The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1908-03-19
Officials ofPostaI Department and
Railway Men Hold important
Conference This Week
TO HAVE FAIR TREATMENT
Postal Men Admit That Some of the Re-
cent Orders Are Not Fair to the
Roadside Adjust On a Fair
Basis F or Both Sides
(From Thursdays Daily.)


The railroads and the postoffice de-
partment will try to thrash out all of
their differences at the conference
in Washington Thursday this week.
Second Assistant Postmaster General
McCleary has asked the railroad repre-
sentatives to meet him IN hope that
better understanding may be reached,
and the mail service again may be con-
Quoted without constant and serious
friction.
1t is understood that Mr.. McCleary
has stated to his superior officer that
there are some arrangements in which
the government is not treating the
railroads with full fairness and that
there are many things which the rail-
roads are doing which are not for the
good Of the service aud which may be
regarded as retaliatory or protective
measures.
The situation between the railroads
and the postofice department has been
acute for more than year. The trou-
bic had it's inception in the order
issued by the former postmaster gener.
al requiring that the reweighing of
mails should be done under a diff
ferent plan.
This plan provided that the total
weight of mails for a ninety-day period
be decided by the total number of days,
including Sundays. Fol years Sundays
had had been left out in the reckoning
and the change reduced the compensation
of the railroads by about II per cent.
by reducing the average daily tonnage.
Then the department inspectors re-
ported that great deal of money could
be saved if the government would call
for the exact size of the cars needed on
many return routes. There are many
where the mail is heavier one way than
the other. The inspectors knew that
having hauled sixty-foot car, for ex-
ample, one way the railroads would
haul it back no matter if the govern
ment called for a forty-foOt car on the
return trip. In this way the govern
mcnt could save the difference in pay
De
Soon afterward the government an
nounced that it was going to establish
& half lines" wherever possible. This
meant that the railroads would have to
return thousands Of mail cars "dead
head" which would result in further
loss.
There was general protest against
this order. and many roads stated that
if it were carried into effect they would
take off the trains carrying the mails
involved and make public announce
ment Of the cause This threat caused
the department to hesitate, and the or
der which had been prepared has never
been carried out. The situation, al
ready acute, has been further complicat-
ed by the railroads taking off scores
OF passenger trains since the passage
of the 2-cent laws. This decrease in the
passenger service has seriously inter-
fercd with the mail service despite the
fact that the railroads have tried to
minimize the effect by changing the
service on the remaining trains.
Still another cause of dispute is the
fines which the department. assesses for
failure Of mail trains to make their ad-
vertised schedules. If mail train is
late ten times during a certain period,
the railroad is fined 10 per cent of the
earnings of that train from mail No
matter if the train makes it's schedule
over every portion of the route, but is
delayed in getting into it's terminal,
the fines are assessed the same as
though it had been late in it's service
throughout the entire route.
These and many other points of con-
troversy nave made it desirable that
the entire mail service be discussed. An
effort will also be made to induce the
department to favor the passage Of the
pending bill increasing the pay of short
line roads which do not carry sufficient
mail to compensate them for the SER
vice which they are compelled to main
tain.