The Springfield herald., 1916-08-25
the SPRINGFIELD
ST0hIN6TON MAIL LINE.

ST0hlNGT0N MAIL LINE.
In connection with the affida.
Wit concerning the Springfield
Stonington-W Wentworth mail line
published last week, the follow
ing letter was also sent TO the
department:
To the Fourth Postmaster Gen.
eral, Washington, D. G.
Ny Dear Sir
l am in receipt of your let
ter to Hon. Edward Keating,
bearing date of the 9Th inst, and
am making an affidavit touching
the charges of the inspector re-
ferred to in said letter, and wish
to further comment on the SUBJ
ject matter of your letter in
which you indirectly dismiss the
request of the good people who
have humbly petitioned you for
a redress of their grievances.
1 must say that it seems
strange that the department
should force mail line on those
people that is distasteful to them,
and against their vehement pro.
test, and especially where the
matter of delivery is inconse-
quential as to difference in cost,
ard where if there is any differ
erence it is in favor of the form
er route.
The affidavit gives you a clue
as to the kind of information the
department has been furnished
with by the inspector; and just
why the inspector should want
TO nisrepresent the facts that
the department sends him over
the line to get is a mystery with
in itself.
Other things being equal, it
strikes us that it is enough to
know that those people want the
old line re-established, as it could
hardly be charged that such a
union of sentiment could be bas-
ed on a mere whim or caprice.
And it doesn't seem just to those
people to turn them down on the
report of a single individual
against the wishes of every man
/ and woman getting mail on the
line.
l wish here to refer to an item
in the report of the inspector
that 1 could not include in theaf-
fidavit. as it covers a fact ofmor-
al kowledge, and not legal one
that of many signing the petit
tion under the belief that the
former contractor would be re-
instased. While there may have
been some who had this impress
sion, there was not one whosign-
ed it simply for that reason, any
more than simply for the reason
that their papers could not get to
them till a week after publica-
ton. As an evidence of the
matter of the contractor, not one
of them but that knew when he
signed the last petition that the
contract would have to be re-let;
and this is simply another in-
stance in which the department
was given a Misrepresentation of
the facts, to which the incidence
gave the appearance of PLAUSIBLE
ity.
In the matter of mileage, the
department has cut off the dis
tance from Villas to StoninRton-
about twenty miles, and has add
ed the distance from Plains to
Stonington, about thirty miles,
so there has been at least moth
ing saved in this direction as to
the Springfield, StoninRton route,
while the change has forced a
thickly populated region from
Villas to Stonington to go to town
after their mail, some of them as
far as ten or twelve miles.
AS to changing the day ofpub-
lication, of course they want
their papers the same week pub
lished, but after that was done
there would still be something
like 200 people that would still
be dissatisfied with the change
from the old route, and would be
just as anxious to get their old
service back as they are now.
The facts are that the last petit