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Show OUR PUBLIC FORUM Ralph Peters jUPik On Railway Mall Pay m & A controversy has been raging In the columns of tho W u iB press between tho railroads and the Federal Post Offlco XgM ii, .W Dopartracnt over tho queBtlon of proper compensation r'i , ;7 for handling tho United States malls. Mr. Ilalph Peters. lJk J Chairman of tho Railway Mail Committee, when asked VS i to stato tho railroad Bide of tho controversy to tho V y'V American farmer, said In part: Kjy Ay "Tho railway mall pay question will bo Bottled and VWJB Bottled permanently and with Justice to all. concerned MsBBl ns soon as tho American peoplo rcallzo that tho wholo BfaBHflJi subject, while seemingly complicated and tochnlcal, bolls Bb KTMKK&W down to a few simplo points of fair business dealing , " which no ono need bo a rato expert to understand. "Tho first Is that tho Post Offlco Dopartmont weighs tho malls, and readjusts re-adjusts tho pay of tho rallroadB, only once In four years. This compels tho ralltoads to carry tho IncreaBO In tho mall tonnago during tho Intervening yenrs without pay manifestly an Injustice In tho caso of a rapidly growing 'business. Ono conscquonco hns been that last yoar tho railroads carried fully half tho parcel post for nothing. "A second point is this: In addition to carrying tho malls, tho railroads rail-roads aro required to operato many traveling post offices for sorting nnd distributing tho malls whilo In transit. But tho Post Offlco Dopartmont pays ifor euch post offices only whero thoy occupy wholo cars, and pays nothing In tho many cases In which It moroly requires tho uso of post office npart-ments npart-ments In combination cars, although such npartmonts differ from tho full railway post offlco cars only In slzo. Moro than 4,200 apartments of this character havo been fitted up, and are maintained for tho oxclustvo uso of tho Post Offlco Dopartmont. Falluro to pay for thom has been an especial 'hardship to tho smaller roads on which tho Department does not find It necessary to utilize wholo cars. "Ono last point: In thousands of Instances (though not In nil) tho Post Offlco Dopartmont requires tho railroads to carry tho malls back and forth botween railroad stations and post offices, but pays thom nothing for this extra servlco boyond tho rates covering tho rail transportation. Tho rail-toads rail-toads havo no cholco hut to perform this additional Bervlco gratis, or rcfuso to carry tho mulls at all. "Now for tho rcmcdlos tho railroads ask: They do not ask to havo tho malls weighed dally, or to havo each shipment weighed and paid for separately, sep-arately, as Is dono In tho caso of prlvato shippers. Thoy moroly ask to havo tho malls weighed, and tho pay ot tho railroads adjusted, at least onco a year, Instead of ondo In four years. Thoy also ask that apartment post olllce cars ho paid for, at reasonable rates, according to slzo. LnBtly, they ask that tho Post Offlco Department ccaso to rcqulro of them freo messenger servlco between stations and post offices, nnd either rellovo them of this sorvlco or pay fairly for It. These aro tho reforms tho railroads ask of Congress. Con-gress. Thoy gladly lay thoso reforms heforo tho public, confident that they will appeal to tho common senso and fairness ot American voters." |
