Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-01-06

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WV3IzI\M come. Instead OF
II M w weighing mail on all
Va of the railroads in
one year. the Postmaster General has the
country divided into four districts and
weighing is done in one OF these each year.
Last year the mail of the Atlantic division
was weighed. This year it will be the mail
Of the Pacific division. Last years reweigh-
ing increased the expenses OF the Post Office
Department for railroad transportation a
little more than $l,5OO,OOO. or IA per cent.
This year the increase will not be so great,
because the business on the western routes
Is not nearly so heavy as the business on the
eastern routes.
The weighing of mail is done usually in
February or March. Last year 1t began on
the SOth of January. AS the Post Once De-
partment wants to establish fair average
of the years business, 1t chooses a time
when there is an average mail handled.
To weigh the mail in summer, when bust
ness is light, would not be FUR to the rail-
roads To weigh 1t In December. when
there Is a rush OF holiday business. would
not be fair to the government. February
and March are recognized as average
months and they are chosen by the superin-
tendent of the railway mail service usually.
to name any time for the weighing, and he
will order a reweighing OF mail on a road II
the railroad company gives any good rea-
son for believing that there has been an un-
usual increase in the amount of mail car
ried.
Sometimes, when there Is a phenomenal
development of new country, the railroads
ask a reweighing OF the mail. A big road
would not do so unless the occasion was ex-
traordinary. None of the railroads running
to the Oklahoma country have asked re-
weighing since that country was opened to
settlement, though the increase in mail
| service has been very heavy. The Oklahoma
routes are likely to show the largest per
cent of increase In the readjustmenr Eext
month.
The road which asks a reweighlng is usu-
ally the small road which has 10 look close
ly after the dollars and cents. Sometimes
large quantities of mail matter are diverted
Unexpectedly to some small road as part
of through route. Then the company asks
the Postmaster General for a special weigh
ing, and usually gets 1t.
How the Weighing IL Done.
The Quadrennial weighing of the mail is
done by the employees Of the railway mail
service, the clerks Of large post offices and
| a few special agents. Whenever it Is pos
Where this is not possible. special agents
are employed for thirty days at 81 day.
These special agents travel on the railway
mail cars. A platform scale is put in each
car. The special agent puts each bag or
bundle Of mail on the scales as 1t is put on
board the cars and notes the weight. AS
each mail bag is delivered at the appropriate
station it is weighed and its weight entered
In another column. The two columns are
n NJ hay lhO hp1a xrssr.s
fraction of a pound. The mileage of each
package Of mail is noted. At the end of
thirty days the Post Office Department
figures UP the number of pounds of mail
hauled and the number of miles and cal
culates the haul for the whole year. Then
the compensation of the road is figured out
at the rate provided by law.
Contracts for carrying the mails are not
let to the lowest bidder. There Is no COM
petition for them except as one railroad Of
fers better facilities than another. The
Postmaster General awards the contract for
carrying the mail where he pleases-always
where the quickest service can be had, il
there is choice. Where there is no choice
| in speed, the oldest established road usual
ly has the contract-because it has always
had 1t and because 1t Is better prepared
therefore. to handle the business. A rail-
road is never willing to give up the mail
contract, though every railroad company in
the United States will swear that it is los
ing money on mail handling Even the
Pennsylvania railroad, which takes more
than 81. 75O.OO0 from the treasury every year
on account of post office work, will solemn
~ assure Congress that 1t is losing money
IL the question of reducing compensation is
brought up. The New York Central rail-
road receives more than 81 10000 annually
for hauling mail matter-but Mr.. Depew
would assure congressional committee
that the work was worth two millions.
What the Railroads Receive.
There are many mail routes which do not
Tr,cf
| trarily determined that letter from Port
| land. Me-, to Bangor. Me-, shall pay the
same rate as a letter from Portland, Me-,
to Portland. Ore, SO it has determined that
| the railroad that hauis thousands of pounds
| shall receive almost the same compensa-
| ton as the railroad that hauls hundreds of
pounds There Is a slight graduation which
lessons a little the compensation for car
rytng large quantities of maitland there is
| minimum rate per mile for very unimpor-
| tant routes.
No railroad receives less than $4275 per
| mile per year for carrying the mail. The
| minimum used to be $50. 1t was reduced
/ by Congress 10 per cent in 1876 and per
| cent two years later. From $42.75 a mile
| the compensation ranges up to 1851 per
| mile, which is the rate that will be paid to
| the Pennsylvania railroad for three years
| to come for hauling the mail from New
| York to Philadelphia. The haul from New
York to Philadelphia is 9O.65 miles, The
| number or mail trips made every week Is
252. That makes more than 10 600 trips in
year. For this the Pennsylvania Com
pany used to receive S257, 495. Under the
readjustment last year this was raised to
2S5,6S6 and that is the sum that will be
paid to the Pennsylvania until June 80,
1897, when another readjustment will be
| made. The adjustment of compensation on
! this route Is too important matter to be
/ determined by thirty-day average. The
| New York-Philadelphia mail is always
weighed for sixty consecutive days to get
an average for readjustment.
| Special Mail Cars.
| The amount paid for transportation does
not include the use of special mail cars
When the first contracts for railroad trans
portation of the mails were made it was
understood that the mail bags would be
! slowed away in baggage cars like trunks
or travelling bags. Now so much of the
work of asserting and distributing the mail
Is done in transit that the Post Office De-
partment has to have not only special cars
but special trains. The railroad companies
build the mail cars and the Post Office De-
partment pays a rental for them varying
from $25 to $50 a year, according to the
size of the car. The Pennsylvania railroad
receives $5S,213 a year for rent of the mail
| cars used on the Philadelphia-New York
division. The best-paying route after the
New York Philadelphia Is the route be-
tween New York and Buffalo The gross
amount paid for the service annually used
to be 1919. 1913. Beginning with July 1, 1898
| the New York Central will receive for four