Ogden Daily Standard | 1915-04-08 | Page 1 | Brief Filed on Railroad Cases

oo BRIEF FILED ON RAILROAD CASES Suit Involves Right of Postmaster Post-master General to Change Method of Adjusting Railway Rail-way Mail Pay. Washingi on. April B. The govern merit's brief was filed today in tbe supreme court bj Assistant Attorney General Hu6ton Thompson in the so called rallwa) mall pay cases, which Involve J.'i." iMHMifMi and affect eight hundred railroads. The cases involve the right of the postmaster general to change the method in adjusting railway mail pay. Previous to 1 0 " 7 mail was paid lor an nnally on the basi of an estimate made hy actual weighing for 105 days ;nd dividing the totals by ninet This was known as the six-day di visor. After July I, 1907 the whole number of days was used aa a divisor and thi:- became known as the seven-day seven-day divisor The effect was to reduce re-duce the aggregate compensation of the railroads about one-seventh. In the brief filed today the government govern-ment maintains that the only restrictions restric-tions placed upon the postmaster general gen-eral by statute were that he must keep within a maximum compensation and must weigh the mails for a p irloO of not less than ninety days Otherwise Other-wise he was at liberty to exercise his discretion It argues also that tho railroads, having carried mail under the order of the postmaster general, substituting the latter method of weighing, cannot now recover dam ages. The circuit court decided in favor of the government but the roads Li I' J" aled.