The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-04-20

average haul of the mall 0 WHICH D
cents a pound is paid, i. e., the gov
| eminent pays so times as much. On
AN Investigation before the Interstate
commerce commission, George r.
Blanchard testified that the express
! companies carried milk to New York,
a distance of 396 miles, at q charge of
one sixth of a cent per pound, return
ing the cans free, and that the distance
could be increased to 1000 miles and
there would still be profit at one sixth
of q cent, while the government pays for
the transportation of the mails over
the same lines 8 cents for an average
of 448 miles besides paying for the an
nual rents of the cars largely more
than 200 per cent. on their cost. Jo-
seph h. Choate, who appeared for the
railroads at the same investigation,
testified that at a rate Of ne-third a
cent per pound on 40 quart cans of
milk there would be a profit of two to
three hundred per cent.
The amount paid the railroads for
the rental of the postal cars is So. 600,-
600 annually, a sum more than enough
to build OUT light nearly double the
number of postal cars the government
has in use. There are 500 postal cars
in use, costing So, 500 to 81, 900 each.
These the government could build for
less than 81. 900, 900, and their average
life being 20 years, it follows that at
the present rentals of s., 900, 900 the
government is paying $72, 600, 900 for
property it could acquire for 81, 900, 900.
On the Pennsylvania railway the gov
eminent paysannually g. 327 per carfor
the rent of 50 cars which could each
be bought outright for less than half
the money, thus over 300 per cent. is
paid by the government as rental Of
postal cars which it should own. On
the New York Central the government
does worse and actually pays s., 500
each for annual rental of postal cars
which can be bought for So, 500 or less,
nearly 240 per cent. interest. In this
way So, 600, 900 a year are spent for
rentals, whereas if the government
would build the 500 cars at, say 50, 500
| each, a full estimate, the outlay would
be 81, $50, 900, being less than half the
annual rental. Three per cent. inter
est on this sum would be only $50. 500
per annum. The life of a Car being 30
years, the annual depreciation would
be $87, 500 and the repairs added would
not make the entire cost exceed $780,
, 900 instead of the present s., coo, 600.
Besides the annual g, 600, 900 for rem
tai of postal cars the sum appropriated
to railroads for hauling the mails is
&29, 600, 600, an amount which many
deem fully $15, 600, 900 in excess of
a fair and moderate charge. Not only
this, but it is in evidence that in the
month set apart for the quadriennial
weighing of the mails many railroads,
if not all, are in the habit of shipping
vast numbers of sacks of congressional
mail, books and pamphlets to points
on their lines, and then reshipping
them again and again to swell the gross
weight on which they are to receive
pay for the next four years, and so
common is the habit that when some
were caught red handed the excuse of
their CfH ;ers was, They ali do it," and
the department was not powerful
enough to secure any punishment
melted out to the confessed TENDERS.
So we'll known gre these abuses that
when Senator Butler offered an amend
ment to the postal appropriation bill
that the government should not pay
for the annual rental of any postal car
more than 10 per cent. Of its value
double pay, for the life of a postal car
is 20 years., nor more for the trans
portation of mails than express com
psnies pay per pound for like service
the senators did not dare to go on rec
ord upon the motion and protected
themselves by refusing an AYE and
no" vote upon it.
In the discussion in the Senate, Feb
ruary, 1897, Senator Villas, formerly
postmaster general, concurred in the
substance of the above statements and
the necessity of great reductions. He
stated that the rate for railway mail had
been hurriCd ly tackled on to an appro
priation bill in 1878; that the rate was
exorbitant then, and though railroad
charges generally had been reduced 40
per cent, their charges to the govern
ment, which were extravagant even
in 1878, had not been reduced at all.
Senator German, who has never been
suspected of being OF u%nfriendly terms
with great cnrnnratinna made the fol. |