The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1847-12-11

ing $l7S22 vi this number 2,O2l received by the
owners, containing $l6,169; and 39 returned to
worthless
In the year ending the 3oth of June sl7 there were
sent out 3 7s2 dead letters, containing S2 o5 vi these
2355 were delivered to the owners containing $l9,l7j
and AT returned containing $3.50 93 Vi this sum,
were added from this to the funds of the depart
ment Since the reorganization of the department IN
1885, there has been added lis funds from the deade
ter office, the sum of $l0,329 Is.
The exhibit f likewise shows the number of letters
containing other articles OF value, and the disposition
made of them.
transportation of which the department receives no pay
is taken, except those containing articles of value and
under the supervision of of the clerks Of the depart
ment burnt Ii this immense number of letters could be
returned to the WRITER'S is not doubted that large por-
ton OF them would be taken opt, and the postage paid
This would have been ordered but the number OF clerks
authorized by law would be unable to perform such
additional duties.
large number of these dead letters is from foreign
countries, addressed to emgran citizens resident in the
United States in foreign language and, from misdirec
ton, or the misunderstanding of the direction by the post
masters, never reach their destination. II these letters
were advertised, under the direction of the Postmaster
General after they into the dead letter Office, it
believed that many OF them would finally reach the per-
sons addressed and the postage upon them would roba
bly, equal any expenditure that would be required
that object.
The table of the Auditor exhibits the important fact
mat the revenues Tor the two years preceding the LIST OF
july 1877 amounting to about 1900 900, has been col
leced except $2,91S "a; being less than ene-hird of
one per cent. on the whole amount The balance is be-
eved to be good as, cases, indulgence has been
given to the representatives of deceased posmasters
their suretes; whilst the whole amount has been dis
bursed without the loss OF dollar, in the treas
uy ready for usethus showing that the large revenues
OF the department, collected by fifteen thousand
postmasers throughout widely extended country in
small sums from almost every citizen in the community,
under the Immediate supervision of those energetic, faith
full and interchangeable officers and their subordnates,
at once made applicable TO the expenditures of the de
partmen and that in practice, there is difference be-
tbau 1f and,
available funds
The other Assistant Posmasters General, Messrs.
Hobbe and Brown, and other officers connected with the
department have not been less vgan active, and ener
geic IN the discharge of the duties assigned them.
The regulations adopted by you early the year 1915,
providing for the due attendance of the officers in the
several departments, and for the punctua discharge OF
their duties have been strictly complied with in this. and
have infused great vgor into the regular business OF the
bureaus, including that of the Auditor.
1t may not be anss here to state that, in the regula
ton OF the salaries OF the bureau officers the city, the
three Assistant Posmasters General, whose duties
important to the country and require much talent and
labor any other have been left much less than other
officers performing similar services and Justice requires
that they should be placed upon footing of equality.
ing the Goth of June last amounted to $3,97957O 49,
which is less than those of the preceding year by the
OF and less than the annual average expenditure
of the nine years preceding the LIST OF July, 1915, by the
sum OF $520,022. The principal item of expenditure is
the paid the contractors for Transporting the mails
In the last year there was paid for transportation
i55 Is.
The compensation paid to railroads Of the first class is
muchmore than that paid for the neriogrades of service
proportion to the length OF routes the amount of
vice performed which induced in former report to
recommend reduction of the maximum allowed for that
class of service.
The principal OF the first class are those extend
ing from New York. by Philadelphia, Washington, and
Charleston to Atalanta in Georgia. and to Montgomery
IN Alabama over which the great southern mail is trans
ported and from Baltimore to Cumberland over which
the principal western mail is taken; and they paid the
ma Xlmum sums allowed by lawfor single daily service
daily the rate me iG has BEEN aH oun
useless to attempt to contract with railroads for less
amount than the maximum allowed by law They are
the contention with the department seems to have BEEN
from the passage of the act of 1885, to obtain, under
Petence or another more than the amount prescribed in
that act The phraseoogy of that act and of the subse
quent acts is of character to admit OF controversy TO
the meaning of Congress; and it has been the fruitful
source of annoyance to the department. and occasionally
The ed section of the act of the 18th july 1885, made
all railroads posroutes, and directed the Postmaster
General to have the mails transported over them, pro
vded he can nave done reasonable terms, and not
paying therefor In any instance more than IS per cent
and above what similar transportation would cost in
post coaches" What Congress meant by ssiiidr trans
Porfdt'on" became an important as well as difficult
question. The Postmaster General finally decided it by
taking an average of the cost per mile, of the coach
service between Baltimore and Cncnnati-the most i'm
portant and rapid well the expensive in the
United States at the time. That found to cost $40
per mile 10 which % per cent. added making the
service. This decision gave great dissatisfaction to the
company whose road lies between this city and Rich
mond nor was If satisfactory to other companies
who performed more than trip daily and the Post
master General reported the facts his annual report of
the Sd OF December 1898, and invited Congress to
rect the construction given the law Of the last session. if
liberal or too sct to resort to such further enact
ments as the public interests may seem to require
On the 22d of January, $780, Congress again took up
the subject and another act passed. prohibiting the Post
master General from allowing than 5000 per mile
per annum q" for the conveyance of one daily
mails upon any railroad provided that nothing in |
this act shall be construed in any way remove
impair the limitations upon the power of the Posmas
General imposed by that section" the ID section of
the act OF 1881 II the words daily nails
be construed to authorize the payment of $500 per mile
viso in the section, which expressly saves the re-
srctions in the act of 1895 The restriction was to
1927 so in the act, construed in the department and
communicated to Congress- and hence it settled in
the department at the time, that 1927 so the limita-
ton for single daily service, and $500 per mile the mta
ton for more than trip daily; and this construction
has been uniform since, in the department
The 10th section of the of Sd of March, 1915 made it
the duty of the Postmaster General arrange and divide
the railroad routes, nculng those which the service
was performed partly by railroads and partly by steam
boats into three classes and authorized him o contract
Tor conveying the mails with any such railroad COM
pany" either with without advertisement, 'sproviicd
that for the conveyance of the mail any railroad of the
inst class he shall pay higher rate of compensation
than is allowed by law, and fixed the maximum for
the second class of railroads at 800 per mle and for the
third class at s5O-an inequality in their compensation
that cannot be easily or satisfactorily explained After
the passage of this act the subject again taken up in
the department. and considered with great care The act
of lSt5 limiting the power to pay the rst-cass routes