The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1896-05-20
WEIGHING THE MAILS.
POsTMAsTER-GENE UILSON IS
SUES 4 SETTLEMENT
In Regard 60 an Alleged Attempt to Over
Charge the Govcrnnent-His Charges
Against the :. a. l..

WASHINGTON, May l9.-Postmaster-
General Wilson to-day authorized the pub
licatlon of the following statement IN
r',.sard IN an alleged attempt TO over
charge the Government for the convey
sn,.s ~ the mails in certain Of the SOUTH
ern States: ...u,...,,,
Every four years the mail Transported
o,..r tho various railways In the bh!tcH
States IS weighed for period OF lhiTty
davs for oue-fourth of the country each
wear. Upon the average weight oOlalh-
ed during that thirty days the COM
mission OF the railroad Is adjusted all1
remains IN force FOR four years. ne laA'
weighing was conducted during the
month OF March. 1886. one railroad com
pany. the seaboard Air Line whose man
line extends from Portsmouth, va, 70
Atlanta, Ca. attempted to take al
vantage OF this opportunity TO swell the
Weighing OF mail carried over their s!a-
TEN during the weighing OF the mails py
very large shipments OF public documents.
About three hundred sacks OF documents,
ranked by a United States senator ana
a member of Congress. were sent 10 lhe
various station agents OF this company
I'm Virginia. North Carolina, South Caro-
Ina. and Georgia. The sacks weighed
from 100 10 i25 pounds each. Two, three
agent. Some agents were furnished by
railroad officials with lists Of addresses
In North Carolina and Virginia.
BOOKS RE-ADDRESShD.
The division superintendent and road
masters gave oral instructions 10 the
agents under them as TO pasung labels
or writing addresses on the books which
we're not previously addressed; but the
tags Of the sacks were addressed; All
for ---" Cunning a railroad agent at
that po!nO.
The books were then remailed and
again transported over the routes of THIS
company, TO be again weighed A lew
agents, not understanding their instruc-
tons. gave out the books for public dis
tributiuu before the ranked labels were
received.
Fifteen sacks were delivered AZ Ports
mouth, Va, addressed in bulk 30 tne
general superintendent. That night the
books were realdressed in the railroad
buildings by his secretary and a division
superintendent, and remailed the follow
ing morning 10 various persons along the
route. A newspaper at EllenbOro. ~
c.. learning of the transaction. publish
ed q short article. beaded. "A Mistake"
stating in substance that a Unred states
senator, in mailing documents 10 his con-
stituents had by mistake addressed
them 10 station agents along the Sea-
board Air Line railroad. division SUI
perintendent. learning Of the article pro-
ceeded 10 the town, and induced the
editor to cut the item out Of every copy
Of his paper, on the ground that II would
hurt the road
ANOTHER WEIGHING.
THE padding" Of the mails by THIS
Company was Investigated by the Post
70 asaf
practice the Department ordered the
weighing 10 be continued for thirty addi-
uonal days during April. The railroad
company then resorted TO a new scheme.
by contracting with publishers OF news
papers for large number Of papers 10
be sent over their line daily 70 addresses
furnished by the company. At Ports
mouth, Va, the general superintendent
arranged with a Portsmouth paper 20
send $500 copies daily for ten days. and
after that 400 copies daily. ~ bundles
Of twenty FIVE to each address. 20 parties
in South Carolina and Georgia, on tie
Seboard Air Line railroad. At Raleigh
y. c.. an Official OF the railroad arranged
10 have 600 copies OF the first week ana
5000 copies a week afterwards. OF
weekly paper sent in bundles OF forty-nve
over the Seaboard Air Line railroad, 10
stations in Georgia. South Carolina ana
a few in North Carolina. At Atlanta
Ga. the private secretary OF the division
superintendent arranged with an Atlanta
paper for 1900 Goes daily. 10 be sent
out on the ScabOard Air Line 10 Nortoik
and Portsmouth. one thousand copies al
dressed as 10 regular subscribers the
other thousand as sample copies.
Arrsngements also were made with an
other atlanta paper TO send $500 copies or
the Sunday issue. weighing over half
mound each. 10 addresses In Norfolk and
Portsmouth. Va. Norfolk and Ports
north city directories were furnished 10
the newspapers from which the print Ia
bells for mailing papers to parties IN those
cities Several Of these parties thus ad-
dressed had moved from those cities or
had died. Had this weighing been ac-
coptod 10y the Department, the Scaboard
Air Line would have received for the
next four years a much larger compensa-
ton than IL was entitled 10.
Some Of the newspaper publishers were
Indignant when they found they had been
made parties 20 such a scheme. and
publishers Of tive paper at Raleigh, \.
C.. refused to send out the fourth ship
ment of his paper"