The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1906-02-27
WEIGHING
THE MAILS
OUADR RENNIAL TASK I'M
POSED ON POSTAL
CLERKS
HOW RAILROADS ARE PAID
Fast Trains Make Test
Runs TO Get Awards.

Few people who have read OF the quad
reaaml weighing Of The mail by which
me unitcd states fixes the oomponsa-
ion 20 Do received 10y the railroads FOR
the service furnished by them, realize
the Immense system which is used by
the government to ascertain to the
pound Is, amount II mail carried oysr
each mile Of railroad track In the coun-
try Fewer stm are aware of the fact
! that tic mali service over 61StS2 miles
Of railroad through parts Of Kansas,
Oklahoma. Ncw Mexico and Texas Is
/ directed from the offices Of Chief CloriS
clyde Al Reed OF Wichita.
rhe lines under the supervision of
Chief r.srlS Rced consist of the Rock
Island fro.r Kansas city TO El Paso on
the main hge and Kansas City to III
Reno on the line running through here
lhe Frisco west Of Monet Mo, IN Kan
sas and Oklahoma west OF Enid; an OF
the Missouri Pacific south OF the St
Louis. Kansas City. Colorado iinei all
OF the Panhandle division and part Of
the Middle and Southern Kansas IL
vision on tho santa Ne; an Of the Cfient.
and the Union Pacific out Of Solina. Kas.
This gives total mileage Of 5.1S4s2 and
giyss employment TO 1872 regular postal
clerks and 20 extra men, During the
Weighing OF the mails 80 more men are
employed
Every four years Tho postonice dc
partmcnt weighs the mail that Is car
riod by different roads ana By taking
AN average out Of 90 days decides on the
emount 70 be paid each road for its
services. Tho compensation set at that
time Is IN force for the next four years
no matter how much heavier The mail
may grow during the interval between
tha next weighing time. There is a
peculiar idea that the railroads are eN-
cessivcy paid FOR carrying the mail
That this is not so is shown by the fact
that the roads are now being paid the
same amount FOR handling the mail AS
they were -four years ago when IL was
not pearly as heavy as it IS az the pres-
cnl time. OF course as soon as the pres
mt weighing IS over the amount re-
ceivsd nv the roads viii be increased
but Il viii remain the same for the next
four years the government getting the
benefit of the annual increase in weight
The govepment also gains hy the slid
ing scale that Is used in fixing the com
pensatlon As a result OF this scale the
road receives nuch less per pound for
!. carrying 900 pounds.
d The following table shows the basis
Il on which the compensation Of the raii-
o roads are fixed ln aH cases the rate Is
I por annum Tor certain amount OF
v mag day hgurod on basis OF oa4
mile
The minimum IS sis75 for 500 pound.
10 or loss.
3 From POO pounds 10 500 pounds IN,
n riie D. sG5.I2
/, From aoo "ounda TO 1000 pounds it 8
Al sst.5o.
! From 1000 pounds 10 1900 pounds q
a lg sioc,sI
T From 500 pounds to 5000 pounds it o
Is 0i2A25.
4 From 900 pounds to a5oo pounds Il d
From $500 ropads to 5000 pounds i
Is sl7l
For every 50 poupds over 5000 pounds
ihe railroads receive y per mile per an
mum extra
From this 1t VIII be seen that for car
rylng POO pounds Of ihail one mile "a rail
road receives Ssi.s7s per hundre'
i, pounds. Nhila Tor carrying h,0oo pound
y, ano mile Il only receives sac per hun
:, dred pounds That Is for caryln'
- twenty-five times as muoh mail u roa'
4, only receives one-soyenib as much re
hundred pounds.
y, IN wcighing the mnii the weishe
mokes "a rapport 70 The chief clerk ever
day showing the amount Of mail carric
over every milo of ihe run every time
mex II thrown on train o. g weighc
aud every time ono 10 thrown Oh tn
weight of 90 Ga also taken.
= no Illustrate the way thc work
of carried Oh let Il be supposed that "a roa
sa is running out OF Guthrie with sntion
iy at he 'ntryal Of 10 miles
Pc When th, train leaves Guthrie t ha
~ on bolri GOO pnuuds oi mail Az th
ga hu sAoieu 10 miles away t throws o
r pounds of mail and picks up
pounds lt hts carried 500 pounds
mml go nnes Whkh s tu equivalent
5000 pounds for mne ro me- 1905
mation H errles $50 pounds as
a pounds Wore ust at the other stnuo
% tt each station the amounf dropped d
lGr and the amount iakon on Us weighed af
no marxed down by me Nelghu on %
"a rerort cari Then hc amount rarr'
gas between zach station is reduced 20