The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1907-01-09
RAILWAY MAIL GRAFT.
The Railroads Have Had a Good
Thing of It-But Honest Business
Methods Are Hereafter to Be
Adopted.


Adopted.
Washi agton, Dec. 29.-It is reason
ably certain that Congress, at the
present session, will provide by def
mite legislation for readjustment OF
the methods Of weighing the mails
carried by the railways Of the coun-
try. That the method Of ascertain
ing the weight OF the mails now is not
only obsolete, but inequitable is the
conviction arrived at by impartial in
vestigators
The average daily weight Of mail
carried by given railroad is found
by weighing the mail for ninety sue
cessive working" days. AS a mat
ter of fact, the mail is weighed for los
successive days, including Sundays,
bat instead of reaching the average
by dividing the total weight by 105,
it is reached by dividing the total
weight by so, the number Of what the
law terms working days. Natural
~, such a division increased the daily
weight, on which the payments by the
governments are based.
The subject has been considered by
every postmaster general for quar-
ter of a century and opinions have
been obtained from several attorney
generals of the United States as to the
legality of the methods pursued by
the postofice department. In every
Instance, the present method has been
sustained by these opinions Con-
gresss never has seen fit to change
the law and, consequently every post
master general has followed the meth
DDS Of his predecessors in the mail
weighing and payments.
Recently, representative Murdock,
of Kansas, member Of the postofhce
and postroads committee, delivered a
speech in the House, in which he as
serted that the government annually
was paying more money to the rail-
roads for carrying the mails than they
were entitled to. In fact, he said that
in the past twenty years s4o,000,000
in excess of rightful charge had been
ro;d +o +ba roilroa6c
The subject has been discussed
pretty fully since the delivery of Mr..
Murdock's speech, both among mem
bers of congress and in the newspa-
pers. In congress tentative, all
though informal, decision has been
reached to change the wording Of the
present law so that after the act be-
comes effective, the railroads will be
paid, not for an average daily weight
OF mai! struck in any sense at random,
hat for an exact average, found by
dividing the total weight for period
OF six months, for instance, by the
days, on which the mail is weighed.
This, it is contended, will be fair alike
to the railroads and to the govern
ment Of course, it will reduce the
railway mail pay Of some Of the rail-
roads, but it is maintained they cannot
complain reasonably, because they
will receive full pay for the service
they render.
The agitation of the question Of
railway mail pay has induced the
postofhce department to take up the
subject again. In fact, it had been
under consideration by Postmaster
General Cortelyou before Mr.. Mur-
dock delivered his speech. He called
for report on the question from
Second Assistant Postmaster General
shallenberger some time ago and now
has it under consideration.
It has been discovered by inquiries
that a few of the big railroad systems,
like the Pennsylvania and the New
York Central, are carrying the great
bulk of the mail west of New York
and east Of Chicago, while other i'm
portant lines apparently have been
Disseminated against. Why this dis
elimination has been shown will be
made a subject Of inquiry by the de-
partment and, very likely, by con-
gress. 1t is intimated that some in
teresting facts may be developed.