Sec. 614. Contractors to Carry all Mails and Care for Mail-Bags.-Contractors are required, in all cases, to carry the entire mail, and are not permitted to leave bags of newspapers and pamphlets on their routes. They must give due attention to the preservation of mail-bags, and must not allow them to be dragged about or otherwise injured. Sec. 615. Special Agents and Postal Supplies to be Carried Free.-On routes where the mode of conveyance admits of it, the special agents of the PostOffice Department, also post-office blanks, mail-bags, locks and keys, are to be conveyed without extra charge. Sec. 616. When Postmasters may Employ Temporary Service.-When any contractor fails to commence the service stipulated in his contract, or abandons the same, it is the duty of the postmaster at the head of the route (i. e., the post-office first named in the advertisement and contract) to employ temporary service at the lowest rate possible, but in no case at a higher rate than that paid under the last preceding regular contract, and to report the facts to the Second Assistant PostmasterGeneral immediately. Sec. 617. After Contracts Expire Postmasters may not Pay for Service.— After the expiration of a contract, and until the Postmaster-General has decided upon a new contract, or upon the expediency of discontinuing the post-office, postmasters cannot make any contract or payment for service unless expressly authorized to do so by the Postmaster-General. Sec. 618. Increase of Compensation for Increased Service.-Compensation for additional service in carrying the mail shall not be in excess of the exact proportion which the original compensation bears to the original service, and when any such additional service is ordered the sum to be allowed therefor shall be expressed in the order, and entered upon the books of the Department; and no compensation shall be paid for additional regular service rendered before the issuing of such order. (R. S., § 3960.) Sec. 619. Increase of Compensation for Increased Celerity.-No extra allowance shall be made for any increase of expedition in carrying the mail unless thereby the employment of additional stock and carriers is made necessary, and in such case the additional compensation shall bear no greater proportion to the additional stock and carriers necessarily employed than the compensation in the original contract bears to the stock and carriers necessarily employed in its execution. (R. S., § 3961.) Sec. 620. Determination of Compensation for Increased Celerity.-When it becomes necessary to increase the speed on any route, the contractor will be required to state, under oath, the number of horses and men required to perform the service according to contract schedule and the number required to perform it with the proposed increase of speed. Sec. 621. Decreased Compensation for Decreased Service.-The PostmasterGeneral may discontinue or curtail the service on any route, in whole or in part, in order to place on the route superior service, or whenever the public interests, in his judgment, shall require such discontinuance or curtailment for any other cause; he allowing, as full indemnity to contractor, one month's extra pay on the amount of services dispensed with, and a pro rata compensation for the amount of services retained and continued. Sec. 622. Changes of Schedule-time of Arrival and Departure.-The Postmaster-General may change schedules of departures and arrivals in all cases, and particularly to make them conform to connections with railroads, without increase of pay, provided the running time be not abridged. But an application for schedule change cannot be granted— 1. Without the assent of the postmasters at the ends of the route, except in case of manifest necessity. 2. Unless agreed to by the contractor, except in cases where the propriety of the change is clearly shown. 3. If more running-time is asked than is given in the contract schedules. 4. If it breaks connection with any other route. 5. If it puts the mail on a wrong day for the newspapers circulated over the route. 6. If it prevents or less ens any other special accommodation to the public. 7. If it fails to show a good reason for the change. Sec. 623. Contracts cannot be Assigned or Transferred.-No contractor for transporting the mail within or between the United States and any foreign country shall assign or transfer his contract, and all such assignments or transfers shall be null and void. (R. S., § 3963.) Sec. 624. Contracts not Sublet without Consent of Postmaster-General.— Hereafter no subletting or transfer of any mail contracts shall be permitted without the consent in writing of the Postmaster-General; and whenever it shall come to the knowledge of the Postmaster-General that any contractor has sublet or transferred his contract, except with the consent of the Postmaster-General as aforesaid, the same shall be considered as violated and the service may be again advertised as herein provided for; and the contractor and his securities shall be liable on their bond to the United States for any damage resulting to the United States in the premises. (Act May 17, 1878, § 2, 20 Stat., p. 61.) It has been decided by the Attorney-General that the word "trausfer" in this section only applies to the transfer of such an interest in the contract as may be neces sary to secure the subcontractor as provided in the following section, and that this section does not, therefore, repeal the preceding section, but affects only the conflicting portion of section thirty-seven hundred and thirty-seven of the Revised Statutes, which prohibits the transfer of any interest in any contract. Sec. 625. Subcontracts Permissible with Consent of Postmaster-General.— When any person or persons being under contract with the Government of the United States for carrying the mails, shall lawfully sublet any such contract, or lawfully employ any other person or persons to per form the service by such contractor agreed to be performed, or any part thereof, he or they shall file in the office of the Second Assistant Postmaster-General a copy of his or their contract; and thereupon it shall be the duty of the Second Assistant Postmaster-General to notify the Auditor of the Treasury for the Post-Office Department of the fact of the filing in his office of such contract. Said notice shall embrace the name or names of the original contractor or contractors, the number of the route or routes, the name or names of the subcontractor or subcontractors, and the amount agreed to be paid to the subcontractor or subcontractors. And upon the receipt of said notice by the Auditor of the Treasury for the Post-Office Department, it shall be his duty to retain, out of the amount due the original contractor or contractors, the amount stated in said notice as agreed to be paid to the subcontractor or subcontractors, and shall pay said amount, upon the certificate of the Second Assistant Postmaster-General, to the subcontractor or subcontractors, under the same rules and regulations now governing the payments made to original contractors: Provided, That upon satisfactory evidence that the original contractor or contractors have paid off and discharged the amount due under his or their contract to the subcontractor or subcontractors, it shall be the duty of the Second Assistant Postmaster-General to certify such fact to the Auditor of the Treasury for the Post-Office Department; and thereupon said Auditor shall settle with the original contractor or contractors, under the same rules as are now provided by law for such settlements. (Act May 17, 1878, § 3, 20 Stat., p. 61.) Sec. 626. Regulations under which Subcontracts may be Made.—Contractors must in all cases secure the permission of the Postmaster-General before making a subcontract on any route. The application to sublet must be made separately for each route, specifying the number and terminal points thereof. A subcontract must not embrace more than one route, and should specify the amount to be paid under it in case the service shall be changed, and whether fines and deductions are to be deducted from pay of contractor or subcontractor. The evidence of payment of a subcontractor by a contractor, provided for in the preceding section, must be the receipt of the subcontractor, attested by a postmaster at a terminus of the route sublet, on a form furnished by the Second Assistant Postmaster-General. A subcontractor, in order to avail himself of the benefits of the preceding section and receive payment from the Post-Office Department direct, must file a copy of his subcontract in the office of the Second Assistant Postmaster-General, furnishing therewith his post-office address. No subcontractor can be paid by the Department for service prior to the beginning of the quarter in which he files his contract, nor at a greater rate than that named in the original contract, and to secure such payment the subcontract must be filed at least ten days before the end of the quarter. The copy of subcontract filed must be certified to be a true copy of the original by a postmaster at one of the termini of the route therein sublet. No subcontract can be recognized unless made with the original contractor. Sec. 627. Mail-Messenger Service. In connection with railroad and steamboat routes, mail-messengers are designated to carry the mail to and from postoffices not at the termini of routes when such post-offices are more than eighty rods (one-quarter of a mile) from the steamboat landing or railroad station. (1) Whenever it is necessary to secure such service, the postmaster at the post-office to be supplied is authorized, by special instructions in each case, to advertise for sealed proposals for five or ten days, with instructions to forward to the Second Assistant Postmaster-General (unopened and in one envelope) all proposals received, accompanying them with a copy of the notice posted and a report of his action in the matter. (2) The proposals are then opened by the Second Assistant Postmaster-General, and the lowest bidder is designated by an order as mail-messenger (unless the postmaster shall have reported that he is dishonest or incapable), and the postmaster is directed to pay him quarterly. (3) Mail-messengers are not required to execute a contract, and are not designated for a definite period, but are expected to serve at the compensation proposed at least one year, or until otherwise ordered by the Postmaster-General. (4) Railroad and steamboat contractors are to have the service performed at all post-offices not more than a quarter of a mile of their depots, stations, or landings, as well as at the terminal post-offices of their routes. (5) A postmaster cannot be allowed any compensation for this service performed by himself. (6) A mail-messenger cannot be employed without express authority from the Second Assistant Postmaster-General. (7) He must be paid in full by the postmaster before any payment is made to the contractor or before making deposit. (8) He should be paid promptly at the close of every quarter out of any funds in the hands of the postmaster belonging to the United States, except money-order funds. (9) If not paid, the reason should be stated by the postmaster. If paid, the receipt should be transmitted at once to the Auditor. (10) If the original has been sent and lost, the postmaster should forward the duplicate, retaining an exact copy. (11) The payment must be made and the receipts taken to correspond with the regular quarters, which end on the 31st of March, the 30th of June, the 30th of September, and the 31st of December. (12) Two receipts must be taken ("orignal" and "duplicate"). The original must be sent by the first mail to the "Auditor of the Treasury for the Post-Office Department." The duplicate should be retained until sent for. (13) These receipts must be signed by the appointed mail-messenger himself, not by an agent. (14) If signed by a mark, they must be witnessed; if illegibly signed, the name must be plainly written underneath. (15) Deductions must be made for lost trips and noted on the face of the receipt. (16) The postmaster's name, not the assistant's, should be written in the body of the receipt. (17) Altered receipts will not be credited. Blank receipts will be supplied by the First Assistant Postmaster-General, Blank Agency. (18) The receipt must never be inclosed with the quarterly returns or with other papers. It should be sent in an envelope by itself. (19) The name of the postmaster and of the post-office must be written plainly. (20) Receipts must not be sent for amounts not actually paid. (21) If the postmaster has not sufficient funds to pay the whole amount due, he must pay what he has, send on the receipt for the amount paid, state the balance claimed to be due, and apply for a draft on some other office to pay it. (22) In making application for a draft a blank form must be used, which will be furnished by the Auditor if requested. (23) Drafts are not sent until applied for, nor for very small balances, except to close an account. (24) Advances made for this service will be refunded on application. (25) Payments for this service must be charged in the "general account," and not in the "quarterly account-current." (26) Mail-messengers must take the usual oath of office, and transmit it to the Second Assistant Postmaster-General, Division of Inspection. See sections 24 and 25. Sec. 628. Mail-carriers to receive Mail for Delivery at next Post-office.Every route-agent, postal clerk, or other carrier of the mail shall receive any mail-matter presented to him, if properly prepaid by stamps, and deliver the same for mailing at the next post-office at which he arrives; but no fees shall be allowed him therefor. (R. S., § 3980.) See Title IV, The Railway Mail-Service; see, also, section 555. When any properly-prepaid mail-matter is presented to an employé of the railwaymail service, he complies with the provisions of this section by depositing it in his mail-car, as all postal cars and mail apartments in cars and steamboats have been designated by the Postmaster-General as post-offices for the distribution of mail in transit. See section 708. CHAPTER FOUR. ADJUSTMENT OF COMPENSATION TO RAILROADS FOR CARRYING THE MAILS. Sec. 629. Conditions of railway service and rates of pay for same. 630. Refusal to provide post-office cars. 631. Dimensions of and additional pay for postoffice cars. 632. Cars to be furnished as required by the Post- 633. Mails, how and when to be weighed. 635. Compensation of railroads reduced ten per 636. Compensation of railroads reduced five per centum more. 637. Congress may fix compensation to be paid land-grant railroads. 638. Congress does fix compensation to be paid said roads. Sec. 629. Conditions of Railway service and Rates of Pay for same.-The Postmaster-General is authorized and directed to readjust the compensation hereafter to be paid for the transportation of mails on railroad routes upon the conditions and at the rates hereinafter mentioned: First. That the mails shall be conveyed with due frequency and speed; and that sufficient and suitable room, fixtures, and furniture, in a car or apartment properly lighted and warmed, shall be provided for routeagents to accompany and distribute the mails. Second. That the pay per mile per annum shall not exceed the following rates, namely: On routes carrying their whole length an average weight of mails per day of two hundred pounds, fifty dollars; five hundred pounds, seventy-five dollars; one thousand pounds, one hundred dollars; one thousand five hundred pounds, one hundred and twentyfive dollars; two thousand pounds, one hundred and fifty dollars; three thousand five hundred pounds, one hundred and seventy-five dollars; five thousand pounds, two hundred dollars, and twenty-five dollars additional for every additional two thousand pounds, the average weight to be ascertained, in every case, by the actual weighing of the mails for such a number of successive working-days, not less than thirty, at such times, after June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-three, and not less frequently than once in every four years, and the result to be stated and verified in such form and manner as the Postmaster-General may direct. (R. S., § 4002.) Sec. 630. Refusals to Provide Post-office Cars.-In case any railroad company now furnishing railway post-office cars shall refuse to provide such⚫ |