Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1907-01-05
WILL CHANGE METHODS
WEIGHING or MAILS 70 Be REAu-a
JUsTEn ey CONGRESS.
Present System Said to BE RESPONSIBLE.
For Enormous Excess Railway
Charges.
Sreeial Correspondence

StWelal correspondence.
Washington, p g.. Zee. 2s.--It ia
reasonably certain that congress. at
the present session will provide BIZ
definite legislation for readjustnent
az the methods OF weighing the mails
carried by the railways 81 the country.
That the method Of ascertalnlng the
weight q the mails Is rot only obso-
lete, but negotiable. Il the convlc-
ton arrived at by impartial investiea.
tors
Tho average daily weight Of mail
carried by a given railroad Is found
by weighing the NATL for ninety sue
cessive working days AS matter
et face the mail Is weighed l05 days
Including sundays. but instead OF
reaching the average b. dividing tha
total by ioa. L Is reached by dividing
the total weight By 90. the number of
what the law terms working days.
Naturally. such a division Increased
the average daily weight, upon which
the payments Of the government are
based
The subject has been considered by
every postmaster general for quar-
ter Of a century and opinions have
been obtained from several attorneys
general OF the United States as to the
legality OF the methods pursued by the
postotilce department. In every In
stance. the present methods have been
sustained by these two opinions. Con-
gress never has seen At to change the
law aud, consequently. every postmas-
ter general has followed the methods
of his predecessors TN The mail weigh
Ing and payments.
Recently. Representative Murdoch,
of Kansas, member of the postofiice
and postroads committee, delivered
speech In the house, Ia which he as
serted that the government annually
was paying more meRet to the rail-
roads for carrying she malls than
they were eatitled TO- In TACT, be said
that IN the past twenty years 10000
900 in excess Of rightful charge had
been paid TO the railroads
The subject has been discussed pref
~ fully since the delivery OF Mr.. Muir.
decks speech. both among members
eeaEVess and In the newspapers. In
congress a tentative. although infor-
NAL. decision has been reached to
change the wording Of the present Law
so that after the act becomes effective.s
the railroads Will be paid not for =
average daily weight OF iaail struck
/ any sense at random, but for an 81
act average, found by dividing the tod
tai weight for period OF six months.
for instance, by the total number Of
! days, including Sundays, on which the
mail Ia weighed This. II Is contended.
Will be fair alike 10 the railroads and
TO the government. or course, II wilT
reduce the railway mail pay of some
OF the railroads. but II Is maintained
they cannot complain reasonably, be-
cause they will receive full pay for the
service they render,
The agitation OF the question OF
railway mail pay has induced the post
Office department to take up the sub
ject again. In fact, Il has been under
consideration by Postmaster General
Corteyou before Mr.. Murdoch deliver
ed his speech He called for report
on the qquestion from Second Assist
ant Postmaster General Shallenberger
some time ago and nov has II under
consideration.
II has been discovered by inquiries
that few OF the big rail Dad 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. Willie other i'm
portant lines apparently have been dis
eliminated against Why this discrim-
ination has been shown win be made a
subject Of inquiry BY the department.
and. very likely, By congress. 1t is In
tlmated that some interesting facts
may be developed
IS IN A SERIOUS CONDITION.