Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-03-02
Mistellannus Reaains.
PAY FOR CARRYING THE MAIL.


How the Government compensates
Railways For Their Service.
Whether or not the railroads as a
whole are sufficiently we'll paid by
the government is a question about
which for years there has been much
controversy. The compensation Of
the railroads was fixed by law In
1872. But by subsequent amendments
in 1876 and 1878 the rate of pay was
reduced ten per cent and then five per
cent. There has been no, change
since. The scheme Of compensation,
however was based on a sliding scale,
which reduced the rate Of pay as the
weight of the mail carried increased.
In addition to this pay by weight, an
allowance Is made to railroads en-
ploying cars devoted exclusively to
the carriage of mail. The total
amount paid to railroads under both
these heads In the fiscal year ended
June 80, 1905, was $44,326,991. OF
this total about $4,000, 900 was for
transportation proper, and about $5,-
000,0 was the allowance for special
mail cars.
The rate Of paying graduates from
$1.71 per ton per mile in the case OF
daily average Of 200 pounds Of mail
carried, to .058 per ton per mile for
each 1000 pounds in excess Of Is, 900
pounds. This shows clearly how the
rate Of pay drops with an increase in
the amount of mail carried. This
also accounts for the further fact
that, while the rate Of pay as fixed
by law is now what 1t was In 1878,
when the average passenger and
freight rates were much higher, the
automatic working Of the sliding
scale has in effect reduced the rate
for carrying the mails as much or
more than the freight and passenger
rates have been reduced.
The railroads are allowed no extra
pay for increasing the speed Of mail
trains. All that has been accomplish
plished by the appeals Of the post
office department In the interest of
the public and by competition be-
tween the railroads themselves.
An illustration of the inadequate
pay sometimes received by the rail-
roads for mail carriage Is found in
the statement Of a former president
of the Long Island railroad to the
effect, that the bootblacking privi-
lege on the company's ferryboats
yielded the company one-fifth Of the
amount received from the govern
ment for transporting the mails over
all the lines Of the compay.
The average weight upon which is
based the payment for mail trans
portation Is determined by actual
weighings made for a period of nine
ty days once in four years The
Weighing period was formerly fixed
by law at not less than thirty days, but
was recently increased to ninety days.
just now the date is approaching for
the Weighing Of mails on the west
ern fines For the moment this has
added greater zest to the competf-
tion between the several lines. The
more mail the roads can carry during
the three months Of the weighing the
larger will be their pay for the next
four years. This quadrennial deter
mination Of the weight is something
Of hardship for the railroads. The
mails normally increase very greatly
during the course Of four years 1t
has been estimated that on an aver
age the roads in this way carry twen-
ty per cent more weight than they
are paid for.
In 1866, when the Union Pacific
railroad was opened to the Pacific
coast the running time from New
York to the coast was about nineteen
days. That was considered remark
ably fast in those days. Now it is
three days and a half. A more strik-
ing illustration of the evolution of
our railway and of our mail service
as well could hardly be found.-New
York Times.