Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 18 Part 1.djvu/844

 772 rms xi.vi.»*rr1r1 POSTAL sERv1c1·:.—ca. 9-10. Ibid., ,_ 23S_ out compensation, or by special messenger employed for the particular occasion only. I. e t the r s in Sec. 3993. All letters inclosed in stamped envelopes, if the postage- S*¤¤¤r*€P€¤ stamp is of a denomination sufficient to cover the postage that would be ° .1 veyed, and delivered otherwise than by mail, provided such envelo e Ibldw 9- 239 shall be duly directed and properly sealed, so that the letter cannot lie taken therefrom without defacing the envelope, and the date of the letter or of the transmission or receipt thereof shall be written or stamped upon the envelope. But the Postmaster-General may suspend the operation of this section upon any n1ail-route where the public interest may reguire such suspension. _ _ gepmqng let- sc. 3994. When the amount of mail-matter to be carried on any teranail for expe- mail-route is so great as to seriously retard the progress or endanger ‘ll“j’{*· the security of the letter-mail, or materially increase the cost of car- Ibid., s. 240. ria at the ordinary rate of speed, the Postmaster-General may pro- 18 FM-,1875,6- vid? for the separate carriage of the letter-mail at the usual rate of 8°· "· 18· P· 31** speed; but the other mail-matter shall not be delayed any more than is absolutely necessary, having due regard to the cost of expedition and the means at his disposal for [¢g[}2»cthvg] [effecting] the same. obstructing the Sec. 3995. Any person who shall knowingly and willfully obstruct or “1aU;H€E§l€Y· ___ retard the passage of the mail, or any carriage, horse, driver, or carrier wg; {ligfi {83 °· carrying the same, shall, for every such offense, be punishable by a hue gg]; "' "‘ " p' of not more than one hundred dollars. U. S. r. Kirby, 7\\'all., 482. Delay-ing the Sue. 3996. Any ferryman who shall delay the passage of the mail by mall M ¤ fe"}'; willful neglect or refusal to transport the same across any ferry shall, %X;.q2... for every ten minutes such mail may be so delayed, be liable to a penalty Sul ‘* "" ‘ · P' of ten dollars. CHAPTER TEN. RAILWAY SERVICE. S80. Sec. 3997. Railway-routes tebe classified. 4001. Pay for ca ing mail on railways 3998. Rates of pay for carrying mail on I receivingngovernment aid. railways. 4002. Conditions of railway—serrice. 3999. When mail may be carried on rail- 4003. Refusal to provide postal cars. way routes by horse·c-xpress.4004. Additional pay. 4000. Railway-companies to carry mail on 4005.- Length and fitting of cars. any train. Railwayyroutes Sec. 3997. The Postmaster-(ieneral shall arrange the railway-routes on "’ **6 °la§"h°‘lg___ which the mail is carried, including those in which the service is partly Ibid., s. 2l0, p. by railway and partly by steamboat, into three classes, according to the
 * }*51})** ““l'{"°d °“" chargeable thereon if the same were sent bv mail, may be sent, con-
 * 09. size of the mails, the speed at which they are carried, and the frequency

and importance of the service, so that each railway company shall receive, as far as practicable, a proportionate and just rate of compensation, according to the service performed. Rates of pay for Sec. 3998. The pay for carrying the mail on any railway of the first class ¤‘=¤r¤‘>‘¤¤¤ mm <>¤ shall not exceed t ree hundred dollars per mile per annum; on any rail- way of the second class it shall not exceed one hundred dollars per mile Ibid., s. 211. per annum; and on any railway of the third class it shall not exceed fifty dollars_ per mile per annum; but if one—half the service on any railway is 1'8(]llll‘€d to be performed in the ni ht-time, the Postmaster-General} may pay twenty-tive per centum in adldition to the above maximum ra s. l xlfhearyuil may _ Sec. 3999. If the Postmaster·General is unable to contract for Gang'- \;fa‘c"`?_;‘ut‘;  mg the mail on any railway-route at a compensation not exceeding ii 6 h,,,.g,._€x,,m_,,_ · maximum rates herein provided, or for what he may deem a reasonablé Ibid__ S_‘21gf”" and fair eompensahon, ie may separate the letteiwmail from the of»l16\`