The Detroit times., 1914-08-10
BEAKES SPEAKS
FOR REFORM in
POSTAL SERVICE
Advocates General Readjust-
ment in Paying Railroads
For Service
COSTS MORE TO CARRY
MAIL THAN TO PAY MEN
Scouts Insistence of Railroad
Experts That Moon Bill
Means Loss

WASHINGTON, Aug. S.-"For the
!, first time the government is about TO
put its compensation for mali trans
portation upon scientific basis. For
over 20 years efforts nave been made
to get On better basis for transpor-
tation OF mails. Commission after
| commission has worked on the prob
lem. Committee after committee has
discussed II. II remains for the six
ty-third congress, the greatest con-
structive congress OF the century to
complete the work
Rep. Samuel w. Beakes In care
fully prepared speech used these
words In advocating the Moon bill
providing Tor general readjustment
In methods OF paying railroads for
carrying mails. The second districts
congressman recalled his observa-
tons made when he was postmaster
or Ann Arbor during the last Cleve-
land administration. He mentioned
passing through one experience In
weighing the mails during the Nc
kfnley administration, when he heard
much from postal employees which left
an indelible impression upon his
mind as to the wrong methods used
IL or 20 years ago.
AT that time" said the Michigan
congressman, besides hiring the
railway mail cars, the government
was paying more to the railroads for
transporting the mail in these cars
which they had already rented than
the combined salaries of all the post
masters In the United States, all the
railway mail clerks and all the clerks
In the postoffices Of the country. In
i other words, 1t was costing the gov
eminent more for merely transport
ing mail In trains which were going
over the road anyway. than II was
costing to pay the men who as
sembled this mail piece by piece.
who tied 1t up, put It in pouches or
sacks. redistributed II. often many
times, and also the men who sold
the stamps, and who handed 1t out
piece by piece to the people.
Now, years later, as congress
man and a member Of the commit
tee on postoffices and post roads,
charged with the duty OF investigat-
| ing the subject Iof railway mail pay,
| find the railroads claiming that
they are underpaid because the rail-
way mail pay does not now use up
as large a percentage OF the mail
revenue as 1t did 20 years ago. Now
the railroads ask for continuance
OF the present method Of payment at
an increased rate, and fight the
method OF payment advocated in this
bill because they claim that they do
not know that they will get an in
creased revenue under Ii. And each
member of this house has been del
uged with literature, much OF which
attacks your committee on postoffices
and post roads for daring to present
for your consideration q bill based
upon what we conceive to be more
scientific lines than the present sys-
TEN. And their chief Indictment
against us Is that we did not call
them before our committee for hear
ings upon the subject But joint
committee on postage on second
class matter and compensation for
the transportation OF the mails was
appointed by the senate and the
house In August, 1912, and that COM
mittee had extensive hearings of the
railroads, which came down as late
as April of this year, and these hear
ings In twelve volumes were before
us.
After reading what the railroad
representatives had to say In these
twelve volumes of hearings, for
one, am pretty firmly Of the opinion
that unless the railroads employed a
far different set of experts the sum OF
our knowledge would be but little
increased we're we to go into such
extensive hearings that this present
congress could not consider any bill
upon this subject The sum total of
the railroad demands can be compre-
hended In the general statement that
they want more pay. THE fact is
that the railroads have never figured
out the cost to their own satisfaction
or to that OF anybody else. There
never was but one bone fide attempt
to figure out the cost, and that was
made by the Postoffice Department,
which gathered figures from the rail-
roads on the operation OF the mails
| for November OF the year 1909, and
deduced from these figures that the
railroads were overpaid at that time
100000 year. This was publish
ed In a document well known as
Document No. los. and great share
of the hearings before the Joint Com
mission OF the senate and house was
taken up by fierce attacks on this
document. Yet the railroads, while
A - -