The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-06-26
ROW OVER MAILS.
officials Clash Over Order to Carry
Mails on 1s-HOur Trains.

Mails on 1S-HOur Trains.
Government postodice officials and
the homogeneous OF the New York
Central and Pennsylvania lines have
locked horns over the carrying of
mails on the eighteen-hour trains be-
tween New York and Chicago Back
OF the contest are mail-carrytng con-
tracts which are worth between So
100000 and S4,000.00O to the Penn
sylvania and New York Central sys-
TENS.
As soon as the eighteen-hour trains
were put into service the pOstOfHce
auth critics ordered a mail car put on
each train, and there was cOnsterna-
ton among the officials interested. The
order of the government was the re-
suit of another railway mail coup exc
cuted by the management of the Rock
Island road.
No sooner had the eighteen-hour
trains gone into service than the Rock
Island changed the time of departure
of the morning Chicago California
train to connect Wisa both the Twen-
tieth Century Limited and the Penn
sylvania special trains at EngleWood,
and also extended the train by adding
a Colorado service.
MUST PUT ON NAIL CAR.
Government officials were quick to
see that these changes meant an en-
tire day saved in the Transportation
and delivery of tranScOnunental and
Colorado mails. Accordingly the east
ern roads were ordered to place
mail car in service on those trains.
Under the postal laws the postmaster
general may deduct One-hah of the
mail pay from any road refusing to
carry mails on any train designated by
the government.
A refusal of the order, therefore.
meant serious financial loss to the
roads in question. They fled a pro-
test at Washington, however, upon the
ground that they would be unable to
add a postal car and make the time
They threatened to withdraw the
eighteen-hour trains from service, pro-
vided the government insisted upon
their carrying mails on these trains.
The matter was temporarily COM
promised by the railroads agreeing to
carry f1rst-class mail only on the fast
est trains. but it is said to be the pur-
pose of the government eventually to
force the addition of a mail car to the
flyers. Other roads, anxious to get the
mails. are ready to put on an eighteen
hour train between New Y ork and Chi
caRo solely for carrying mail.
The transfer of the transcOntinental
mails being made at EnglewOod. in
stead Of at Chicago, means that the
Burlington Will lose a portion of its
western mails On this account the
Burlington is making strenuous efforts
to prevent the government from di-
verting the mails along new routes.
SPECIAL MAIL TRAIN.
Burlington ran a special mail train
from Omaha to Chicago, 494 miles, in
363 minutes in the effort to land the
Australian British mails in New York
in time to catch the steamer Etruria,
which was held four hours upon the
urgent request of the government
The steamer Ventura was delayed
somewhere between Australia and the
Golden Gate two days, and according
ly the sealed sacks arrived in Coun-
Gil Bluffs too late to catch the Bur
lington's regular fast mail train. The
postofice authorities were anxious to
deliver the mails on time as they al
ways had done, and especially as it
was learned that the mails contained
some important state documents. The
Omaha postal officials wired Washing
ton, and Washington officials tele-
phoned Burlington officials in Chicago,
with the result that the special was
awaiting the mail transfer when the
sacks arrived at the Bluffs.