The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1849-12-13

port from the clerks office OF the House oil
Representatives, it appears that during the
two sessions of the Both Congress, ending IN
March last the extra number of public docu-
ments for distribution was 80. $50, and their
weight was 467 ,762 pounds. Printed speech
es, folded for members 10 rank, 6,5S2, 5OO,
which are estimated at one ounce each: AL
l531 pounds. The one half of this shows the
annual amount of this ma terfrom the House
OF Representatives the two past years. This
does not include the written correspondence
OF the members, or the mail matter by them
received. No report direct from the Senate
has been received but by report from the
post-office in this city, ii appears that during.
the year ending June 80, 1919, the number of
| free written matter sent was 484,2l0 and
the number received was SIS, 293, making an
aggregate ofspeeches and documents amount
ing to ), 32009S. The letter and pamphlet
postage on this matter would have been 1892,
I709 BY law, two cents each is allowed every
postmaster for the delivery ola free letter or
package, if his income does not exceed s., 000
Il per annum. For the delivery OF nine-tenths
of the millions of printed speeches, franked
and transported in the mails, without compen-
sation, there is paid two cents each not by
the person who sends, or by the person who
receives it, or by the country as for public
service, but by those who pay postage on their
private correspondence. Congress is TO de-
| eide whether the ranking bv its members is
to continue. But the postage on the remain
| der. together with that on the correspondence
of the members aud the relief OF the expense
| of the transportation and delivery of this
Thanked matter. would enable the department
to sustain itself, though the postage were ma
terially reduced on letters. If Congress con-
tinue this ranking a valuable public ser
vice. Mr.. Collamer says that it is but just and
proper that the letter correspondence, by re-
duction on its postage, be relieved from its
support; and that provision be made there
for. in the same manner that other branches
| of public service is sustained. The Postmas-
ter General does not propose any change in
newspaper and pamphlet postage although
that postage is not in proportion to the cost #
their transportation. He thinks that it would
be desirable to have a fixed sum granted from
the Treasury for this public service as to a.
free matter and then the postage so reduced
and arranged as to provide for the remainder;
but that course is impracticable. as the money
from the Treasury cannot be drawn until that
from postage is first exhausted and. there
fore. the only safe way is to make reductions
of postage, from time to time until justice is
produced by leaving balance, to he annu-
ally drawn from the Treasury, equivalent to
the public service performed, and no extent
of reduction, which does not produce this eff
feet. is sufficient so long as public service is re-
quired to be performed free of postage.
| The length of railroad routes is 6, l3S miles,
beng an increase within two years of l, 149
miles and it is almost daily increasing as new
roads are being completed On these routes
the mail is now transported 5,749040 miles
ANNUALLY. 1t IS true that the service is done
with more dispatch than the same amount of
service in any other way, yet it is as much
greater cost.
The small service, by the way of South
ampton, to Bremen has been carried the past
year by the steamship Washington and Her
man, for the sum of 100000; and the gross
amount realised in postage from that service
| for the year ending October 4th, was SCI
I2O. The gross amount from the LIST of June
| 1917 to October 4th, 1848, was $29082, 81.
| Notice has recently been received from the
Iproprietors that this service will be suspend
ed until February next. in order to make the
necessary repairs now required for the safety
of these steam ships.
The mail from Charleston via Savannah
to Havana has been carried since the 18th of
October isis. IN the steamer Isabel, at the
cost of $35. OS6 %. No other foreign mail is
carried by contract.
By an act of Congress OF March 3. 1S47,
contracts were made for three lines OF war
steamers-one from New York via Havana
to New Orleans, and from Havana to Cha
gres one from Panama to California and
Astoria; and one between New York and
Liverpool, all which requiring thirteen war
steamships-w hich were to carry the mail
and to receive, when completed, the sum of
S874O0O per annum from the Treasury.
The Postmaster says that if this policy
is continued or extended and made ii claim
on the income from postage, it will greatly
embarrass the operations of the Department.
He thinks the support of these war steamers
ought to be drawn from the Treasury.
Since the last session of Congress. the pos
tai treaty with Great Britain has been carried
into full operation. The leading feature o.
that arrangement is, that letters on which the
postage is wholly prepaid, or on which none
is paid, pass through the mails between the
two counties, and are dispatched and are de-
hvered in the same manner as if those coun-
tries were one; and an account is kept inl
each of the postage collected for the other
which is periodically settled. The effect of
this is that while the sea service is almost
entirely performed by the British steamships
the sea postage belonging to them makes the
balance in accounting largely against us.
The efforts to extend this arrangement
through England to France have not been
successful.
The attention of Congress is called to the
anomalous state Of things connected with the
post office in San Francisco and the proprie
| ty of extending the service to Oregon and
| New Mexico is recommended.
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