Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1858-12-09
po.,m..ter Gsnsraps Rerort..P. o statistles

| Postmaster Generals Report--P. 0. Statistics
The report of Postmaster General Brown is a
creditable business document, and in addition to
the usual facts and figures. contains valuable IN
formation and practical suggestions. 1t is
reasonable in dimensions, for these days OF
''Alexandrine length"
The employment ofexpress agents to accom-
psny mails on the great routes westward from
New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, is found
to work we'll Agents start with the great
mails morning and evening from New York for
the West-the latter going through without
change to Cincinnati: the former to Cleveland
and being held strictly accountable for all mail
bags placed under their charge. Similar agencies
have been established between Cincinnati and
St. Louis, and the route between Philadelphia
and Cincinnati has been changed so as to make
Chicago instead of Cincinnati, terminus. The
time of the express mail between Philadelphia
and Chicago is about sc hours.
The Overland Routes for the conveyance OF
the entire letter mail between the Mississippi
and San Francisco, are pronounced success.
Mail service on the Tehauntepec Route was
commenced on the 9th of October last, under
a contract with the Louisiana Tehauntepec
/ Company The mails are to be conveyed be-
| tween New Orleans and San Francisco twice a
month, each trip to be performed in Is days, the
pay to be at the rate of S2s6, 900 per year. The
route is by steamers between New Orleans and
Minatitlan. river steamers between Minatitlan
and Suchil, post coaches between Suchil and
the Pacific, and the residue of the route to San
Francisco in steamers. Mr.. Brown recommends
that the route be maintained at all hazards, in
order to give US complete control of the Gulf of
Mexico
The Report commends to favor the long talk
ed of steamship line between Norfolk and Eu-
rope, and from New Orleans TO some European
port; favors a steam line to Brazil; the extern
sion of the California line from Panama to the
South Pacific; and proposes steam line be-
tween California and China via Japan, which
Mr.. Brown confidently believes will draw to it
not only the correspondence and travel of our
own country, but of Great Britain and most of
the continent of Europe, SO that after the first
three years no subsidy whatever viii be required
co sustain it.
The failure of the Collins Line to perform the
Ocean mail service expected of it, is alluded to,
and the responsibility thrown upon the Navy
Department, with which the contract exists.
The Postmaster General makes one recommen-
dation which comes home to everybody 1t is
that the three cent rate upon letters be
raised to five cents, and the abolition of the dis
count now allowed by law for the payment of
newspaper and pamphlet postage, quarterly or
yearly in advance Mr. Brown believes that the
effect of this would be to raise the revenue from
postages about So 100000. OF this proposed
additional tax en- intelligence, about four ffths
would be paid by the people of the Free States.
A nc lifcation of the franking privilege is
recommended. 1t should be discontinued alto
gether Government has too long been COM
mon carrier for Members of Congress, in the an
nualtransportaton of hundreds of tons of books,
many of them hardly worth the cost The
transmission of the books of the Delegate from
Utah alone cost the department between $1,000
and $1,000 The Report with point says:-"In
times of national as well as State elections, the
Post Office eonveyances are literally loaded down
with partisan documents, for which it is evident
somebody should nav. if it is expected that the
support"
We append some interesting statistics de-
rived from the Report, not given in the tele-
graph synopsis;
The whole number of Post Offices on the 3Oth
of June was 27,977. The number established
during the last fiscal year lending June 3Oth)
was 2,l2l; the number discontinued 73O.
The number of Postmasters appointed during
the year was S,2S4. OF these, 4595 were to
fill vacancies by resignation, 99s by change OF
name and sites, and 3 l2l on establishment of
new offices. The whole number of offices on the
lst of December, 1858, was %, 573.
On the 30th of June last, there were in ope-
ration 8, s,296 mail routes. The number of CON
tracts was 7,044
The length Of these routes is estimated at $780,
60e miles, divided as follows:
Railroad. d.............-.... "a, ,431 miles.
Steamboats,. l7,043
Coach. h........,...-......- 53,700
Inferior grades. ...........l6 l66,429
The total annual transportation of mails was
rs, 765, ,49l miles, costing S7,795,4I and divi-
ded as follows:
Railroad, 25,763,452 miles, at 81 ,s2s, ,3OI;
about eleven cents mile
Steamboats,, 4, ,569,6l0 miles, at 81, ,233, ,9I6; |
about twenty-seven cents and two mills a mile |
Coach, l9. 555 734 miles, at 81, ,9O9 ,s44; about
nine cents and eight mills mile
Inferior grades, 2S, SIG, ,695 miles, at 81 $685.
357; about six cents and three mills a mile