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.