The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-06-13
KalIWaY Mail NeTNIce,
Office Sup't. Third Division.
Washington, March %, /

Railway Mail Service.
Office Sup't. Third Division,
Washington, March %, 1896.
Subject Completion of mail weigh
ing.
V T. McBee. Esq, General Sup't~
Portsmouth, Va:
Sir: The weighing of mails on all S.
4 l.. routes will be discontinued after
Tuesday, the 31st inst Kindly have
scales kept in mail and baggage cars on
all trains departing from any point on
the line up to - o'clock midnight of
the 31st inst. Very respectfully.
tSigneO CHARLES w. VICKERY,
superintendent.
On receipt of the above official notice
we arranged for the adoption Of our
summer schedule and on March 29th,
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
circumstances, it was a matter of
much surprise when | received on
March 3lst, 1.-TWO days after the change
of our schedule) a telegram from the
Department stating that the weighing
would be continued for thirty days
more. On the 3rd Of April I called at
! the Office of the general superinten-
dent of railway mail service and asked
him why he proposed to weigh mails
after informing me that he would not
| do so, and his reply was because we
had changed schedules. | asked him if
it was usual to re-Weigh every time
schedules were changed He said it
was not. Now, | do not object TO
weighing every month in the year, but
| claim the right Of proper notice, and
| privilege of re-establishing the two
| trains which were taken off. / was not
| given the proper notice, but, on the
| contrary, was deceived, as shown by
| the Second Assistants letter, and
| thereby lost 1000 pounds of mail per
day, which he arbitrarily diverted from
| the Seaboard Airline / had advices
from the Department the latter part of
Aphil, 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
railway mail service as follows:
/ do hereby certify that the forego-
ing statement of weights of mail is
correct, according to daily returns
made by sworn employees of the De-
partment and the statement that the
service is correct. to the best of my
knowledge and belief.
(Signed) /. NJ TERRELL,
Superintendent Railway Mail Service,
Fourth Division.
CHARLES W. VICKERY.
We have had no notice from the
Postoffice Department to the contrary
that the weights were not correct and
we are entitled to our pay under the
legal methods of computing weights
and their sworn certificates of the cor
rectness of the same.
The published statement alleged to
have been authorized by the Postmas-
ter General is unbecoming and libelous
and | am prepared to court a full, free
and fair investigation throughout,
with further investigation of other
lines, including the different methods
and prevailing customs by which the
mail pay is adjusted, or will the Post
master General authorize the publ
cation Of another statement and give
his reasons why the Seabord Airline
was singled out and made the object
of unjust criticism, or why we are dis
credited for carrying public docu-
ments, when it was known to him that
other lines had carried public docu-
lie documents in March, which had
been shipped and re-shipped, weighed
and re-weighed, besides thousands of
pounds of other matter, including ex-
ira carload lots of patent 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 were reports withheld from him?
1t is certainly a new departure for
the head of one of the chief depart
ments of this government to use the
great powers of his office through
"authorized statements" in the press
to iniure a railroad company.
V. e. M'BEE.
104 Court street, Portsmouth, Va.