Washington telegraph., 1850-01-02


data i'll the Department to ascertain witt
much precision the number Of letters pas
sing annually in the mai! under this charg,
Iof ten cents. Even if the number of tel
cent letters were actually known, it woult
still be impossible to determine how many
of them were ten cent letters from being
double. Thence arises the great differ
ence i'm the estimate of loss of revenue
from such a reduction as was presented
in the report of the Postmaster Genera
last year, to wit: $715,187; and that o
the first Assistant, $306,73S.
From careful examination now made
of the data in the Department, it is esti
mated that the whole number Of charged
letters sent through the mails the pasl
y,ar was 62,000,0 600, and of this number
alout Is, 100000 were subject to the ten
cent postage on account of distance. If
tten, the reduction were to bring no more
aters in the mail, the diminuton OF rev.
eiue therefrom the first year would be
S75,O0O
1t is already shown that the surplus on
tie first day of July last was S69l, ,622 20,
ad that on the first day of July next will
be $S5S,41O 81, which will undoubtedly
Increase in future years by natural accu-
nulation: and, by increase of the number
f letters arising from this reduction, will,
IN the first year, occasion no change in
TIE Treasury and it is extremely uncer-
tain whether its operation can ever pro-
euce that effect. A brief trial of this ex-
pertinent will show it's effect, and. if
i, should not produce any important
haught on the treasury, then further re-
Ctlction of postage should be made, and
corresponding provision from the treas
Try adopted until after this has been tested
by experiment, is respectfully submitted.
The length of railroad routes is 6, 1873
niles, being an increase within two years
Of LAC miles, and it is almost daily in
dreasing as new roads are being COM
laeted On these routes the mail is now
transported 5,749, ,040 miles annually. 1t
is true that the service is done with more
than the same amount Of service
in any other way yet it is at much great
er cost.
Tie mail service. by the way Of South
ampton, to Brennan, has been carried the
past year by the steamships Washington
aud Hermann, for the sum of $200,000;
and the gross amount realised in postage
from that service, for the year ending
October 4th, was $61,1l4 20. The gross
from the 1st of June, 1S47, to
October 4th, 1913, was $2O,OS2 81.
Notice has recently been received from
the proprietors that this service will be
suspended until February next, in order
to make the necessary repairs now re
quired for the safety of these steamships
The mail from Charleston via Savannah
to Havana has been carried since the 9Th
of October, 1913, 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,
S47, contracts were made for three lines
of war steamers-one from New York,
via Havana, to New Orleans, and from
Havana to Chagres; one from Panama to
California and Astoria; aud one between
New York and Liverpool, all which re-
curing thirteen war steamshlps-whlch
were to carry the mail and TO receive,
when completed, the sum of 1914, 900
per annum from the Treasury.
The Postmaster says that if this policy
is continued or extended and made claim
on the income from postage, it will great
ly embarrass the operations OF the Depart
ment He thinks the support of these
war steamers ought to be drawn from the
Treasury.
Since the last session of Congress, the
postal treaty with Great Britain has been
carried into full operation. The leading
feature of that arrangement is, that letters
on which the postage is wholly prepaid.
or on whoich none is paid, pass through
the mails between the two countries, and
are dispatched and delivered in the same
manner as if those countries were one;
and an account is kept in 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 steam
ships, the sea postage belonging to them
makes the balance in accounting largely
against us.
The efforts to extend this arrangement
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 propriety of extending the service TO
Ore con and New Mexico is recommended.
Such has been the progress OF the SER
vice and such the increase OF business
that the pressure on the clerks mas be-
come so great and delays SO unavoidable
as absolutly to require new additional
force or the public service must suffer
The pressure is in all the bureaux OF the
Department. In the last year there were
received 100000 dead letters, all OF
which have been opened and examined
or these. 1864 contained money to the