Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1897-05-13

In a former article in The Repre-
1 showed many advantages
lthat would result from the govern
ment ownership of railroads. will
how show how the railroads plumber
the people by exorbitant charges for
carrying the mail. When we consider
Che large number of men employed by
the postofice department, the immense
mount of business done, and the
4 large area over which it operates, it is
IN marvel ofiperfection and honesty. The
NJ hbordinates do their work efficiently
4 And honestly. There are few defalca-
ions or malfeasances in office. The
me great exception to this occurs in
contracts with railroads for carrying
The mail. If the people really knew
me amount of rascality there is con-
nected with letting the contracts for
carrying the mail there would be a
lreckoning somewhere. The prices
Rcharged by the railroads are so fabu-
lous that one is tempted to believe he
s3'B reading the widest romance when
le is reading only the simple facts.
a &4et us give some of them. On page 81,
4 Of Postmaster General Wilson's report
for 1895 it is stated that the average
Aprice for carrying the mail is eight
d tents per pound for an average dis
Nance of 44S miles. The same state
5Vnent is made on page SO of Bissell's re-
port for 1894. Now the Texas and
! Southern Pacific railroad carries mer-
bhandise from New Orleans to San
francisco, distance of $500 miles for
a two-ffths of cent pound. For car
Flying one pound of mail the same dis
lance the charge is A cents. In other
words the government is charged fifty
times as much for carrying the mail as
a private individual is charged for car
merchandise. Is not this an
A1sutrage sufficient to make ones blood
boil? and to make him feel like boil
ing some other ones blood?
But this is not all. Besides paying
this fabulous price for carrying the
sSmail the government rents from the
foads the cars in which it is carried.
What rent does it pay? See if you can
B}hold your temper while you read.
There are 500 postal cars in use which
IN Aoo4 to.. Akon "a Onn aaoh. kbat "a m
say the postal cars are worth less than
/ 81, 900, 600. For the use of these cars
the government pays the railroads
81, 900, 900 each year. A car lasts for
twenty years. Therefore the govern
ment pays the railroads 81, 900, 900 for
the use of cars worth only $1,000, 900, a
gelear steel from the government OF
4 lS7O, 900.
III Besides these two frauds there is still
another. In the month set apart for
the weighing of the mails the roads
ship vast numbers Of sacks of congress
ional mail, books, pamphlets, ETC., to
points on their lines, and then reship'
ping them again and again until thu
weighing is complete, to swell the
gross weight on which they are to re-
ceive pay for the next four years. The
government ownership of railroads
will stop these gigantic frauds; and
that is the only way to stop them. The
fact that the present administration is
completely controlled by the railroads
was proved in the senate short time
ago. Senator Butler offered an amend
ment to the postal appropriations bill
providing that the government should
not pay as rental for any postal car
more than ten per cent of its value.
| Although this rental is twice the value
of the cars the amendment was voted
down. With these frauds eliminated
g(by the government ownership of the
roads and the increase in business that
would result from a reduction of rates,
letters could be sent for one cent and
postal cards for One-half of a cent.
Let the government own the railroads,
1.-THE telegraph and the telephone. Then
let the telephone and telegraph be
placed under the management of the
postal department and the people will
be relieved from three of the greatest
IfmonoPplies on earth. But this cannot
-be accomplished until the Populists
are placed in power E. r, Lynch.