The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-12-11

lwere held by the commission during the summer, at which the officers of the Department presented data In l support of their contention as to the great loss incurred in handling sec- Ond-claSs mail and submitted recOm- mendations for a gradual equaliza- l tlOn of postage rates on the basis of cost. AS the first step in that di- rection the Department suggested that the postage rate on second class mail
 be increased 1 cent a pound, thus
 making flat rate of 2 cents a pound,
 which charge should be regarded as
 merely tentative, however, leaving for future determination such addi- t1onal increase as may be found
 necessary to meet the cost. It is
 hoped that the c9mmission will look
 with favor on this recommendation and that legislation providing for it's | adoption will be enacted by Congress. 1 The Franking Privilege.
 In the last annual report it was
 recommeded that the franking .privi-
 lege be discontinued and that legisla-
 tive authority be granted for the use
 of special envelopes and stamps in
 the free transmission of official mail,
 nished on requisition through the
 agency of the Post Office Depart
 ment It is. to be hoped that favor | able action on this mmendation
 will be taken at the coming session.
 The desirability of the plan has been demonstrated by its application to
 the postal savings system. Every let
 ter and package mailed in conduct | ing the business of the system has been required to carry postage suffi- cient for its weight and class, Thus 1 it has been possible to ascertain the 1 ernment for postage in this new
 branch of the postal service. A simi- lar. opportunity to determine the rfoper postage charges against other
 branches of the Government estab- lishment ought to be afforded. By gress can aid in a substantial way the efforts of the Department to render still more accurate its system of accounting. The importance of such reform is apparent when it is understood that the annual cost of the millions.
 Among the measures adopted by the Department during the year that will materially reduce the annual cost of carrying second-class mail is that of shipping monthly and semi monthly periodicals by fast freight. The plan is being put into successful operation without serious inconveni- 
 will not only result in a large saving to the Government by utilizing less expensive method of shipment, but what is still more important to the business interests of the country it will insure quicker handling of first railway post office cars the heavy periodical matter formerly sorted en route a more rapid distribution of letters is made possible. Thus the new method of shipping certain pe- riodicals will mean greater efficiency in the handling of a class of mail that is far more important to the public. The saving from the new plan when in full operation will amount to several million dollars a year.
 Readjustment of Railway Mail Pay.
 Another problem of great conse- quence to the postal service that should be acted on by Congress dur ing the coming session is the com pensation of the railways for carry
 ing the mails. During. the year the Department completed the investiga- ton begun early in the administra- ton with the object of determining
 what it costs the railways to perform this service, and the report of the inquiry was submitted to Congress on the 12th of August last. The statis tics obtained during the course of the investigation disclosed for the first time the cost of carrying mail in passengers and express. They also showed the relationship of the cost of mail transportation to the revenue derived by the railways from this service. It appeared that while many of the railways, and particularly the from mail transportation, certain of the lines were actually carrying the mails at loss. As a result of the inquiry the importance of making some change in the method of fixing railway mail pay became apparent, subject careful consideration, decid- ed to urge the abandonment alto gether of the present plan of fixing such compensation on the basis of the weight of the mails carried, plan that has proved to be exceeding ly expensive and in other respects un- satisfactory. In substitution for this method the Department recommend ed plan by which the compensation should be determined on the basis of the amount of space required in cars for handling of the mails, making proper allowances of course for the extent and frequency of the service performed. The new plan, if author ized by Congress, will require the railway companies each year to re- port exactly what it costs them to carry the mails, this cost to be -ap-a portfoned on the basis <of the car space provided. and payment to be allowed at the rate thus determinAd in amounts that will cover the cost and $ per cent profit. Should rail-. way be dissatisfied with. the manner in which the Department apportions the cost in fixing compensation, ;ta will have an. opportunity, under the proposed plan, to appeal, to the In terstate Commerce Commission. If Cor ?ress gives the recommendation of the Department in this regard its IaVofanie consideration and author 1zei readjustment of railway, mail Day Tn the manner suggested, 1t is believed that the resulting. saving to the Government will amount annually to about $9, ,o00,O00
 Reorganization of the Railway Mail Service
 Following the inquiry into the cost of transporting mail on the railroads the Department started thorough investigation of the railway mail ser vice. In certain branches of that ser vice most unsatisfactory conditions were disclosed as the result of inefs' ,hc1ent management. It was found that in some divisions the chief clerks had not inspected their lines for sev- ,eral years. Employees on certain lines were compelled to work exceptionally long hours, while in other parts of the service sufficient period of train duty was not required. In many in- stances the sanitary condition of the cars had been neglected and the