The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-07-21

All the local railroad officers received
instructions from headquarters yester-
day directing that they discontinue alb
sodutely the practice which has been
in vogue for years, OF sending mail
from one road 10 another by the rail
road mail service. The order is the re-
suit of the recent ruling of the post
master-general, which is to the effect
that railroads shall only be entitled to
carry mail which originates on each
separate line and pertains to the bust
ness Of the road, unless it bears post
aga under the regular postal regula-
lions. The rules hereafter to be OBJ
served are set forth in the following
instructions, which were issued by the
Rock Island road to its agents and EN-
ployeeS:
Chicago, July IA, 1896.
To Officers, Agents and Employees.
Complaint is made by the postoffice
department that mail is being handled
and carried under the guise of bust
ness of this company, which is not bust
ness of this company, and is therefore
contrary to the postal laws and regu-
!ations.
The only mail permitted to be han
died by train mail consists of official
matter, pertaining to business of this
company, between officers, agents or
employees Nothing originating on any
foreign line, even if addressed to an
officer or employee of this company,
nor any correspondence or papers from
an officer or employee of this company
to an officer or employee of a foreign
road or line, can be carried in train
mail All such mail must be deposited
in the United States mails and post
age prepaid thereon
Letters or packages addressed to
sleeping car companies, express COM
panies, eating houses, transportation
lines, etc, cannot be carried and must
be refused.
The sending of private communica-
lions between employees as ''R. r. b.
is strictly forbidden. For violation of
the law the company is liable to a pen
atty of 500, and the employee having
charge of such train mail is liable to a
penalty of $50 for each offense.
The postal officers have been in
structed to report any evidence of a.
violation of the statutes; all officers
and employees are hereby directed to
strictly observe the law
w. G. PURDY,
Vice-President
The ruling goes somewhat further
than the above circular indicates as the
various railroads are authorized to
carry mail matter of another line pro-
Vided 1t bears the regular postage, the
officers of the roads being authorized
to cancel the postage. Still another
thing not touched on in the circular, is
the matter Of railroad postal cards.
Heretofore the roads have had form
OF postal card much similar to that in.
use by the government. 1t was at first
supposed that these could be trans
mitted by carrying one cent postage
but it is not so. They must not bear
any resemblance to the govern ment
card or if they do they must carry two
cents postage.
The new departure is said to be the
outgrowth of abuses, of the railroad
mail privileges by railroad employees
sending private correspondence to
friends, etc.
The rule will entail a new expendi-
ture Of considerable magnitude in the
railroad business as the mails of every
road are very large and vary accord
ing to the extent of the operations of
the road.
When the rule was promulgated it
met naturally with disapproval by the
general managers, most particularly
for the reason that claim papers often
running up into large bundles on which
the postage would be very heavy are
constantly being transmitted between
the different lines, in which, even
though a number of roads handled
them, each might be interested. Forty
two of the general managers got to-
gether and appointed a committee of
live to confer with the postmaster
general and endeavor 10 get a modi-
fication of the rule but their request
was denied and orders were according
ly issued at once TO comply with the
rule.
1t is said that the majority of the
lines will comply with the rule for the
time being but viii endeavor to effect
an arrangement with the express COM
panies to carry the bulky portion of
their mails as by so doing it is believed
the transmission can be accomplished
at a cost very much less than the post
age would amount to.