The daily sentinel., 1914-07-15
MEET TONIGHT
With CHAMBER
TO MAKE KICK
Manufacturers and Shippers TO
Urge Department TO Restore
Old Mail Route.
WILL BACK UP THE VERNALITES
n RESIDENT w. W. CAMPBELL
of the Western Slope Manufac-

n RESIDENT w. w. CAMPBELL,
of the Western Slope Manufac-
turers' association this morning
issued call for a special meeting OF
ms organization at the Chamber of
Commerce rooms tonight to take ac-
tion on the recent discontinuance of
the mail service over the Uintah rail-
way to the Uintah basin. Beside the
m@hufaaturers and the Chamber OF
commerce directors, all iobbers ana
clippers who have an extensive par
GELS post business in that part of
utah nave been particularly invit-
ed to attend the meeting.
While this city had commenced to
build up large wholesale business
in the Uintah section since the es-
tablishment Of the parcels post sys-
TEN, the lapse of the Uintah mail
contract has almost destroyed it.
Heretofore, Salt Lake could not com
pete with Grand Junction wholesal-
ers but since the mail has been sent
over the uncertain route by way of
Cotton the Zion City iobbers can meet
LEGAL distributors in both prices and
time OF delivery.
In many ways the Cotton route is
obnoxious both to Vernal people and
| local business men. The road is very
rough, lily taken care of and so un-
certain is the service that the stage
men who have been awarded the con-
tract insisted on clause giving them
I six days in which to deliver perish
| able parcels post packages into Yer
nal from Cotton. Cotton is fifty or
sixty miles west of Helper on the
Rio Grande and over 200 miles from
this city. The road into Vernal is
] l2i miles long, whereas from Wat
son, the terminus of the fUintnh, into
Vernal, is only 81 miles with excel
lent stage service and splendid roads.
Bid Was $4,000.
When the Uintah railways con-
tract for the mail service expired
Manager M. w. Cooley placed bid
of $4,000 for first and second class
mail and perishable parcels post
This bid was much in excess of the
old contract, due to the institution
OF the parcels post which has tre-
mendously increased the cost to the
transportation companies which han
die U. S. mail The postoffice de-
partment refused to accept the bid.
and, pending further arrangements,
discontinued the Uintah service and
started the long route from Cotton.
Messages from Sen. Reed Smoot
and Congressman Joseph Howell in
Washington state that the postoffice
department considers the bid of s12.-
600 excessive and that no new ad-
vertisement for bids will be made
unless there Is assurance that a ten
der of less than $4,000 will be,
made. Captain Cooley has emphatic
ally declared that his road cannot af-
ford to haul the mail for lesser
sum.
T. f. Woods. manager of the
wholesale department of the C. ID.
Smith Drug Co., stated this morning
that since he left the basin country
n week ago he had written n letter
every day to some department at
Washington urging a renewal of the
contract. Other jobbers have also
taken individual action but the meet
ing tonight will have the effect of
uniting the business interests of
Grand Junction behind the move
ment.
The dealers of Grand Junction ship
several hundred thousand dollars
worth of goods into that section an
nually. based on the consignments of
the last month, but the iobbing bus
mess of that section which is ma
turally tributary to Grand Junction
is only in its infancy.
Undoubtedly some definite line OF
action will be laid out this evening.