Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 39, Number 95, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 August 1907 — POSTOFFiCE CUTS PAY. [ARTICLE]

POSTOFFiCE CUTS PAY.

Petcraiueat Orders Reduction In . L Charge for Haaltng Mails A general order has betpb issued by tha Postoffice Department which- will result in reducing the compensation enjoyed fey the railroads for carrying the mails by at lenst annnn 1 ly.—la connection with the order it is hinted that there may be a scandal if all the facts which madft the' issuance of the order a necessity become known. The order in question affects several hundred mail routes in the country and is to the effect that on these routes the mail can be carried in smaller cars than the railroads ore using. It is therefore ordered .that a reduction either be made in the size of the cars the railroads choose to continue their use they will get paid for the size of cars actually needed. On the other hand, the railroads insist that' 1 it is the province of the Postoffice Department tp designate the cars which shall be used Ob ’the mail routes apd that the roads are now using such cars as were actually ordered by the department. Department officials admit that this is true, but insist that niore space is being paid for by the department than is actu-J ntty-needed in tbe -tran«}>ortatkm--<»f.-tba mails, but it is not stated whether this condition is -the result of poor judgment or otherwise. The new order is the result of the work of 125 private detectives which the Postoffiee Department placed on the work about six months ago. Their reports show that in hundreds of cases the government was paying for more space than is necessary and the l’ostmaster General therefore ordered a reduction. Besides the tegular compensation based upon tonnage which the raitroads receive for transporting the mails they also receive car mileage for ears over thirty feet in length. - . The Postoffice Department has decided to begin weighing the mail em ail routes in the country early iu 'October with a view of furnishing Congress with data asked for. In order to do so the government will have to provide thousands of additional scales.