The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1907-02-22
POLITICAL POINTS
Weekly Letter From The
National Capitol

simple two line announcement,
"Trans-continential mails from
Chicago to Omaha will continue
as heretofore, to be carried over
the Burlington route" This did
not sound startling or the face of
it, and it was strangely overlooked
by the local papers, but it marks a
period in a fierce fight for railroad
mail patronage that has been rag
ing here for weeks and has to do
with the general matter of rail-
road mail compensation that the
Senate has been promising for
several months to look into with
out ever doing more than promise.
Perhaps it was a case of dog
feasting on canine, and neither
side is due much sympathy, butt it
shows how queer things still hap
psn in the Post Office Department
in spite of the recent house clean
ing The Burlington is the road that
has been carrying the mails from
Chicago to Omaha since 1884.
There is no contract for this or
similar fast mail service, but it is
given to the most avilable road by
the Post Once. 1t is a fine ad-
vertisement, the railroads claim
they make no money out of it.
There are contrary reports that
they make entirely too much, but
that may possibly be settled by
Congressional investigation. Any
how, there is a fierce fight of
the railroads for this poor paying
job.
At the beginning of the mail
weighing peroid, which is this
week, the Rock Island wanted to
get the mail service, and it had
begun the fight for it months back.
The Burlington has been in the
habit of picking up the mail on
the west side of Chicago, the mat
ter being carted across town by
the Post Office at its own expense,
amounting to about $780, 900 a
year. The Rock Island had tracks
to run the trains straight through
the city and eliminate the time
and cost of the wagon haul, so it
put it's plea before the Depart
ment. The Burlington was prompts
ly notified of the attempt to secure
the mail service. and discovered
that it had a part interest in a track
across town and could haul the
mail trains strai ght through, thus
meeting the offer of the Rock
Island. Then the Rock Island an
nounced that being a land grant
road, it would be cheaper for the
government to ship over it's line
even at the same contract price as
heretofore. 1t made no specific
offer, but then a queer thing hap
pened. The Burlington got wind
of the offer and announced boldly
that it would meet every offer that
the Rock Island could make. Both
roads kept representatives here
working day and night to bring
influence to bear to secure the
contract. They kept track. OF
each others movements and az
both had representatives in the
Post Office Department they were
made awrae OF each others moves.
finally, "a hours before the event,
tine Burlington learned that it was
the favored one, and the service
was awarded, guilty properly toe
from the Postmaster Generals
point of view, because with equal
costs, the decision saved switch
ing the service from one road tC
another, which would have en-
tailed some executive distur.
bance.
The Burlington has been abused
by all other railroads for Offering
to cut the rate for mail service, 81
the roads say it is liable to throw
open the door to change and upse
the whole system, which by thu
way is a remarkably good paying
one for the railroads for all tina
they say to the contrary. Th'
railroad fight may have it's ech'
in the congressional investigation
into mail rates, If the latter eve
comes, and it may result in get
ting cheaper service for the de
partment all over the country