CONGRESSION.. ~Li RECORD-· HOU&E
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I CONGRESSION.._~li RECORD-· HOU&E. JUNE 18, . The Secretary called the· roll, ::tnd the following Senators an- The Post Office Department'a expectation of saving $7,000 000, re ferred to by Representative· S.TEENERSON, is.. fully justified. as will. be swered to tlieir nam-e.s.:- · · seen from the following reports on authorized annual rate of pay to the Beckham Harding Lewlcr Sheppard railroads at various dates..: Borah Hardwick McLean Sherman o'ct. 31, 1916, on weight basis:_____ :.._ '------------- $G2, 242, 000 I Bra.ndeg~e Henderson· Jl.lcNary Smi~.MiL Nov. 1, 1916, weight and spaec combined--------------- 65, 4!:>2, 000 Calder Hollis _ Norris Smith, S. C. July 1, 1917, weight and space combined__________ 58,518-, 000 I Chamberlain J ob.nson;Cal. Nugent' Smoot Sept. 30, 1917, weight and space. combine<L ____ ._______ 56, 509, 000 Colt Johnson, S. Dak. Page Tillma-n Dec... 31, 1917, weight and space combined_________ 55, 040, 000 CumminS' Jone~; Wa.sh. Phelan.. · Townsend Mar; 31, 1918, weight and space combined_____________ 53, 8{)0, 000 Curtis Kenyon Poindext~ TraminelL Dillingham King Ransdell Vardaman U there is still doubt in the mind o1 anyone as to whethet• the Post Gerry Kirby. Robinson Wadsworth Office Department has reduc£(} the cost of carrying: the mails on railway Guion Knox Saulsbury Watson lines, let him ask the-railroads. Hale I..enroot Shafroth Sincerely, yours, A. S. BURLESON, Postmaster Gcne1·al . llli·. SHAFROTH.. I desire to announce tlie absence: oi my colleague [Mr. THOMAS] on official business; [From the CoxanES.s:IOXAL. REcor.;n~ June 13, 1918: p. 77-!3.] . I wish also to announce the absence of. the junior Senator Mr-. STEENEBS<'N. The Postmaste~ GeneraL has been. fertile. iJr postal from Tennessee [Mr. McKELLAR] on official business. refo1·rus~ You will remember that he proposed and succeeded in pass- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Only, 47 Senators having re- t~tt\1:~a~i~1 $3:2 l0~0J~s~~~~~~! it~~~t~T~a~eppa~m~~:~ofu~ sponded to the roll call, there is not. a quorum I!resent. The lweight.p'ia.n, bur they say that they are going to save $7 ooo ooo in the. .Secretary will call the names.. of absentees. 'future when they· get. the- thing · established. Tba t is what they said ' The Secretacy called the names: o:e the absent Senators and. about this- automobile service. They are going to save something, but Mr. GR<>.NN'A'., Mr. PITTMAN, Mr. STERLING, Mr. SUTHERL.A.Nn', and, I; UP to date there·· has. been an increase. Mt·. 'VoLCOTl' answered to their names wherr: called. ' - Mr. GALLINGER entered the Chamber and.ai:Iswered to his-name. ! [From the- Report·ot the Post Office Department, 1017, PP· 13-14.] ! The cost of the entire raih·oad transportation service under the The PRE&IDING OFFICER. Fifty-three· Senators hava an- weight basis was at the annual rate of $62,242,000. Tbo cost of' the swered to- their· names-. A quorum is present. same servlce under the space basis was -at the annual mte ot 0- - ,.! KJNr< I th t th S t dj 492,000, an lncrease or- $.3,2bll,OOO over the weight rate. Under the .ll r. u; move a e ena e a ourn. ( spnce basis of p:ly; however, it was possible to· increase or-- decrease the The motion was agreed to; and (at 3 o'clock and 30 minutes .amount of· transportation• to be ·purchased to the actual needs ofl the p. nL) the• Senate adjourned _until -to-morrow, W,ednesday,_June !se-rvice, with the result. that. at the close. of JuM 30, 1H17, the regular n18 t 12 • lo k e "d'a ·authorized service was at the annual rate ot:. $58,51.8,478. 19• 1u • a ° C c - m ri 1 n. J An analysis of the table hereto appended dlSl!loses that the r:dlroalls thave been relieved. of. service.. amounting- to-31,90G,6BO.t.T GO-foot car- 1mileg, while- .th~ reduction•in compens~tion has been $7,270,386.45 per 1a:nnum. Th1s lS a reduction of servtcc required of' the railroacls of 11.69 per· cent. while the- reduction in compensation lias· been at the HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. -rate of 11.28 per cent TUESDAY, June rB; 1918. 1 l\1r. STEENERSON. The above is what the REcoRD shows that r said, but.. I spoke very rapi<lly, and dld; not- revise my The House ~et at 12-o'clock.. no.on. remarks. 1\fanifestly no one reading the part of ·the report The Cha~lrun, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offer~d the follow- :1 refe-lTed to could intend to say that. The sentence should read: lng pr~.yer ~ . 1" The last repm·t of the Post Office Department shows that for We mvoke ~hy blessmg, ~rmghty <?:>d o"?r E'a!her, U:()On. the tlie- same amount of transportation they · would· have paid M~mbers - of thiS· House, that ~ all, their deliberations- they may $3,250,000 more than.. it would have cost under the _weight plan, ~ w~;thy of the h<>?-o~ and dignity bestowe~ upon them ~! nn. but they say they are going to. suve $!1'.,000,000 in the future mtellihent and patr1obc veople, 'Yhose. interests; whose r.oh~, when they get the thing established." It is clear from the whose. honor, th~y are her~ to mam~ain, uphold, and fnrther,.m 1context that the argument I wa.s making. was that the promised the name· of Christ the Lord .. Arne~. economy was not yet an accomplished fact, and that, I submit, ']]he .Tournnl of the proceedrngs.. of yesterday was read and ap- will be perfectly·plain for the following-reasons: proved. 1! First. There has· be¢n a reduction of service, and not a snv· RAILWAY MAIL PAY. ing in the cost o:t it. If the alleged economy by the space plan Mr. STEENERSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent. has been accomplished at the expense of delay in the transmis- to address the House. sion of mail, it is not economy at all, but a waste. There has The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Minnesota asks unanr:. been universal complaint of delay of first-class mail since the mous consent to address the House. Is there objection? inauguration o.:t the ·space plnn. The reduction in the force of There was no objection: the railway man clerks. engaged in the distribution o.:t mail en Mr. STEENERSON. Mr. Speaker, on. Saturday last the gen- route, together with the· reduction of tlle number of foot car- tleman from Kansas [Mr. AYREs] inserted in the RECORD a letter miles referred to, has undoubtedly caused this deterioration in ffrom the :Postmaster Gene:ral, Mr. Burleson, upon the subject of the mail service. r voted for the space plan largely on tlie railway mall pay, in which some criticism was passed upon re- faith that the so-called economy in loading would not be ap , marks of mine' made the- previous Thursday. I ask· unanimous plied so as to delay fi..rst-class mail. Evidently first-class mail consent to extend my remarks Jn the REcor~ upon that subject. has been delayed, resulting. in loss: to the public. A saving. in · The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Minnesota asks unanl!·- expense where it is overbalanced by a deterioration in the sen- mous consent to extend his remarks in the. REcoRD -in tlie manner ice is no saving at all. indicated. Is: there objection? Second. My contention that there has been no saving yet by There was no objection. the space plan was correct, because the space plan has never , · The .letter and extracts are as follows : been finally sanctioned. The Postmaster General's letter says- [ll'rom the CoNoREssro~ar; RECORD, .rune 15, 1918, p. 7'844.] that the space plan went into eft'ect en October. 1, 1916, but. it PosT OFFICE DEPART:\.m ...'iT, omits to say that it on.Jy went into effect as: an experiment. It Washington, D. 0., June: 15,. 1918. ove1·Iooks the fact. that the question of whethe1·· or not the space Hon. WILLIAM A. AYRES, plan as applied to railway mail pay is valid~ reasonable, and Hause ot Repre&entati'l:es. just is pending· before the Interstate Commerce Commission MY DEAR MR. AYRES: Referring to your lnqulry as to tho economy elfected in the transportation of the malls through the establishment o1 and has. not yet been_ argued~ It ovedooks- the fact that unuet~ the space basis of pay, which economy. has been;brought into question by the law the accounts ot the railroads are now kept under both Representative- STEENERSON in his speech on June. 13, I beg to ad'Vise the space and weight bases, and that in the event that the as follows : . Representative STEE!><-"ERSO~ was wrong in saymg that "the last report Interstate Commerce Commission shall decide against the space of the Postmaster General shows that they paid $3,250,000 more than plan, then the alleged reducqon in railway mail pay will. all the would have paid under the weight plan." The an.uual report re h.ave to be paid ov-er- to the railroads. ferred to makes no SU<'h statement. '!'he report shows what the Post Office Department has always contimded, that if the ser-vice exacted of The' raih·oads· contend that the space plan of rail way mail the railroads under the weight-basis were paid for under the space.