The Monmouth inquirer., 1926-04-22
QUE EARLY MAIL sERvIcE
As Much as 500 an Hour Paid for
Carrying the Presidents Message.


time pretty expensive article to the
country. In 1889, for instance, the
postmaster at Philadelphia was made
the agent for its forwarding, and was
instructed to have it sent from Phila-
delphia to New York in five hours for
$500. ~ ~ s4sps<sssssSss
In December, 1889, contract was
arranged between the Post Office De-
partment and the Franklin Railroad
Company to carry the mails from
Chambersburg, Pa, to Hagerstown,
Nd, there and back at a speed not
less than seven miles an hour and
for the compensation of $4,000 per
annum.
About this time a controversy
arose between the Department and
the railroad companies on the ques-
ton of compensation, and, according
to the Railroad Employee, tho POST
master-General became so dissatisfied
with the terms offered by the railroad
companies that he said Let us go
back to the stage coach"
However, agreement was finally
made to pay the New Jersey Railroad
Company (the present Pennsylvania
Railroad Company to carry the mails
from New York along their lines 500
! a mile per annum for one mail and
| 5000 a mile per annum for two mails
daily east and west.
Though this rate was higher than
Jc l,n
mastsr-General, despite his declara-
ton, seems to have accepted it, mas
much as he laid stress on the fact
that "the great mail is between New
York and Washington and vice versa"
| About 1910 the Postmaster General
makes mention in his report that the
mail from New York to Washington
sis detained six hours in Phila-
! delphia," and to overcome this he is
! sued an order to pay the railroad
company $500 per mile, maximum
rate. to facilitate delivery Of the mail.
| The railroad company declined this
| offer. To satisfy himself as to what a
reasonable rate should be for the
| transportation Of the mail, the Post
| master-G General sent special agent of
the Department to Europe to investi-
gate the whole subject Of the cost Of
| transportation of the mails in Eng
land.
/ On the return of this special agent
| from Europe he made many recon-
mendations, but there does not appear
to be any mention made as to what he
had to say in reference to the compen-
sation to be paid the railroads for this
| class of service. He did, however,
bring out the fact that in England
can ingenious machine was attached
! to the mail cars intended to catch
and drop the mail at the same time
at places where the train would not
otherwise be obliged to stop" He
goes on to say: Il have seen this sue
cessfully done at a high speed of
thirty miles an hour" In our day we
do this same thing at sixty miles an
hour.
The question of compensation to be
paid for carrying the mails became
| heated one anc long drawn out. 1t
| extended, it might be said, from the
time the mails were first carried on
the railroads until 1873, when it was
| finally settled. Legislation was pass
/ ed in that year, and the basis of pay
established between the Post Office
Department and the railroad COM
panies was but slight modification
of what obtains to-day; but prior to
! this the question became so bitter
| that the Postmaster-Genera in 1912
made recommendation to Congress adj
] yocating. the purchase of perpetual
4, rights tc control the business of the
railroad companies.
The same year another report of
| the Postmaster-G General stated that
| the country was to be congratulated
upon the regularity of the service,
considering the vast machinery of
the Post Office, its detail and minute
application and the character of the
roads over which the mails are trans
| ported at an immense expense" Then
| the mail was transported over 5000
| miles of railway at a cost of little
| more than 100000; to-day the mails
are carried over PIT lis miles of rail-
way the whole cost, emitting the
salaries paid employees OF the rail-
way mail service, amounts to 2,000,-
600. Thus it is obvious that though
the tonnage Of 1912 is not comparable
with that of to-day, likewise the
| mileage, the rate is far less to the De-
partment than it was in the period
| referred to.
In 1S4S the Postmaster-Ge General
stated that he noticed "a great de-
cline in the revenue of the Depart
ment," and in looking for the reasons
and causes of this falling off in rev.
enue it was found that numerous
| private express companies had come
into existence, extending themselves
| over the railroads between the i'm
portant cities and towns "at which
the railroad companies pass and ter
inmate"
These nrivata EXPRESS companies