Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-03-28
MAILS On STAR ROUTES
EFFECT OF ORDER OF SECOND AS
sIsTANr POSTMASTER GENERAL.
Rates Paid Under 1t Not Materially!
Higher Than Those Former
i Prevailing.

The ORDER of Second Assistant Postmaster
General Shallenberger, limiting the consid-
Grafton of bids for carrying the mails on
star routes to those received from persons
living on or contiguous to the routes on
which service is to be performed. nas not
been in operation sufficient length of time
to show to just what extent the service will
be affected by it.
The order applied to those routes which
would be advertised after February ID,
1900, and, as each advertisement IS re-
quired to be out from ten days to two
weeks, no awards were made under The
new order until after March I. For those
contracts which have been awarded. rea-
sonable bids from local men have been re-
ceived, and it is believed that competition
among the local bidders will be increased
the issuance of the order becomes more
generally known.
There has been impression in some
quarters that the contracts for carrying the
mails on star routes have been let out in
blocks; that is, by counties or states. to
speculative bidders, and that in this. or
some other way, spectators have had an
undue advantage in securing contracts, so
that it is impossible for local bidders to Sc
cure contracts; hence many of them have
Iefrained from bidding. This will be over
come by the information which is being
spread by means of the press, and the order
Will be included in the monthly supplement
of the Postal Guide for the current month.
which goes to every postmaster throughout
the United States
Position Approved.
The position taken by the Post Office De-
partment in this matter is evidently meet
ing with very general approval all over the
country, as evidenced by numerous news
paper comments and letters from members
of Congress and others which have reached
the department.
The rates paid under the contracts made
since this order issued are not ma
terially higher than those which have pre-
vailed for service under similar conditions
during the past eight months. 1t is to be
borne in mind that that part of the money
paid by the department which has hereto
fore gone to the speculative contractors as
their profit now goes to the men who are
performing the service, and that this is a
considerable sum is indicated by statistics
prepared by the department some time ago,
from which it was shown that the differ
ence between the professional contract rate
of pay and the subcontract rate of pay on
5,II5 mail routes amounted to over S142,0OO,
and that IL per cent of the sum paid by the
government for the performance of the
service did not reach the persons who
tua1ly did the work.
Better Service Expected.
1t is conceded by the department that the
cost of the service under the new order will
probably be increased somewhat. but not to
the extent which has been represented by
some who are opposed to limiting the bid
ding to local men. but it is claimed that
moderate increase will be warranted in
curing a better class of equipment and
more reliable and trustworthy carriers in
the performance of the service and that
such increase will be fully Endorsed by Con-
gress and the people of the country, who
are entitled TO better service than they
have been receiving under the old system.
Since March l awards of contracts have
been made for quite a number of routes,
under the order referred to. satisfactory
bids having been received. As an instance
of what is being accomplished. the contract
for a route in Kentucky. three and onehalf
miles long, was awarded to speculative
bidder under the last letting, at so per an
mum, who secured local subcontractor
willing to accept $3.50 for the service In
der the recent award this same subcontrac-
tor submitted bid and was awarded the
contract at sos. thus paying the man who
performs the Service $3.50 additional and
saving S11 to the government. and also put
ting the money in the locality where the
service is being performed, which ensures
better service.