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About The Nebraska independent. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1896-1902 | View Entire Issue (May 20, 1897)
- y u- Till 1 The Wealth Makers and Lincoln Independent Consolidated. VOL. VIII. LINCOLN, NEBR., THURSDAY May 2o 1897. NO. 53. Wm THE 0NLU0L0TI0N. The Government" Should Own and Operate Telegraph and Tele phone Instruments. WESTERN UNION'S FOWEH. Waltei Clark of N, C. Shows How the People Would be Benefitted. Hie ("out lu hwitierlaiiil. The following very interesting nnd in structive article concerning the govern ment ownership and operation of the telegraph aud telephone system was written by Walter Clark of Raleigh, N. (."., and published in the May uumber of the Typographical .Journal, . -He nays: The present Western Union Telegraph Company has a noraiual capital stock of $120;000,000 on which regular dividends of six and eight per centarepaid, besides $100,000 salary to its president and other salaries to its other high officials. Yet tbe stock holders of that company have never paid in cash to its treasury ' but 1440,000., The other f 119,560, iK)0 (or as much of it as is not water) has been created by exorbitant rates. This has been raked out of the public by high rate, in addition to its annual dividends on its watered capital, high salaries to high officials and lobbying expenses and franks to public officials. The plant of the Western . Union is esti mated to be really worth $20,000,000 ho an eight per cent dividendon its nom inal capital of six tiroes that amount is in truth forty-eight per cent. 4. firm in New York offered the government a few years since, to put up a thoroughly equipped line for f 35,000,000, fiot only to the 21,000 select points the Western Union now operates, but to each of the 75,000 postoffices throughout the union. As every postmaster could use the tele phone, probably that instrument could J be put in a t each of the 75,000 post f Offices using the telegraph in addition, at 16,000 of the postoffices, to forward !long distancemessages. With the vastly ? increased number of messages would fol low low rates, and the extension of the service to every postonce, experts ex press the opinioti that a -uniform five cent rate for ten body words, between Any two points in the . union, would be profitable to the government. In Eng land when the telegraph passed from private hands to that of the government with a reduction of rates to twelve cents to every twenty words, the messages promptly increased thirty fold in num ber. Other countries had similar exper ience, the incri-aee in the number of social messages being simply marvel ous. Another great objection to the present system is that while the higher officials are, like the railroad officials, paid enor mous sums which they cannot and do not earn, the vast mass ' of operatives are screwed down to Wie lowest possible figure, and are in constant danger of losing their places. This would be other wise were the telegraph and telephone operated under the postoffico depart ment. The high officials would not, as now all speedily become millionaires, and the men who do the work would receive reasonable salaries and would have, like other postoffico officials some stability of tenure. The object of gov ernment in operating telegraph and tele phone service will not be to exort big rates, to pay great salaries and divi dends on a sixfold watered stock, but to operate this department of the postal service, as it does the others, upon fair salaries to men and officers and at as near cost as possible. No profits are . desired. Then, too, instead of restrict T ingiiself to 21, 000 selected points, the government would utilize the 715,000 .oostoffioes and steadily increase their Vipber. The increased busiuess would 4 tly increase the pay of country post h Vrs, now inadequate, while by 1h9 tei Sones beinir placed in the nosh. offijee, the rents now paid for offices by the private companies would be a dear saving to the government. It has been objected by the Western Union lobbyists that the telegraph and telephone systems could then be con trolled for partisan purposes. Out we know that the postolfiee officials in the latcuutpnign wire not so controlled, while capitalistic pressure was brouxbt to bear as fur n poasiblo upon nearly every t-legrspb operator who could be reached. There is every reason to h. lievsthnt, under government control, message would be more sacred than under the prmeot system. At to tele- phoor Inr private tu, the government rents lint id r year, ud rvnit In I'arsgtin, 't f 12 jnr annum. Q Hat it may be akd why the govern ment has not bwHi asked to tube this ltp, when all other s-overument have adopted eitwtrk'Uy as n motif poeer is thir pototfU eeottomy. Th telegraph in this eouofy ori-iallv IMMtT) belonged to the raUiftlH and when, kroin mistaken notions of iwaiim.v. Ponnrm ptrmittnl It to to (t l'Wl band, Hry Clay, H jrrt VVhijtW-s.W, an I tav Johnos, the democrats piiotitntiti-r n rl, I MMmtlf proliuM Rftt i;.rlf foretold thm etti that km toll tiptid atfeiitj t t rtor 1 111 M- ' mettti t Um pmlnfflffli hW twtl uisJ, mi t orinl h leading iui a of wll parti, Jii.f'u.li Ate uttr ir'. No Kwt ttsn elt run-. gressional committees have from time to time reported upon .hills restoring the telegraph to the postoffiee.of these six teen have reported in favor of it, one report was non-committal and one slightly adverse. The telegraph mono poly, which finds its revenue better than a gold mine, has always sought for delay, and by its powerful lobby at Washington, its lavish issue of franks to congressmen and other public officials, and its influence over the daily press, to which it furnishes telegraphic news, has alway so fur prevented a roll call on the measure. They will continue to do so as long as possible, There can be no doubt that if the measure could come to a vote, public opinion could force a re sult in the interest of the people. In 1808, indeed, the Western union was virtually whipped, and prom ised to surrender if given two years to wind ' up, and the net was passed which was still on the statute book, that all telegraph lines built after that date should be built with the notice that the government could at will take them over, upon on appraise ment of the value of the plantwithout franchise being allowed for. But by the next cougress the Western Union was strong enough to prevent a vote, and has been so at every congress since. Boards of trade in Boston, New York Chicago and other leading cities, have petitioned congress for a postal tele graph. As far back as 1870 the legisla tures of Massachusetts, Alabama and Nebraska did the same, and the legisla tures of Nevada and Nebraska in 1878 and the legislatures of other states have followed their example. The report of postmaster , general Wanamaker, several years since, con tained a list of official bodies and labor and other organizations which had asked congress for this great bo an and betterment, and the bare list cov ered several pages. But the peple have so far asked in vain, The W. U. system atically distributes its frank to every senator and member of congress who will accept them, and to every influen tial official at Washington and else where whom it is deemed advantageous to influence. It controls the daily press largely through its dispensation of news; it has, too, the active co-operation, sympathy and support of the money power, especially of jhe great trusts, a system of which it is the pio neer, and it constantly maintains a powerful lobby. Seeing the great , difficulty in getting a postal telegraph and telephone bill through congress, owing to the dilatory and obstructive , tactics of the Western Union and while waiting the pussage by congress of a postoffice, telegraph and telephone act, which shall give us a uni form rate of five cents between any two points in the nnion, each state, whose legislature le presents the people and not the corporations, should pass an act providing for a maximum rate for-tele-grams of ten cents for ten body words, for a message between any points in its own borders, and a maximum annual rental for $12 at a residence and $18 at an office or store. (1) This will give the people imme diate relief, as the larger part of tele graphing is done within stato limits, and it will incidentally cause a reduction in interstate rates. (2) By accustoming the people to lower rates and legislative control of telegraph and telephones, it will hasten public,ownership. (3) It will reduce the exorbitant profitB nnd salaries of these overgrown corporations, and disable them from spending so much money in lobbying and franks to prevent postoffice owner ship of telegraph and telephone. The power of state legislatures to reg ulate the charges of telegraphs and tel ephones within their own limits is well settled by tne decisions oi the united States supreme court. s In Kansas, the Morrill bill was intro duced to fix telegraph rates at ten cents for ten body words between all points in that state. In North Carolina, bills were introduced to fix the telegraph rate at 13 cents for ten words between any two points in the state, and telephone rentals at $12 at a residence and $18 at an office or store, and were defeated only by the narrow margin of one vote in each house, so closely did the copora tion lobbyists calculate their strength. Similar bills muy be pending, or may have passed, iu other states. Tbey should be introduced everywhere In every state and territory, whether they can now be passed or not. Their intro duction and the discussion of them will attract public attention to the tact that the people have the power to remove the high rates which now debar them from the umt of these great , facilities, which are now practically restricted to the rich and deadheads. The effect will be educational, and the next time the legis. Ititure meet the bills will bo passed, tor the people are rcnlly the master, lieu roused to express their will. It the postoffices were operated in the public interest, postal naviuus bnuks and pnrrvls post would also long sine have beeome efficient parts of our post office eystem. The are ao operated in nearly every other eiviliied country, to the profit of the government ami the greatest benefit of the masww. There UcCig an rik of broken sarinus banks, earning are more generally deposited, and the "parrel pol" largely him th public from the high rati of our tiprtM rtm. We niiaeU this a "government of the m-oi,'' , couli)raHoa of lh atov dfecN in our pototU mnungeiuvftt shows beyond rvil or qitUou that, ia cim!.li ration fur I lie Uni til of the pub He, am Ur Mtlud mof oilier toun trim, e eft ttow ninkinif autall pretra. linns to pttimUr giivrKHwit, TakiHg our poioffis i"psrtto-it anpl, ii ion' ) W tii ihit our i a "guivitrft' mNi of lis eorpornt , by tl's nioiu oHh MlT ol "f 1J U nAt of Hi mtiliiih.itti." An td t tit iiii ird prwer of mt, "t o fcuuwttfc it uautr au I tU ass its master's crib, but Israel doth not know, thin people do not consider." With the wealth of a continent entirely the creation of their own hands, they permit a few thousand men to confis cate it for their personal profit. With the wonderful discovery of steam and electricity, given by Providence for the betterment of the condition of the masses, with apathy they see railroad and telegraphs and telephones used to increase the weulth of millionaires, and to bind themselves and their posterity in the chains of hereditary serfdom, and stauding upon the shoulders of more than sixty centuries, with the advantage of the lessons they would teacb, without effort, almost without a struggle, they see the "power of the purse' pass from them, and know not that, without it, freedom is an empty form and the task makers of Goshen their certain and early doom. .: BILL TO The Government's Mortgage oa the Union and Central Pacific Railroads. INTROUDCED BY MB. BUTLE3 Provide That the Government shall Own,- Operate and Control Those Boads The Full Te tuft lie Hilt. We have received a copy of the bill introduced in the senate by Senator Marion Butler, providing for the lore closure of the governments mortgages on the Pacific railroads, and providing a manner in which they shall be oper- ated and controlled thereafter. He quotes the language of the existing law to show that the government not only reserved the right to foreclose under cer tain contingencies but that those con tingencies have happened, and that therefore if existing law was executed, that this great through line across the continent would at once become a gov ernment railroad. The bill direct the attorney general and secretary to per form their duty and carry out the exist ing law. Mr. Butler's Bill (81728)isas follows: A DIM. , , Supplemental to nn act entitled "Au act to aid in the construction of a rail road and telegraph line front the Mis souri River to the Pacific ocean, and to secure to the government the use of the same for postal, military and other pur poses," approved July first, eighteen hundred and sixty two; also an act ap proved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty four, and also an act approved May seventh, eighteen hundred and sev enty eight, both in amendment of said first mentioned act and other acts amendatory thereof and supplemental thereto, aud directing the attorney gen eral to have certain provisions of said act judicially enforced, and directing the secretary of the treasury to take possession of the Union Pacific and Cen tral Pacific railroads, to provide for a sinking fund and for other purposes. bereas. the United States has issued its bonds, payable ia thirty years after date, bearing six per centum interest per annum, amounting to twenty-nve mil lion eight hundred and eighty-five thous and one hundred and twenty dollars, to the Central Pacific railroad company to aid in the construction of said road and iU telegraph lines, upon the condition that the amount of said bonds so issued and delivered to said companies, to gether with all interest thereon, should at maturity be paid to the United States and upon failure of said company to comply with said condition the railroad a d telegraph Hues, with all property rights, functions, immunities and appur tenances tbereuuto belonging, and also all laud grunts to the said company by the United States which at. the time of said default, shall remain iu the owner-1 ship of said company to be subject to I e lie taken possecsloii of by thti secretary of the treasury for the use and benefit of the United States; and Whereas, the United States hnsissued its bonds, payable iu thirty years after date, bearing six r centum interest per annum, amounting to twenty seven million two hundred and thirty-six thousand five hundred aud twelve dol lars, to the Union Pucinc railroad coin, puny to aid ia the construction of aid road and it telegraph liues, upon the nine term and condition referred to above apply i ntf to the Central Pacific railroad eonipun.v, and Whereas, In f curt of the principal nnd interest of ll ikiiuI iued by tli I ui ted State to iii- (Vutral PaoiHo and Union Pacilie riir t cuaipnuie now due and payable nnt the said companies are ia di-fault, and Whervu tli :id railroad ronpani hav fititvil to comply with th provis ion of said act and aUo of tit act adopted May wveatb, eiifhtevn hundred and venly ei bt, amendatory to the art of July nrt, mhtewi huudrvl and Uty-two, authnruing th Untied XUo to aid la the i)iitru?Hott of said rad rod and teinri.U Ntt. and W here, airordti g to lb term of aid Ai l wh tttiltim U UimUt to opwrattt lurlcilur of all poirty rmht. pfitlUu", ri nad (rant drifrrd or ubtainn.1 by tlooit from IU United Mat, TltrMiirw IW tt caat ted by th euti and hou of rvprfiwitUWt of the I httt Mtad OSE MM of America In congress assembled, that the attorney-gpuenil of the United States be, and is hereby directed to cause such forfeiture by said railroad companies to be enforced. Sec. 2. That the secretary of the treasury be, and is hereby directed to take possession of the Central Pacific Railroad and telegraph lines and of the Union Pacific railroad and telegraph lines, with all of the property rights, functions, immunities, and appurten ances thereunto belonging; and also all lands granted to the said companies by the United States which at this time re main in the ownership of the said com panies, subject to any lawful, prior, and paramount mortgngo, lion, or claim thereto. Aud thereafter, the United States government sliall own, operate, and control said roads and properties as public property as one continuous line of railway, and shall charge uo greater rate for the carriage of passen gers and freight thereon, and for mes sages forwarded over ita telegraph lines, than may be sufficient, in the opinion of the secretary of the interior, to pay the actual operating expenses of said road and telegraph tinea, to keep the same In proper and efficient repair, and to create and complete a sinking fund as herein after provided. Sec. 8, That for the purpose heroin mentioned the secretary of the treasury shall fund any bonds, -mortgages, or lien debts of said railroad companies, respectively, (Awfully paramount to the right of th United States, into bonds of the United States payable in thirty year after' date, hearing not more than three per cent per annum, to bo known as Pacific Railway bonds, the Interest and principal of which may be paid In any lawful money of the United States. And the right is reserved to the United States to call in said bonds, or any of them, and to pay the same at any time after ten years from the date thereof; and the further right is reserved to postpone - the payment of said bonds until a later period or periods beyond thirty years from date, subject . to the payment of interest thereon during the time of such extension. Such bonds shall be issued in amounts not to exceed one thousand dollars each, and shall hare coupons attached to each bond for the payment of interest, at a rate not to exceed three per centum per annum; and tueb coupons shall be payable quar terly each year, beginning with the date of the bond to which the same are at tached. The bonds and the coupons ap issued shall be made payable to the bear er, and the title to the same shall onss by delivery: Provflnd, That said bonds may be. registered by Abe owner thereof in the treasury of the United States in the manner and with the effect as is now prescribed by law in the case of other registered bonds issued by the United States. Sec. 4. That there shall be estab lished ia the treasury of the United States a sinking fund, and said siukinor fund shall be invested by the secretary of the treasury from time to time in the bonds issued under the . provisions of this net, at a rate not exceeding the par of their face value and accrued interest, or in any other interest-bearing obligations of the United States; and the interest thereon shall be in like manner from time to time invested, and the same shall accumulate and be disposed of as hereinafter mentioned. There shall be carried to the credit of said sinkinir fund, on the first day of February of each year, the net earning of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads and telegraph lines until said sinking fund shall be suf ficient in amount to liquidate the prin cipal and interest of said Pacific Railway bonds. Sec, 5. That the secretary of the treas ury is hereby authorized and dirocted to ascertain the cost by purchase of such parts of lines now owued and operated by the Union Pucinc and Central Pacific railroads as may be necessary to con stitute a continuous line of road be tween Omaha aud Kansas City and San Francisco, or the cost of constructing such necessary connecting lines, and to report the same to the congress of the United states within six months after the passage of this act. MESSAGE TO CONGRESS. The President Recommends the Ap propriation of $50,000 for Cuban Sufferer. CHAPMAN TO CO TO JAIL. The Iowa Senators Did Not Favor the Omaha Indian Supply Depot. olar Matoa Hprntk f Cuba,. In the eat on Thursday tb 13th Biinator Allen culled up bis resolution to bring K. R. Chapman before tb) bar of lhaaenat and requlr him to purg olnnwlf of oontampt oa account of hi re fusal to answer question to a eouunlt te of th aeaat Investigating th sugar trnt aeandid. and th MKutUon of ator ia roooveiioa therewith. The diM Uiitn proedd qui tty along b-g! Iiu until Mr, 1 ilimtii of Mouth Carolina look th Hoof. II Mid in hi Peri liotntof: "ll in to in that wear not nfter Uiui'iimii; th original iuet gdtton a a not Uifen Wto pnihl'hi man, but o dirovr whether any . mi or on iMRMtr had g My oi nou a oftu-iat pmtiutn to money by M!ltliiig in stink, which wi lu. fl4iitvd l-y lit i tun a a aafor, n Id coin in live whs h rfo. Ik tnrft bill. It is not worth while to try to cover up this matter with bandiaire and flippancy. There are today in the news papers of this country charges floating about and being sent broadcast, signed by correspondents in the gallery to the effect that lust week, when the new tariff bill was report! a with a change 'in the sugar schedule, that three senators bad speculated in the sugar stock. We have another stench on our hands, and in stead of it being a differential in favor of the trust of a tb ird of a cent as that was, it is uow two-thirds in favor of the trust. .." - There are two correspondents who have, over their own signatures charged that senators have speculated within the Inst week and made money. Now if you iutend to get at the true inwardness of the matter, to get at the truth and to punish those who are guilty say so and do so or else hush. That is the whole sum and sabstauce of it. We do not want Chapman, we want Havemeyer; we want the mnn who bought your men if they were bought. That is what we are heee for and now let the senator who has mi ved to refer the matter and who lores the dignity of the senate as much as any other roan, take the resolution to his committee and tir.ug back a meas ure here that will mean something. We can now make those men who nave charged that senators have speculated say where they got the information or we can punish them for contempt. We can call on H iveineyer and th sugar trust grandees and make them answer or put them In jail for contempt. Either Investigate so as to find the truth and punish the cilminal or bash." Afie-Mr. Tillman had flulshed the resolution was referred the committee on judiciary. Senator Allen will undoubt edly call ft up again. The location of the Indian supply depot at Omaha that Senator Alleu bad so suceessfuly piloted through both houses and through the the conference committees came up for final vote in the House. Congressmen, Mercer and Jerry Simpson made speeches ia favor of Omaha. 'X'ne vote resulted 54 for Omaha and 47 against It is a great victory for Omaha and means much for the state of Nebraska. An illustration of the opposition to the location of the depot at Omuha and the credit that is due Senator Allen as the originator , and pilot of the scheme is to be found in the position taken by Senator Grear of Iowa a neighboring state that would naturally be friendly to Nebraska. He would Support its location at Council Bluffs or Sioux City, but nesaid: . ' ,: ; . "I will not be found supporting bgis- lation championed by Senator Allen. I look upon the whole matter as a trap set by Mr, Allen for the purpose of catch ing the republican party, tie has stood on the floor of the senate and openly charged the republican party with ex travagance, and I do not propose to be fooled by voting money out of the treas ury unless I can see my way clearer than 1 do on the Omaha warehouse project," If Allen "set the trap-' future develop ments showed that he also baited iu the proper style. The persistent efforts of the Cuban sympathizers iu the United States eeu- ate is beginning to bear lnut. A mass meeting was held in Washington last Sunday afternoon to consider the dis tress in Cuba. The meeting was at tended by more than 8000 persons. The speakers were Senators Gullinger, Allen and Butler, Rev. Johnson and Kev. Emus. As a result of this agita tion and the discussion in the senate President McKinley sent the following message to congress: , "To the senate and bouee of represen tatives of the United States: Official information from our consuls in Cuba establishes the fact that a largo number of American citizens in the island are in a state of destitution, suffering for the wunt of food and medicines. This ap plies particularly to the rural districts of the central and eastern parts. The agricultural classes have been forced from their farms into the nearest towns where they are without, work or money. The local authorities of the several towns, however kindly disposed are una ble to relieve the needs of then own peo ple, aud are altogether powerless to help our citizens. The latest report of Consul General Lee estimates COO to 800 Americans are without means of support. I have as sured him that provisions would be made at once to relieve them. To that end I recommend that congress make aa appropriation of not less than $,"0,--000 to be immediately available for use under the directiou of the secretary of state. It is desirable that n part of the sum which may be appropriated by cougress should, in the discretion of the secretary of state, also be used for the trensporta tion of American citizeu wbo.desiring to return to the United States, are without means to do o. Vl'll.l.UM Ml KlNl.KV, Kierutive Mannion, May 17. A resolution appropriating the $50, OOO.Otit) a rvfiuMtd wo Paused itniut diately. TItvdiacuwiott of the official recognition of Cuba by the t'aitd StaU wa tlu n contloued. Senator Hoar of MaMUfbuwtta ia tb leader of tho op powd to Cuban rrvgnition, while Sen ator Morgan, Allen and Mat a favor recognition. Senator Maaoa argr im iiieiliHt action. II said: MWhn you gl at the deep undertone of the roiim ienee of tb CnrUtia t peopi of thU country, Uo-y aay M u have frlotn la Cuba, ti the Spaniard go back to hi own land and let hav o hivra upon ur rotttiueat. You can rail It jingo a long m you lik. Yon mav di flu tur?o a loan a you pi, Pairks Henry wa a ptgoon, aeeord im to th detlnitioa ol th g ntWnw f am at in teg In rwji in murgrat la Cuba, hwy hi who would rt Afc-lit thsu buv tai at th dihoaor d but w if and eUild. ha be oillm! jiika from th vU ot ewrly rpvtHe tih'nl (t'oMticiied on tb 'ge, FOR CARRYING MAIL The Enormous Robbery of the Government by the Bail-Roads, THE BENT FOR POSTAL CARS. I """" ; Senator Butler Gives Some Inter eating Figures Concerning . the Mail Service. Tb ublll A k kill. When the appropriation bill was up for consideration in the senate, and the item of appropriation of f 171,238. 75 to pay for special mail facilities on trunk lines from New York and Washington to Atlanta and New Orleans was under discussion S Motor But ler moved to strike out that part of the appropriation and took occasion to give some very interesting figures , in con nection with the transportation of mails. This item of over f 171,000 was for special facilities, and was entire! un warranted in hie opinion for the reason that the railroads are already paid sev eral times as much as they should be for the transportation of the mail. He says: "We Ere now pnyinc as much oer ton for currying the mails as we paid twenty years ago, yet during this time freight rates nave peon reduced 40 per cent ana passenger rates nave been reduced over 18 per cent, Besides I showed that twenty years ago we paid th railroads more for carrying the mails than any one else then paid for a like senrks. The senator from South Dakota (Ur. Pettigiew) and others also spoke at some length on the same line, No sena tor was able to controvert a single fast and proposition which we laid before t a senate. Besides ,we showed T that ,tt-S' government not only pays, too V a rate but that.we pay )ot mora .iht than is carried. ..The railroads "pad" the mails during the weighing season (or one month, and then the government pays on that weight for the next forty seven months. The fraud and robbery by this method alone runs up into the millions of dollars. In short, it has been demonstrated, proved and not questioned by any one, that we are to-day paying an exorbi tant rate, nearly twice as hisrh us should be paid to carry the mail. ;' We now pay about 132,000,000 to the railroads for this service. One man soys it is 1 2,000 000 too much, another says it is f 10, 000,000 too much, another says it ia 115,000,000 to much, but ercry senator on the floor admits that it is too much. Now that is a fact which has been demonstrated here. Everybody admits that it i too high, that the contract price which we now pay to the railroad companies for carrying the mails is too high. The committee of appropriations recognized it was too high by offering to investigate the exorbitant prices paid; the committee on post offices and post roads recognized it (see majority and minority reports from the committee on post-offices and post roads on the Loud bill) every senator who has spoken recog nized it. Yet 1 his morning when I offered an amendment to the appropriation bill providing that the postmaster srenerai sbou'd not pay the railroads more for carrying the mails than express com panies and others pay the rail roads for a like service, what did the senate do? You voted down the amendment and gave your sanction and approval to the gigantic steal that ia now going or. "Mr. President, that is not all. In ad dition totho heavy appropriation in this bill to pay the railroads for hauling their mails, there Is another item appro printing 3,800,000 to pay the rail roads for the rent of the cars ia which the mail is carried. I showed this morn ing that that was twice as much aa all the postal cars were worth. There are not more than 500 postal cars in use. . These cars cost only about from $3,b00 to 4,000 each. Therefore, the govern meat could buy everv one of these cars for less than 2.000,000. These car laat about twenty years, yet this bill proposes to pay J3.CoO.000 rent for them in one year. At this rate, in 20 year the government would pay $72, 000 000 for the use of cars that it could buy and own for lew than f 2,000,000. This is the most reck le and astounding business proposition that I have ever heard. Yet, this morning, when 1 movwd to amend this item by providing that the pOMtmnater-pneral should not pay more rent than 10 percent of th cot of th fiira, what did th senate do? It votd th amendment doaa. Howeea- atora can Justify their votes to thir conscience and to their duty to tax payer I beyond my comprheoioa. lli-r we rot away million of the po pW money Into th pocket of th rail, road withont a sine:' rnoa or etcua tor o doing. No senator ha dured to try to sir isU reason or ttu. Mr, IVilit th psJine bill pr. post that in addition to th ahja prtea w pay tor hauling mail. In addition to th high prtcm w pay for tar rot. shall pay a pn- l eitr aatidyovr and abov th high wm pay p toa lor tarry lag th mail and th high pira w iy tor rvai tH Htai rare 4c Worrall, f.ir of Thoiaaa Woe. rait of ih.teiiy. dJ at hi horn aar to-w.ia-t ird ity-for ytwr. Ilw it-it a fruity oi lit on an i tfcm d uujtiUr. vtil nl whom am k.4ti-4. IU aa burwd at V aiparaiso. v i