Daily Kennebec journal., 1898-11-01
A National Sweat System.

General William Shallenberger. the
second assistant postmaster general, III
his annual report. makes a vigorous
and timely arraignment of existing
the various stage routes are advertised
at stated periods and let to the highest
bidders. Under this system few men
by cutting existing prices will bid in
large numberof routes in all parts Of the
country in the expectation of making
enough out of the whole to consider
ably more than offset any occasional
losses they may incur. Then ensues 4
systematic squeezing of the carriers,
the men who day in and day out,
through sunshine and storm, ofttimes
over rough and dangerous roads, do
the actual work of transporting the
mails In the nature of things many
of these men are poor. Their horses
and vehicles constitute their only cap
! ital. The carrying of the mail has
been their only means of livelihood.
Such a man sees no immediate opening
elsewhere. His family must be cared for.
Under such conditions the man, very
likely from some distant state, who
has bid off his route comes to him and
says: Here, if you want to keep on
with this you will have to carry the
mails a good deal cheaper than you
have before. Perhaps as you say, the
old figure may be too low, but 1 was
obliged to bid under it in order to Sc
cure your route. l shall be obliged to
sub-let it at a figure which will allow
can't take it at such figure shall be
obliged to find some one else who viii.
I am not in business for my health,
you know" And very likely the poor
| fellow yields and goes on with his
work at a figure utterly, outrageously
inadequate to justly recompense him
for the exacting and responsible ser
vice he performs. By such nefarious
methods are class of SPECTATORS
men who toll not neither do they
spin"-enabled, under the auspices of
this great government, to dry press
handsome unearned profits out of one
of the hardest working and most de-
serving class of men in this country
those who actually operate it's stage
lines.
1t has, strangely enough, apparently
escaped the attention of the noble men
and women in this country, who, from
the platform, the pulpit through the
press and by personal agitation, have
labOred for the enactment of laws to
abolish outrageous sweating systems
from our industrial life, that un-
der one of the great departments of
our government, exists the most utter
ly outrageous and indefensible sweat
ing system know to our Republican
institutions. This oversight is doubt
less due to the fact that the laborsG of
these noble reformers have been almost
wholly directed towards securing the
eradication of the rank and fostering
sweatshops of our great cities, while
the sweating operations of the men
who bid Off and sub-let stage routes
are confined almost wholly to rural
communities.
AS between the sweat shop and the
sweat route, it is difficult to decide
which grinds its victims the hardest
The worker in the sweatshop by eff
cheney and industry occasionally gains
concessions in way of increased pay
and more favorable conditions. The
man who runs a stage route under i
sub-contract has no such CLEANS Of
hope. 1t is the one employment in this
ing heavy responsibilities, and exact
ing prompt and efficient discharge of
duty, holds out absolutely no promis :
of reward for faithfulness and length
of service. The anxious query of the
operator of stage line is never
whether he is to get more for his SER
vices, or somewhere near what they
are actually worth, but whether he will
be able to hold his present inadequate
recompense. There is always in his
dreams the spectre of grasping
speculator bidding off his route, and
forcing him either to give up his pres
ent means of livelihood or work for
). starvation prices. We have often ex-
pressed the opinion, in these columns,
that this condition of affairs is in no
wise a credit to our country.
The opinion has frequently been ex-
pressed that steamship lines, stage
routes and express companies were
paid too large a figure for transporting
the mails. We are inclined to think,
i, however that our government secures
this service on the whole at a fairly
i, reasonable figure. There may be ex-
, ceptions to the rule, and if so prac-
f teal means should be found of dealing