Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-04-03
Ten Words or less Ten Cents
RAILROADS AND
MAIL SERVICE
P. R. r. Issues a Statement
on the Subject.

The Pennsylvania railroad has is
sued a statement regarding the pay
received from the government for
carrying the mail. A comparison IS
made with the income from freight
and passenger traffic. The state
ment is as follows:
According to statistics just COM
piled by the Railway Mail Committee
from reports submitted on forms pre-
scfjbed by the Post Office Department
by 1877 railways, opertting 178,710
miles on which there are 2,411 mail
routes, the railways of the United
States not only receive less compen-
sation for handling the mails than
they receive for handling express,
but in proportion to the cost in
Cured by the roads and the value of
the service rendered by them the
compensation they receive for hand
ling the mails is less than that re-
ceived for any other service.
For the year ending June 80,
1909, the average earnings per pas
senger train mile was $1.27, while
the average freight train mile was
$2.76. The average passenger train
is 500 feet long and if it carried mail
only in all it's cars 1t would earn
only 81 cents per mile. The rail-
ways receive less from mail than
from either express or passenger
the other services rendered by pas
senger trains-while the total from
the three is less than half of that re-
ceiyed from freight. These figures
are based on thea mount the rail-
ways received for hauling one foot
of car space Il mile in the trans
portation of passengers, mail and ex-
press. In November, 1909, the rail-
ways hauled 1,153,110,245 feet of
car space n mile in the transport
tation of mail, for which they re-
ceived 3,721,796.00; 1,32O,1O8,589
feet n mile in the transportation Of
express for $5,075,222.00 and 9,902,-
feet n mile in the trans
.portation of passengers for $~43,73S,-
The average revenue per
one thousand foot miles-equiyalent
to hauling a train of twenty so it.
cars one mile-was therefore as fol-
lows: Mail, 1928; express, $3.50;
passengers, SAP, the roads receiv-
ing 19 per cent more per foot mile
for hauling express and 81 per cent
more for hauling passengers than
they received for hauling the mails.
This method of comparison was
used as the railroads claim it is man
ifestly unfair to compare the rate per
ton on mail and express since under
the regulations and orders of the
Post Office Department railway
postal cars are limited to an average
capacity of about three tons, while
express cars carry from 20 to 80
tons. The Post Office Department
requires the railways to haul 20
tons Of cars for each ton of mail,
while the express companies comply
with the demands of the railways
that express matter shall be econom-
ically loaded.
In addition, the railways compa-
MES carry the mails between stations
and post Offices at s~iX-seyenths of the
mail stops. This service the Post
General has estimated would
cost the Department $4,093,000.00
annually If rendered by it. No such
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 ST.
100000 of free transportation to
various postal officials. All these
persons have the legal status of pas
sengers and the railways are re-
quire dto pay damages in case Of In
jury. The express companies as
sumo all such liability for their en-
The railroads receive pay
for every pound of express they haul
but under the system of weighing
the mails only once in four years,
the roads get no compensation for
the carriage Of the increase during
this period, averaging 6 per cent or
about $4,000, 600 worth of service
per year.
From 1907 to 1910 the expenses
Of the Post Office Department in
creahed about $40,000,000, but the
railroads, though they handled %
per cent more mail, received $685.
76O less in 1870 than In 1907.
DEATH NOTICE.
COLLOW-Francis CollOw, died March
90, 1911, aged s years and 7 months.
Beloved son Of Thomas and Mary
Of $50 Goodwin ST., Perth Am
boy, N. j.
May his soul rest in peace, Amenl
(Brooklyn, N. Y. papers please copy.)
ADVERTISED LETTERS.
Domestic.
M. F. NJ, Martin, G. CrOustopaulO,