Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-06-20
Mistellaneous 8eadina.
RAILWAY MAIL SERVICE.
Short Study of Economic Question
of Great Importance.

Of Great Importance.
For The Yorkville Enquirer:
The United States mail service
touches more intimately the affairs of
the people than any other single pub
lie utility. There is not even a week
old baby who may not, in some more
or less important way, be directly con-
cerned in the movement Of the mails.
There is not single business of any
character which does not depend to
some extent upon the mails.
The handling of the mails is of vital
concern to all the people of the United
States, and therefore, has a peculiar
value in any study of railway opera
tion.
From the days of a six weeks jour-
ney of your letter to your mother, wife
or friend, sent from the wilds Of pion-
eer Kentucky to Virginia one hundred
years ago, to a twelve hours transmits
sion of your mails from the Mississip-
pi river cities to the Atlantic cities in
1911 is a far cry. In his novel, "The
Heart of Midlothian" Scott spoke
ger coaches from Edinburg to Lon
don In five days." a distance Of about
$40 miles What would have been his
thought had he foreseen that now one
of his books can be mailed in New
York on Saturday and delivered in
San Francisco the next Friday, MAX
ing Journey Of about 5000 miles?
We have grown quite accustomed to
modern rapid transportation, but 1t is
none the less wonderful when viewed
from periods of past time.
The evolution Of fast trains, at a
heavy cost, has given US the fast mail,
and of course, the more rapid transac-
tion of business. But Notwithstanding
the fact that the postoffice department
can now deliver the mails in half the
time required only a few short years
ago, the amount it pays for their trans
mission is growing less. In 1910 1t
paid the railroads $252,760 less than.
was paid in 1907 in spite of the enor-
nous increase of the volume Of mail
transported. According to reports Of
the postoffice department, this Increase
would have cost 1t over $10,000,000 to
handle had the rate of pay allowed
the railroads been the same as that al
lowed down to 1907 and which was
then found to be fair by a congress
sional commission Of investigation.
Your mail in handled by the rail-
roads to the postoffice doors on their
lines. They carry $500 apartment
mail cars and all the railway mail
clerks free, both while on their runs
and while returning to their homes.
This all costs the railroads money, and
we have seen, the cost must come from
a decreasing revenue from the service
rendered. 1t Is, therefore, a proper
subject for consideration In these stu
dies.
Since absolute fairness is, in the last
analysis, the only safe basis OF gov
ernment and business, (they ought to
be interchangeable terms), 1t compels
us to admit that compensation for any
service should be proportioned to Its
character. BY this rule the railroads
should be paid on the basis of improv-
ed service. If the volume of such busi-
ness increases and If such increase
operated to reduce the rate of handling
cost, 1t cannot, In equity, be made the
ground of lowered compensation. In
other words, the postoffice department
cannot fairly penalize the carriers OF
mail because the mails are growing
heavier w. d. Roberts