The Mail Pay on the Burlington Railroad / Statements of Car Space and All Facilities Furnished for the Government Mails and for Express and Passengers in All Passenger Trains on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad

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7. The return deadhead movement of space ordered and required in one direction only (8.35%).

(Ninety-five per cent of all the "space" shown in these returns for the Burlington, as used for the mails, comes within the foregoing seven classes, as properly authorized space about which no question can arise.)

8. "Surplus" space; that is, space furnished to the Government in post office and apartment cars in excess of actual requirements (5.2%).

This five per cent is the only portion of the space claimed as used for mails regarding which any question can be raised, affecting the integrity of these returns.

What is the correct view as to this five per cent?

It is manifestly against the interest of the railroad company to furnish space for mails that is not required, and it will never furnish such space if it can be avoided. But the "requirements" of the Post Office Department are not fixed and certain quantities, by any means. It is entirely impracticable for any railroad company to keep on hand at all times a supply of cars of all lengths in order to meet exactly the requirements of the Department officials.

These statistics have been called for by the Post Office Department to enable it to make accurate comparisons between the space used and the facilities furnished on passenger trains for the three classes of service performed, that is, for express companies, for the Government in mail carriage, and for passengers. The point of the whole inquiry is this:

Does the Government contribute to the cost of the passenger train service upon the railroads of the country its fair share, that is, in proportion to the space and facilities it demands and requires the companies to furnish for the mails?

In making the comparison all the car space in all passenger trains must be measured and tabulated and has been measured and tabulated in the tables here submitted.

A passenger car may have seats to accommodate eighty persons; the average load it carries may be fifteen persons. But in making up these returns of "space," all the empty space in that car is credited as passenger space. That car may likewise be loaded only one way and returned "dead head," but these returns have credited such return movement as passenger space.