The daily union., 1852-12-12
OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS

Posr OffIcE DEPARTMENT,

Report Oh tuC EOSt"aotei HSnSA0A'
Posr OfFicE DEPARTMENT
rHW4s HNH December A, 1852
Sir; In discharge Of duty devolving on me, have
the honor to report thar The whole number oil post ohces
in tbe United States the close OF The fiscal year ening
June 80 1852 was 30 00l The number oil posimasiers
appointed during that year was 23o vi hese 3,T2o
were appointed TO fill vacancies oecasloned by fesgna'
tons 255 10 MI vacancies occasioned by death 24o
changing The sites oi Offices; 800 on he removal OF
prior ncumbeDs; and 7l9 on The esabs shmeht OF new
Offices There l,Ii0 post Offices established, and
Ola discontinued during the year.
From lhe end of The fiscal year 10 November l. 1882
5e6 post Offices have been established and 236 dsoon-
tnued that The whole number n operation al The lat
Ter date 2l,i9l AT ITS close there were IN opera
ton in the United States 6.7ll mail routes, Their aggre-
gate length being 2I42s4 miles, and employing 5.2oo
contractors. The annual transportation OF The mails on
these routes s. 9s57ss miles, at annual cost OF
S3939,g7l being about ITO cents per mile. Oh these
os;9s572o miles OF annual transportation, ll,os2,los
cost OF $l,275,520, being about III cents per mile;
6,353,409 miles in steamboats,, al cost of S305,ol5
being about per mile 206o $3.50 miles coaches.
at cost OF 1886, being about 81 cents per mile
and 30 $50 62l miles IN modes not specihed at cos OF
VI 029,650, being about O. 10 cents per mile.
The inland service. when compared with such ser
vice at he close OF the preceding year, as stated IN The
last annual report from this department, shows an IN
OF 99I miles in the length OF mail roules, oil
57l3 Ats in the miles OF transportation and OF S5lS,2l7
in the annual cost OF transportation. OF such
OF transportation the railroad service amounts 10 ASIA,
06I miles, at increased cost OF S290s50i being in
crease Oh aDDut tue sttfCc
and in its aggregate costs the steamboat service 10 $685.
427 miles, increased cost OF S50,923, being IN
oil about sixteen and hall per cent III service
and eleven per cent in cost the coach service 10 o72,
342 miles, at increased cost OF Ss1s27 being in
crease OF about 1--WE per cent In service and eight per
cent IN the aggregate cost and IN modes OF service no,
specified TO 1928 GAG miles, al Increased cost oi SOL,
967. being increase OF abou, seven per cent in
vice, and ten per cent IN cost.
Compared with the transportation and its cost, al the
close of the fiscal year ended June so, 1912, show
that The railroad and had increased
the ten years ,9l5 miles, at an increased cost OF
being about 294 per cent, increase in service,
and l7I per cent IN cost The coach service 1881 S9l
miles, at decreased cost OF S57l 52I, being about
per cent increase IN service, and ihlnyihee and one
third decrease IN cost The service IN modes not
specified 9205.9sS miles, at increased cost OF $292
045, being about seventy nine per cent increase in
wee, and forty per cent. IN cost.
II may be proper in this connexon 10 remark that the
actual Increase OF coach servced performed Is greater,
and that oil performed horseback. and III other
modes specified less than the above stated, for
the reason thai since The act OF ls45, much coach ser
vice sperormed under contracts not specifically Tequir-
ing that gIade OF Service but only that the mails be car
ried with due 'ceeriy, certainty, and security" The
service under such contracts is reported modes
not specified although coach service IS performed under
them Tor large portion OF or the entire year.
There were in operation on the 30th day of June last
six foreign mail routes, OF the estimated aggregate length
OF 1880 miles the number OF miles OF annual trans
poration thereon estimated at io6. The service
three OF these routes under contract with this depart
ment; the annual transportation thereon is estimated al
per mile The service the other three routes is under
contract with the Navy Department. The annual trans
poTtaon thereon is estimated al ASS 1884 miles, al
dual cost OF Sld96.25o Qncuding The additional
pensaion voted 10 the Collins line at the last session of
Congress, being about SO 20 per mile.
The annual cost of conveying the mails across the
sthmus OF Panama is unceraln as II depends on their
freight the cost for the last year. at % Cents per pound
the price paid, S4s,039 II is estimated that, Tor
large portion OF The contents of these mails (beng print
ed maer the amount received IN pos,ages under the act
OF August 81 1852, does not exceed hive cents pound,
in payment OF the whole transportation from the point of
mailing 10 that OF delivery As that act did not go into
effect unlii the 30th OF September last reliable est
mate be made OF the increased cost OF mail SET
the shmus under It's operation, but there
be no doubt that such increase will be large.
The temporary arrangement Tor this service, which
went into effect the first OF December last, with the
Panama Railroad Company still Ia force, and is found
10 be great Improvement on the previous arrangement,
although not yet entirely satisfactory. The completion
OF the railroad is looked forward 10 the remedy for
most Of the existing delays and defects Ia the service be
tween New York and SAD Francisco
Under the general head of transportation OF the
Mails 10 cbarseable the compensation oil and local
agents aud mail messengers. The amount payable on
this account, al the close OF the last fiscal year, was
Slg6,936 per annum.
The extent and annual cost OF the entire mail service
under the control OF The department al the close OF the
fiscal year ended the 30h OF June last, well It's
division among The States and Territories, and the mode
OF It's performance required By the then existing contraci
by the Second Assistant Postmaster General and marked
As the railroad service is daily becoming import
ant and expensive, table showing the extent and
cost OF that service each OF the States operation
the 30lh day OF June in each year. from ls4s 10 1854
inclusive, has been prepared, and is hereto annexed,
marked B.
Our ocean steamer service commenced in Jun. ls47
Its great and rapid increase is shown by the following
tabular statement OF It's cost for each fiscal year, fol-
lows;