The Washington times., 1915-07-17
DEMAND
TENAA|LLONI0F u. 5.
Seven New England Lines
AIIege eHeayy Loss on Mail
Carrying Contracts.
(Continuetl from First Page)

CContinueji from First Page)
whole Increase 4 and increasing amount
of mail during the subsequent four-year
for, and that had they been weighed
annually thsy would have been paid
more money. This is held to have been
lllegsl, inasI much as the annual compeu-
sation was by law fixed according to
the amou mt of mail carried per an
num-"
1t is as ,erted by the railroads that
they' repg ltedly requested and demand
ed OF the Postmaster General that the
mails cs rried be weighed annually or
thatAthe' weights be taken ut the begin
nlhgf an end of the four-Year period
and kay eraged. but that such demands
WereF'J gnored and refused
increases In Weights.
Ffsv res are given in each petition
sho w ng the increases in the weights
rec pu ded at successive four-year weigh
inRs and 1t Is asserted the increases
shorvn were regular, gradual. and nor
ma and that this increas sing amount
Off mail they were compelled to carry
Through the four years intervening be-
t sreen weigmngs without any compensa-
I Jon whatever.
! One of the main contentious is that
the vast amount of parcel post mail
carried has never been included in any
weighing. Furthermore, 1t is claim ed.
the raising of the weight limit pack
ages by the Postmaster General, on
July 25 and December IS, 1913 has
enormously increased the amount of,this
mail, WIKI h has been carried at 'enor-
nous EXPENSE" but without anN ade-
quate compensation.
1t is further claimed that even prior
to reducu ons in the rate of payjper mile
the last of which occurred in. 1907. the
total compensation paid has been IN
suff1cient to pay the cost of Htmnspor-
tatton furnished.
Reasons For Burders.
Regardin ing the acts of the Postmaster
generality which they allef,e that their
ourdens have been increa sed, the rail-
ROADS a lege Mat not onlyfhas he made
more eforbieant demands for a more
extensive use OF terminal facilities and
switching conveniences. but he has
pretended to exercise IAN arbitrary. dis
eliminating, and unfounded discretion
constantly against the legal rights and
CONTRACT interests of the carriers: he
mas from time to- time during the ex-
istence OF outstanding quadrennjal
contracts made large additions thereto
and increased requirements therein: he
mas refused to pay the statutory rates
for carrying the mails during contract
periods stated by him; he has at
sarious' VARIOUS times ordered apartment and
struction, design, nd equipment and
entered into contracts for their use for
deTnlte periods. arid then refused to
pay the rates stated in the contracts,
which were unren tunerative and con-
hscatory; he has made greater and
more expensive d. .mands as to rooms
IN stations for he hdling the mails: he
IN the handling nd the disposition of
me mails at the several stations along
the 7ifnes of railr ,ad, and in the trans.
portation ntinno Of III. mails between the
sba,,ons sban night and the, postofftces not more
quired the hauling of vast amounts Of
gold coin as mall Of the fourth class
IN violation of law and without COM
pensation 10 I he carriers; he has re-
quired the car rying of mail on limited
trains, and has burdened the service
with onerous fines forfeitures, and in
crea sing aCfions.'
All of thes innovations and require
ments, the railroads state, have greatly
increased u,e cost of/the mail service
ana the expenditures of the railroads.
but for all of which no increased
compensat ION has been given or Of
fered and4 for which, no adequate com
,pensatlon has been paid"
Raised Weight Limit.
Another charge made against the
Postmaster Gener al is that without
any warrant or authority in law he
raised the weight limit of the parcel
post packages Ry his executive orders
of July q. 19f& and December IS, 1913,
the latter order bringing it up to fifty
pounds in thei first and second zones,
"and thereby i 1vited and permitted the
shipping of v asst quantities Of mer-
chands2. farm. mine. and factory
products. and materials of all kinds
which theretof ore had been shipped BY
freight or exp ress, all without any ade-