Evening journal., 1915-11-01
A WARRANTED PROTEST.

A HARMED by Postmaster-General Burlesons an
nouncement that the Moon Railway Mail Pay
bill defeated the last session OF Congress- will be
rentroduced when the Congress opens in Decem-
bor and will be pushed for speedy passage the Com
Ioittee on Railway Mail Pay. representing railroads
operating ninety per cent OF the entire mileage in the
United States. quite properly has framed protest to
Congress and to the public against renewal of such
legislative Efforts
Under the terms OF the Moon BILL the Postmaster
would be authorized establish the space
plan" Of payment for mail transportation by which a
railroad company would be paid more for hauling
whole carload Of nail thar for partial carload
In their protest against this measure the railroads
point that the Moon bill would empower the Post
master-Genera who is interested in the reduction OF
the postal deficit to make the rates for carrying the
mails. with the sole limitation that he could not
ceed certain He could reduce the rates to any
extent he might desire with no restraint but his per-
sona discretion
The bill would compel every railroad to carry
the mails at the named by the Postmaster Cen
era under penalty Of $4,000 per day for each refusal
The railroads contend that the highest rates
permitted by the bill would be unjustly low, because
they would be less than the revenues from passenger
transportation. which the Interstate Commerce Com
mission has decided to be unremuneratiye.
II is also claimed by the railroads that the Moon
bill is really delegation Of legislative power to the
Posmaster-Gener that It would vest him with ex-
cessive powers and that Il would bring the railway mail
pay problem into politics
The railroads contend that the problem ought TO be
settled on a business basis and kept out Of politics.
In the railroads protest the Moon bill is analysed
paragraph by paragraph. Il is shown that from Nend
TO end tho measure does not specify single definite
rate that tho railroads 10 be paid but in each in
the determination Of the rate to the Post
master-General.
II is shown. also that supplementary grants OF pow
er conferred by Of the closing paragraphs of the
br would permit the Postmaster General, Of his own
notion TO establish other systems Of mail transporta
ton on railroads and schemes Of payment the same,
totally different from the detailed plan which the Moon
bill purpors 10 enact into law. The Postmaster-Gen-
eral could initiate these plans and put them into affect
entirely independently OF the will OF Congress and
make them apply all but class mail less than
10 per cent of the whole.
The railroads direct attention TO the fact that Chair
man Moon Of the House Representatives Post Office
Committee. in asking support for this de-
clared II to he the proposal OF the Post Office Depart
ment In other words. IL will be administration
measure designed put the railroads at the mercy of
the Postmaster General and to enable him to the
treasures Of those companies to make financial
show n for his department that he could not
Il not for the present and prospective il-treament Of
the railroads in the matter Of transporting the mails,
particularly the parcel post matter.
The protest OF the railroads is both warranted and
timely. II should be received with sympathy by the
American public.