The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1902-03-18

annum. while the rural carrier, with
greater responsibilities and compelled
to undergo exposure to all kinds Of
weather, is to be ground down to the
lowest price which a competitive bid
will force?
If economy is your object-and
YOU contend that millions of dollars
will be saved annually to the gov
ernment by the contract system-why
put the S7,O0O.000 paid the rural
carrier under the contract system,
and at the same time squander over
seventeen millions to the city carrier
under the salary system? I will 60
further and say. If the contract
system will result in as good service
and saving of millions in the rural
free delivery service, why do you not
frame bill and pass it putting the
Railway Mail Service and the post
masters throughout the country un-
der the same economical system?
You could easily have all applicants
who pass an examination submit bids
for the service by contract, and let it
90 to the lowest responsible bidder.
Your answer that the law now pro-
vides for salaries to the city carrier,
the railway mail clerk, and the post
masters, and that you are not now
dealing with that problem, is no an
swer. The postofice and post roads
committee has the right and power
to frame bill and present to this
house providing for the repeal of ex-
isting law, and 1t is to be said that
where inequalities exist, where USE
less waste of public money can be
prevented by change in the law,
that this body which created the law
is to stand in awe of an act because
it protects a certain favored class
and gives to the city carrier, railway
mail clerk, and postmasters a salary
system at a loss of millions to the
government? Will you refuse to re
peal the law, and at the same time
strike down the rural carrier to a
competitive bid basis, a contract sys-
tenn which has never given satisfac-
ton to the people after a fair trial,
upon the false and specious plea of
economy? If economy is what we
are after, let US be consistent; let US
commence at the beginning and
carry it all along through the service
of the government.
Mr.. Chairman, the chairman of
the committee Mr.. Loud has op-
posed in the past many needed re-
forms in the postal service and stood,
as he stands today, in opposition to
the policies advocated by the post
Office department, as we'll as by many
of the best informed men on postal
matters in the country. l remember
in the last congress when l offered
an amendment to the postoffice bill,
providing that all towns should have
free delivery, he opposed the amend
ment, and it was ruled out on point
of order. I then appealed to him to
report a bill, giving the house an op-
portunity to do justice to more than
100000 of our people who live in
towns without free delivery service.
I stated to him that the cities above
10000 inhabitants had free delivery
aud the country had rural delivery,
and that the house ought to have an
opportunity to do tardy justice to
the towns; but he and his committee
refused to take any steps in that dl
rection.
We tried last session to amend the
star route service by requiring the
contractor to live on the route, and
in that way remedy the evil that ex-
listed in that service, but the amend
ment was ruled out on a point of or
der made by the chairman OF the
committee, who was against the
amendment. The postofice depart
ment, however, realizing the miser-
able service that the rural districts
had to endure by reason of the sub.
contracting system, issued an order
to the effect that all new contracts il
the star route service should be let tc
| rosidants on the route. This reform