US Presidency
1909

No action, however, has been taken by the Congress with respect to the jail, the conditions of which are still antiquated and insanitary. I earnestly recommend the passage of a sufficient appropriation to enable a thorough remodeling of that institution to be made without delay. It is a reproach to the National Government that almost under the shadow of the Capitol Dome prisoners should be confined in a building destitute of the ordinary decent appliances requisite to cleanliness and sanitary conditions. POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT. SECOND-CLASS MAIL MATTER. The deficit every year in the Post-Office Department is largely caused by the low rate of postage of 1 cent a pound charged on second class mail matter, which includes not only newspapers, but magazines and miscellaneous periodicals. The actual loss growing out of the transmission of this second class mail matter at 1 cent a pound amounts to about $ 63,000,000 a year. The average cost of the transportation of this matter is more than 9 cents a pound.