railway mail service Travelled last
| wear $4,000, 900 miles. Figure their
! transportation at the low rate of cent a
mile and it makes total of $3.50, 600
not an inconsiderable part of the SIS, 600
600 which is paid to the railroads every
! wear. for mail facilities.