Daily Kennebec journal., 1904-03-24
58TH CONGRESS.
House Still Considering Post
office Appropriation Bill.
Scaling Down Of Amount for Inland
Star Routes.
Senate Discusses The Civil Service and
Indian Enls.

House adjourned, today. some progress
had been made in the reading of the
post office appropriation bill for
amendment. but only six pages were
disposed of. The appropriation for tn
railway mail service was carefully
scrrltiniZed and in the case of inland
mail transportation by star routes the
appropriation was scaled down from
$500, 600 to $1.S5O.000.
The question as to the length of tima
Il postal car may be used before it be-
comes unfit for service was settled by
the House when an amendment by MIR.
Tawney. Mimi. was adopted providing
that no part of the appropriation shal.
be used for the rental of cars which
have been in service for more than Is
years. An unsuccessful fight was made
against the appropriations for special
mail facilities over trunk lines, south
from Washington and west from Kan
SaS City.
Washington. March a3.-:;oon after the
House convened. today. consideration Of
the post office appropriation I'LL was re
sumed. An animated debate was at once
precipitated over an amendment by Over
street reducing to $7.&0.00O the appropria-
ton for inland mail transportation. Rix-
ey NaD declared that no effort had been
made by the department to better the star
route service and inquired why there was
SO much difference in the ray of rural car
r.crs and star route carriers.
Because" intcriectcd GriEgs MaD. a
member of the committee. the rural fire.
delivery service has grown into a vast
political machine.
Star route carriers, he asserted. receive
very much less pay.
Maddox tGa) maintained that until the
rural service was established ana put in
operation the department made no effort
to better the star route service at all.
After some discussion the Ovcrstrcet
amendment was agreed to.
An amendment by Snapn Ull) was
agreed to after considerab,a debate pro
viding that out of the appropriation Of
Il 200 900 for mail messenger service SlG0.-
900 shall be allotted to the underground
tunnel system of Chicago. provided that
service can be performed at Il cost not
exceeding that Of an efficient wagon ser
vice between the same points.
Representative Hughes On. JD offered
an amendment limiting the appropriation
for mail bags so that it shall not he avail
able for the purchase Of repair or mail
bags made in prison or by convicts.
Gardner IN. j. declared that United
States mail bags were being made in New
Jersey prisons. AT the same time the
prisons contained United States prisoners
who under the law are forbidde:. to work
On government supplies. Side by side with
these federal prisoners were state prison
ers and these were making mail bags for
the government. He believed the amend
mcnt to prohibit this should so in the
bill
BY unanimous consent the section OF the
bill and the amendment temporarily Were
passed over.
Baker (N y read lecture to the
Republican side of the House for being
lavish in making appropriations for rail
roads or corporations but crying econ
Gmy" when it came to appropriating for
the workingman. He objected to tine
80. 900 900 appropriation to the railroads for
carrying the mails and also to the in
crease of salaries of rural free delivery
carriers.
The provision in the ill appropria ting
$50. GO for railway postal car service.
Tawrcy (Minn) offered an amendment
providing that no part of the sum shall
be expended on cars that have been used
for more than Is years.
The amendment was agreed to, G1 to -.
Samuel w. Smith moved to reduce the
amount provided in the bill for railway
postal cars TO $t.0iS01.
Cowherd (Mo.) called attention to the
report Of the postal commission. which
he said had expressed the opinion that
the rates paid the railroads for carrying;
mails should not be reduced. and lie made
an extended argument in support of this
view
He was Interrupted by Baker IN. ".
who. with some passion. inquired if "thc
gentleman maintains that men who have
railroad passes in their pockets arc not
prcjudicod in favor OF the railroads."
Cowhcrd replied. amid applause that
he would leave it to the House whether
he had been SO Influenced.
Baker eXcitcdly declared that there
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