The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1896-06-12

(Signed) &c. NELSON,
I'd Asst. p. NJ. General"
In confirmation of the above l received
at my office on March oath, the follow
ing:
Railway Mail Service.
Office of
Superintendent Third Division,
Washington, d. c., March %, 1896.
Subject: Completion of Mall Weigh
w. IL. McBee, Esq, General Superintend-
ent. Portsmouth. Va:
Sir-The Weighing of malls on all S.
a. l.. Routes will be discontinued after
Tuesday the 31st instant Kindly have
scales kept In mall and baggage cars
on all trains departing from any point
on the line UP to u o'clock midnight
Of the 31st instant.
Very respectfully,
(SigneD CHAS. w. VICKERY,
superintendent
On receipt of the above official notice
we arranged for the adoption OF our
summer schedule and on March 18th
discontinued two trains which had been
carrying mail for over two years, for
which service we had received no pay
from the Government. Under these cir
cumstances. II was matter of surprise
when received on March 31st 1.-TWO days
after the change of our schedule) q tele-
gram from the Department stating that
the Weighing would be continued for
thirty days more. On the Sd OF April I
called at the office of the General Super
intendent of Railway Mail Service, and
asked him why he proposed to continue
weighing malls after notifying me that
he would not do SO, and his reply was
because we had changed schedules.
asked him If II was usual to re-weigh
every time schedules changed He said
I NI.I
weighing every month in the year but
claim the right of proper notice. and the
privilege of establishing the two
trains which were taken off. / was not
given the proper notice. but. on the con-
trary, was deceived. as shown by the
Second Assistants letter, and thereby
lost one thousand pounds of mail per
day, which he arbitrarily diverted from
the Seaboard Air Line. ! had advices
from the department that the latter part
of April, however, that the weighing
would be discontinued on the 9Th of
May, and have received tabulated
statements of the weights over our line
for April which are signed by the Sec
ond Assistant Postmaster General and
certified to by the superintendent of
the Railway Mail Service, as follows:
Il do hereby certify that the foregoing
statement of weights OF mali Is correct.
according to daily returns made by
sworn employees of the department. and
the statement OF service, to the best of
my knowledge and belief
(Signed) CHAS. w. VICKERY,
superintendent Railway Mall Service,
Third Division.
tSigned) L. NJ. TERRELL.
Superintendent Railway Mail Service.
Fourth Division.
We have had no notice from the Post.
office Department to the contrary that
the weights were not correct, and we
are entitled 20 our pay under the legal
methods Of computing weights and their
sworn certificates of the correctness OF
the same.
The published statement alleged to
have been authorized by the Postmaster
General is unbecoming and libelous
and l am prepared 10 court a full, free
and fair investigation throughout, with
a further investigation of other lines
including the different methods and pre-
vailing customs by which the mail nav
Is adjusted. or, will the Postmaster
General authorize the publication of an
other statement and give his reasons
why the Seaboard Air Line was singled
out and made the object of unjust critl-
clsm. or why we are discredited for car
rying public documents when IL must
have been known to him that other lines
had carried tons OF public documents
in March, which had been shipped and
re-shipped weighed and re-weighed be-
sides thousands OF pounds of other mat
ter, including extra carload lots Of pat
ent medicine advertisements, all of
which passed apparently unnoticed by
him; or could he have been deceived by
a lack OF vigilance on the part of his
inspectors, or reports withheld from
him?
1t is certainly new departure for the
head of one of the great departments
of this Government to use the great
powers Of his Office through author
lied statements" in the press to injure
a railroad company.
(Signed) " E. MBEE,
Is Court Street, Portsmouth, Va.