The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-05-24
sTUFFrNG THE MAILS.
An Attempted swindle by Omcials Of
the Seahoard Airline Railway.

Washington Special to St. Louis Republic.
The officials of the Postoffice Department
accuse the managers of the Seaboard Air
fraud on the government in carrying the
United States mails. Postmaster-sefleral
Wilson to-day gave the following explana.
methods employed by the railroad company
in the effort to effect the purpose:
Every four years the mail transported
over the railroad is weighed for period of
obtained during the thirty days the COM
pensation Of the railroad is adjusted and re-
% sRnr in r fsrcs s %srf -four is years e Ths
Airline attempted to swell the weighing of
the mails by large shipments of public docu-
ments. About 300 sacks Of documents,
franked by a United States Senator and a
Representative, were sent to the various
agents of this company in Virginia. North
and South Carolina and Georgia. The sacks
three. four and even five sacks being sent to
one agent
Some agents were furnished by railroad
officials With lists of addresses in North
Carolina and Georgia The division superin-
tendents and roadmasters gave oral instruc-
tions to the agents under them as to past
ing labels or writing addresses on the books
which were not previously addressed, but
the tags Of the sacks were all addressed all
for namely, a railroad agent at that point)
The books were then remailed and again
transported over the routes Of this company,
to be again weighed in transit.
"a few agents, not understanding their
instructions, gave out the books for pubic
distribution before the franked labels were
received. Fifteen sacks were delivered at
Portsmouth, Va, addressed in bulk to the
general superintendent. That night the
BOOKS were sgain addressed IN the railroad
perintendent, and remailed the following
morning to various persons along the route.
A newspaper at Ellenboro, N. c., learning
of the transaction, published short article.
headed "A Mistake stating in substance
that United States Senator in mailing
the documents to his constituents had by
along the seaboard Airline. A division su-
perfntendent, learning Of the article, pro-
ceeded to the town and induced the editor
to cut the item out Of every copy Of his
paper.
gated by the Postoffice Department, and to
prevent this practice the department has
ordered the weighing to be continued for
pany then resorted to a new scheme by con-
tracing with the publishers of newspapers
over their line daily to addresses furnished
by the company. At Portsmouth the gen.
eral superintendent arranged with paper
to send $500 copies daily for ten days, and
after that 200 copies daily in bundles Of
twenty-five to each address to parties in
South Carolina and Georgia on the Seaboard
Airline AT Ra.eigh an official of the rail-
week and 5000 copies a week afterward of
a weekly paper, sent in bundles OF forty
five. over the Seaboard Airline road TO
stations In Georgia, South Carolina and
North Carolina. At Atlanta the private Sec
rotary of the superintendent arranged with
Atlanta paper for 1900 copies daily to
be sent over the Seaboard Airline to Nor
folk and Portsmouth, 1000 addressed as to
regular subscribers, the other LOCO as SAM
pie copies.
Arrangements were also made with an
other Atlanta paper to send 5000 copies of
the Sunday issue, weighing over one-ha-f
pound each. to addresses In Norfolk and
Portsmouth. Norfolk and Portsmouth city
directories were furnished to the papers
from which to print labels for mailing pa
pers to parties in those cities. Several of
these parties thus addressed had moved
away or had died Had this weighing been
accepted by the department, the Seaboard
Airline railroad would have received for
the next four years much larger compen-
sation than 1t was entitled to-"
The abuse of the Thanking system is the
serious feature in the case. officials in the
Postoffice Department refuse to give the
name of the Senator, because Ii Is believed
he was innocently worked by the railroad
company. An investigation is likely to fol-
low.