The Mountaineer. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1859-1861, 1860-02-11

and The loose, shifty apologies made 70
excuse unperformed public obligations
which. tithout some such excuse, would
Be- nothing short Of plumber. open and
direct. d the public treasury.
On attaining to his present position.
BY the unlooked-for death Of his prede-
cessor IN Office, Post Master Holt was
favorably received BY the public geners
ally, and was by business men compile
mented as an efficient public servant.
His present. report indicates that he has
endsavored TO fully comprehend the
work assigned to him in the administra-
lion 81 that branch Of public affairs; in
fact, his report though largely inter-
spersed with figures and calculations
which are At best dry and uninyiting is,
to us, the most readable and interesting
document that has issued from any
member Of the Cabinet at the present
meeting Of Congress-. There is q plain-
ness about ii that savors Of truth and
wristbands the approach Of surmisings Of
cloaking too visible in other reports.
With this favorable impression Of the
present Post. Master General. we doubt
not that some hints ON our postal oper-
ations out here viii be as favorably re-
lceiyed BY him as they are freely and
honestly given for the honor Of the gov.
ernmeut as well as for the comfort and
convenience Of the people Without pre-
tentions to .'get mp for each, we invite
both the rulers and the ruled to pick out
of our article what suits them.
The POSTMASTER in his expose Of the
present financial position Of his Depart
ment takes the ground, that where the
Expenditure in maintaining postal facili.
tiles exceeded the revenue. that burden
lshould properly fall upon the ''nationa
funds." On the western routes, b,
says;
sThe expenditures for local mail service In th
States Of California and Oregon, and IN Utahan,
Washington Territories, during the past year
amounted to S50S, 697 10, which, being added /
the cost Of the routes named, gives total o
I 81 ,693 .394 10. The population supplied BY thi
/ enormous outlay does not exceed six hundre
and fifty thousand Souls thus exhibiting
pos;al expenditure Of about 81 Ia for each PEI
son, including llages and conditions. The r.
g naming sles2 800 20 Of the gross annual d.
e bursements Of The Department furnish postl
4 taail,ie. for thirty millions Of people, being
Tho proportion Of less than forty-ons cents (.
each person. We're The inhabitants Of Il
country east Of the Rocky Mountains served b
the Department al the same rate Of expendltu
with those on the west il would require annual
To- one hundred and twenty-slx millions eight hu
in hred and ninety.three thousand three hundr
y and nlnssy-four dollars for its support, inste
< Of the sl4y 1904 ,493 80 now actually expended
n il II was apparent that the whole field
postal operations offered no point more urgent
or calling for curtsilment than these Pacific rout,
as and hence the action in reference to them, deer
S, I'd appropriate, was taken without delay''&
le In another portion Of the same repo
D. it is statsd That's, s.s:s3 FIG
10 "The Post Office at Sail Lake cfty yields
a. revenue Of but 500, and yet 10 connect ID
,e Office with the Valley Of the Mississippi and i
s Paclfcs this department expended during d
Z past year $500, 0O0.' = Z !: ,;.&s:.
D On the changes in our mail arrang
: ments, under the heading Of "1ndepe
!, dence. Salt Lake City, and Placervil
mails, z he furnishes another interestir
Item: + i. z5s.s ...g5l 81 a.. :s
Of @This connection with the Pacific was former
i . monthly service, but. in consequences Of I
!. threatened rebellion Of the Mormon population
TX was improved 10 weekly mail, at an ami
j. compensation Of $320, 0O0--ihe product bel
s. bnt Scala %. The object Of this improyemt
a. was TO enable the Government to commune,
Y regularly and rapidly with the troops engaged
active military operations 10 Utah. Tranquil
81 having been restored to that Territory, and I
n Department having been assured by the Secl
en- L ary Of War that weekly mail was no long
bv needed Tor the purposes OF the Goysrnment,a
. daetien TO semElnonthly service was ordered
p take place on the Both June last, which, ali
on making the most liberal allowance 70 the Cd
TRACTORS, viii save to the Department $1l5.O
1t per annum. y i
ne In a tabular list Of mail routes in /
nd same report, the Postmaster sets dol
ed the compensation to the contractors
u- running the weekly mail between q
Oh city and St. Joseph, Mo-, at Slso. 600 i
Ter annum. DeduCting thererom the Sfl
ID IOO0 sawed 70 the Department" by /
es, change to q semi-monthly, we have
tie present contract at SIS, 600. We ha
=. heard $4,000 frequently named in Il
,er connection, but that might be mer,