Re: Eureka Nevada vs mule mail

It got worse after that. In 1916 both the Sumpter Valley Railway and Eureka Nevada (which evidently had gotten the mail contract back) testified before a US Congressional Committee about the issue the railroads had with new Parcel Post or Fourth Class Mail that had just been introduced. It turns out that much of the railroad's lucrative express business was now being handled as Parcel Post, and to add insult to injury the railroads were handling the substantial increase in mail without any additional compensation, and rates were only adjusted every few years based on weight carried. There was a proposed bill to allow the Postmaster General to set any rate he wanted, the railroads claimed it should be the ICC instead.

Eureka Nevada also testified how their line cost something like twice as much to build due to the mining boom, only for it and their traffic base to soon go bust. They made a point that their costs weren't the same compared to a large railroad.

The proposed bill was defeated and the issue was finally resolved with the railroads were being compensated for the extra weight and space they now had to provide to handle Parcel Post. As I recall the railroads were also responsible up to that time to provide the mail transportation between the train at the depot and post office.