New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-07-17
OUR NATIONAL POST-OFFICE.
To the Editor Of The N. Y. Tribune.

To The Editor Of The ~ Y Tribune
SIR: The last Annual Report of the Post.Ofice
Department gave, after the information had been ese
pecaly called fer by Congress, the postal expenses
and postal revenue in each State. The postal ex-
pepses as act down TO each State, must not be consd
cred as exact as, in transportation mail route will
sometimes commence in one locality ike Philadelphia,
md extend to another like Washington through
Delaware and Marylard-thus putting down all Of
the expense of the long route through several States,
10 the one where it commences Bat his circumstance
Mill NOT affect the general result-the general lesson
that is to be learned to any extent for with singular
md almost Underwriting regularity, shall that,
north and east receipts are large and expenses small;
and rs we go south and west the order is gradually
reversed. expenses growing larger and revenue
smaller, till we get stopped in the swamps Of Florida
or Ark the plains of Texas where the postal
eapenses are from three TO six times the amount OF re-
ceipts. -,
few years since several experienced officers Of the
Post-Offce Department made an estimate of the num-
her of letters basing the estimate on the probable
number of letters that each dollar each SlOO OF
revenue would represent That estimate is not sup
posed 20 be exact, but it Is probably within hye or
eight per cent and at any rate, is alike for all the
States and every locality. With this calculation, and
on the basis Of the revenue and expenses of each State
ard the Territories, have made out the statistlcai
table which is given below. Column gives the an'
nual postal revenue Of each State column 2 the num-
Der Of letters written and mailed during the year
1856; column g. the sum of money paid in postage by
each 600 persons year, and column a, the num-
Der Of letters written by each 600 persons. The oh
column gives the postal expensesthe entire sum PAID
out to keep up the postal establishment in each State,
and the 9Th column the expended for each
ICOO persons in the gross population. In column
7 is added TO the postal revenue contrib.
uted by the people the proportionate amount
of postage money due by Government for franked
matter and Government documents, at s. 500, 600 a
wear. the estimate Of the Post.Ofice Committee. We
See The H. that when Government pays postage at the
same rate that the citizen pays, the postal revenue
Of the State of Name, for year, instead OF being
sl52 7iO, is s2lO66i. The eighth column show; the
proportion that the postal expenses of each State bear
10 the revenue after the Government postage has
been paid Thus the postal expenses in Maine bear
The same proportion to the postal revenue as 81 to
leo Isl per cent, in Maryland lO2 to 100, and in
Arkansa as as 6l0 TO 100. To chow the geographical
hearings Of the subject and the effect of dense pop
ulaop' and great commercial and intellectual actv-
ity. the country is divided into three sections The
first or North West Section, takes every State as TAR
south and west as Pennsylvania; the second. or Mid
dls Section goes to the southern boundary OF Virginia
and Tennessee to the Mississippi and the western line
of Missouri, and includes California. The SOUTH
western division takes the Gulf States, the States
west of the Mississippi Missouri and California ex'
I'D tI