The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1915-08-09

No Well. I'll tell you. John Smith
| is a wealthy and Influential farm
| er, living half mile from a rural
route. John uses MS influence and
igets an order requiring the rurll
carrier to go the half mile to his
gate, deposit and collect mail and re-
/ turn to the main road-a full mile of
extra travel. Eliminating &c such
half mile retraces is equivalent 10
eliminating an unnecessary rural
route and special privilege amount
ing to $500 year
Between April l and July 10 the
ireadjustment of the rural service ami
| inauguration OF motor vehicle ser
vice left $S21,754 for establishing
new routes. With part of this money
9S5 new routes have been PUT in OPP
Grafton. serving s5.74s additional
| families, or 43S,740 additional per-
sons"
What OF your fight with the rail-
roads,"
Il wouldn't call it a fight
ITO an innocent newspaper reader
lit looks
NO. it isn't a fight The ques-
ton of railway mail pay is purely ami
solely business question. to be d.
cided on its merits after thorough
shifting, deliheration and analysis
OF the facts. The department desires
to pay rate reasonably compensa-
tory to the railroads, taking into
consideration all of the conditions Of
modify OF commerce, and hence the
question of whether different yard
stick should be applied to them is
! debatable one. / have always held
4 that while the mails may not be a
commodity of commerce. transporta-
ton undoubtedly is; and that when
the postoffice needs transportation
lit should pay fair price for it.
However, the department is en-
Titled 10 the lowest rate consistent
with the business equities of tho
case High cost articles of com
merce which move in small volume
and in the exchange OF which
large margin OF profit is invoked
bear high transportation charges
The mails move in large volume
are easily handled, impose little RISK
ION the carrier and constitute tral-
fic into which the element OF profit
does not enter at all. To pay the
lroads more than a reasonable COM
pensation on the basis | have in
dicated would amount to leyying an
indirect tax upon the general public
i for the benefit of private interest.
"A painstaking and thorough in
over long period of time. The
tests of reasonableness have been
completed, both as TO the rates and
the methods of adjusting pay, and
THE results have fully justified the
postal authorities in resisting the
claims of the railroads.
"The government as shipper
OF parcel post, should not be re-
quired to pay more than is charged
other shippers for substantially the
same service. There have been
many instances where the railroads
have carried the same matter both
as express and as mail and have
charged almost double for it as
mail. Why should il cost the rail-
roads any more to haul a given
package because it carries the gov
eminent label? How does an ex-
press company's label reduce the ex-
pense to the railroad?'
There being no apparent answer
to this. the postmaster general was
asked what the next step would be.
Largely because of the opposi-
ton to the railway mail section. the
entire post Office appropriation bin
was defeated IN the senate last win
ter and the whole question went ov-
er TO the coming congress. he
said. Needless 10 say. | shall re
new my recommendation on the
subject. III the railroads arc sue
cessfnl IN their campaign for more
paw. n VIII seriously namper the