Panama City pilot. (Panama City, Washington County, Fla.) 1907-19??, 1908-08-20
THE MAILS.

of last week on the Bay, and Incl
dentally went over the transportation
matter He stated that the Railway
Company would not as yet enter into
a contract 10 carry the letter mail any
farther south than Compass Lake,
but could not say why the service
was not continued on the old route,
by way Of Chipley and Bay Head,
until arrangements with the road
could be completed.
And as to the paper pail tor this
point being taken from &c, train here,
to this post office, where it is not
allowed TO be opened, btt is sent on
to ST Andrews, to be returned from
there at some indefinite time in the
future, instead of sack being made
up containing Panama City paper
mail, and which would be opened
here, he could only say that the post
master at st Andrews was pnid for
this service, therefore the papers
must go there, and be, as they are,
seriously delayed.
Just why mail for Panama City,
that is already in this post office must
be taken to another office, and then
returned, is one of the peculiar bust
ness methods of the post office de-
partment that to a business man is
inexplicable.
The postmaster here has received
the following letter from the office of
Superintendent Railway Mail Service,
Atlanta, which gives the reason,
ascriDed by the Department, for the
failure to send the mail through by
rail. AS was stated last week Mr.
carry the mail, whether he wishes to
or not
POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT.,
FOURTH DIVISION,
ATLANTA, GA, August ID, 1908.
POSTMASTER,
Panama City, Fla.
SIF::
For the information of your people
| beg to state that | am advised, by
the Department, that the reason that
mails are not being furnished you by
the railroad is the fact that the rail
rOad company refuses to accept the
service at the regular rate of cOmpen-
satiOn allowed. The Department
should not, therefore, in any way be
blamed for failure to establish service
on the railroad, when the railroad
refuses to accept the regular rates
which apply to all new railroad ser
vice.
Very respectfully,
E. p. KING,
Acting Superintendent.
1t will be noted that this letter fails
to explain why the sacks containing
our newspaper mail are coming
through by rail, in spite of Mr. Steele's
refusal to accept the service,
or why they are not allowed to
! be opened here, and the Panama City
mail taken out, or why Il sack con
| tanning this mail is not made up for
this office, instead of delaying this
class of mail from one to three days
by sending it through this office, on
! to st Andrews, to be returned from
there. Nor does it explain why a
route has been chosen, part rail and
part team, by which our letter mail
is DELAYED ~ hours over the time
taken by the old route.
Furthermore noting the statement
in the above letter that the Depart
ment should not be blamed for failure
to establish the service over the rail
road. 1t appears to have escaped the
notice of the writer that the railway
is already handling all the mails from
Dothan to Compass Lake, distance
of As miles, and the paper mail from
Dothan to Panama City over the en-
tire line, and that it would be but an
extension of a service which has al
ready been established, presumably
under a contract, and which is being
carried out over the road from
Dothan to Compass Lake. And the
Government certainly has it in its
over to order an extension of ser
vice on an established route.
By postmarks on letters received
this week it would appear that &
little better time is now being made
bv the letter mail from Pensacola, the
record kept in this office showing
that letters are but four days on the
road, instead of from to S, as ha:
been the case lately. But that II
J should take the Government even toul
DAYS to get letter from Pensacol:
here. when one can leave there at