The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1911-04-14
THE II. X. MAIL HAUL.
A analysis of Postoffice Returns Gov
ering Railway Service Show
Interesting Comparisons


Interesting Comparisons.
According to statistics just COM
piled by the railway mail committee
from reports submitted on forms
prescribed by the postoffice depart
ment by 1877 railways. operating
17S,710 miles, on which there are
2411 mail routes the railways OF
the United States not only receive
less compensation for handling the
mails than they receive for handling
express, but in proportion to the
cost incurred by the roads and the
value of the service rendered by
them the compensation they receive
for handling the mails in less than
that received for any othr service.
For the year ending June 80
1909, the average earning per pas
senger train mile was 1927, while
the average per freight train mile
was $276. The average passenger
train is 800 feet long. and if it car
ried mail only in all its cars it
would earn only 81 cents per mile.
The railways receive less from mail
| than from either express or passen-
! gers-the other services rendered
| by passenger trains-while the total
| from the three is less than half of
that received from freight. These
figures are based on the amount the
railways received for hauling one
foot of car space one mile in the
trans portation of passengers mail
and express.
In November, 1900, the railways
hauled 1,153,110,245 feet of car
space one mile in the transportation
of mail for which they received So
721,796,; 1,320,10S,5S9 feet ! mile
in the transportation of express for
$5,075,222 and 2,370.150 feet
one mile in the transportation of
passengers for $43,73S,723 The av-
erage revenue per 1000 foot miles
equivalent to hauling train Of
twenty fifty-foot cars one mile
was therefore as follows: Mail
$3.23; express, $3.50; passengers,
S432. the roads receiving 10 per
cent more per foot mile for hauling
express, and 81 per cent more for
| hauling passengers than they re-
ceived for hauling the mails.
This method of comparison was
used, as the railroads claim it is
manifestly unfair to compare the
rate per ton on mail and express,
since under the regulations and or
| ders of the postoffice department
railway postal cars are limited to an
average capacity Of about three tons,
while express cars carry from TWEEN
ty to thirty tons The postoffice de-
partment requires the railroads to
haul twenty-five tons of ear for each
ton Of mail. while the express com
panies comply with the demands OF
the railways that express matter
1 shall be economically loaded
In addition the railway compan-
les carry the mails between stations
and postoffices at six-seyenths Of the
master general has estimated would
cost the department $4,0g3. 600 an
nually if rendered by it, No such
service is rendered the express com
panies. Postal clerks are carried free
while on duty, and between the ends
Of their lines and their homes and
the roads furnish annually 81 900
600 Of free transportation to various
postal officials All these persons
have the legal status of passengers
and the railways are required to
pay damages in case of injury. The
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