Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1864-12-12

Some statistics of the postmaster gener
ais report, not embraced in the president
message, aud some of its suggestions, ar
of interest. During the fiscal year 1884,.
O54 so postage stamps, of the value Q
$40, III. .s2T; &c. .644. 800 stamped envelopes
Amounting to S765, ,512 SO, aud 1874 sol
newspaper wrappers, 0meunting to $3l. .4st
were issued. The total value Of these issuei
was $40 329 so, which compared witt
the issue of the previous year, $40, ,33s. 100
shows an increase of $685., ,669 so, or abou
St per cent. The value of the stamps and
stamped envelopes sold was $40, ,77s, ,569 50
and the amount used in the prepayment oi
postage was SIS, ,s7s, los 81. @
On the 3Olh of June there were 6,Oss
mail routes, ,s53 contractors, whole length
of routes 13e, l73 miles. Railroad, %. Gle
miles; steamboat, 1873 miles; "celerity,
certainty and security" lo9,27s miles
costing S5 ,s1s, ,469, divided as follows: rail-
road, 2s. .3Ol, ,942 miles of transportation at
So, ,667, O44, about IL cents mile; steam
boat, 2,ll2,1S4at $25s. .274, about IL cents
a mile ''Oelerity, certainty and security p
sO,sOl, ,2s1 at s.. $685. il5l, about 9 2. 10 esnts
q nsile.
Including the suspended post. offices. the
whole number on the both of June,s 1854,
was 2s s7e, of which 1870 are in the
loyal, and S,9O2 in the disIoyal states.
The number of presidential Offices is T05,
and s,l73 are under the appointment OF
the postmaster general. During the year
6I9 post-of6ces bave been established, 79s
discontinued aud 2ll changes made of
names and sltes. The number of cases
acted upon was 5579. Four thousand
seven hundred and thirteen postmRsters
have been appointed. of whom 3O2S were
to fillvacRncies occasioned by designations;
674 by removals; 259 by death; 1913 by
change of names and sites, and 6l9 on
establishment of new Offices.
At the close of the fiscal year there were
twenty special agents, whose salaries
amounted to $34 100; four hundred and
fourteen route agents, receiving $3l3 3,9l5;
fifty, three local agents, $32, ,OO9; and one
hundred and i've baggage masters in charge
Of through and express mails, $3.50. The
free delivery of mail matter by carriers
has been Introduced at sixty.six Offices,
employing, at present, 685 carriers, at an
aggregate annual compensation of S3l7,.
oei 29.
The number of dead letters of every de.
scription received and examined during
the year was 3,5Os s25. being an increase
of 95s, ,4O9 over the preceedihg year, attrib.
utable mainly to the return OF large nun.
oers of army and navy letters which it
was found impracticable TO deliver. Du
ring the year there were registered and rs-
mailed to the respective owners, as con.
tanning money, 25 752 letters, containing
an aggregate of $l3l,6ll "a, OF which
number 2O,O59, containing $104 665 "a
were delivered; 44l2 letters, containing
$40, ,4s5 40, were returned to the depart
ment, being addressed chiefly TO soldiers
and sailors, and persons transieutly at
places Of mailing or address. The num-
Der of dead letters couIaipine PsPoRS Of
value, other than money, as deeds bills OF
exchange, drafts, checks, &C., receiveds
registered aud returned for delivery to the
owners, was IL, ,436, and the nominal value
of the Enclosures therein was 81 ,6l6. 694
Is, being an increase over the previous
year of 41O4, or about fifty per cent, while
the increasein the value Of the Enclosures
.!aaS about $7l ,416 "a. hesn6hber of
these letters delivered was 1873, or nine
ty per cent. -
The money order system is just being
lnSr0QoCeQ.r "a A6up6EI1IsuueuG Auu a0SI5-
tsut bave been appointed, l4l post offices
have been designated as moRey order Off
ces and the operation Of the system COM
menced on the lst inst. The maximum
amount for which money order can be
issued ia fixed by law at $40, the object of
the system being to afford cheap, imme.
diate and safe ageuey for the transfer
through the mails of small sums of money.
The tendency of the system is to exclude
money from the mails, the presence of
which in letters, is q frequent cause of the
loss of correspondence, even whsu the let
ter does not contain money. l would res
pectfully suggest that the business would
be facilitated by enabling the post mssters
having moneys from this source to deposit
in the national banks designated by the
sec rotary OF the treasury as repositories OF
the public moneys, to their Own credit and
at. their risk, and thereby relieve the depart
ment from the necessity of furnishing
vaults and safes. Substantial advantages
would also result 70 the public interests
by permitting all deputy Postmssters TO
deposit in those banks any public moneys
il their hands, under like conditions; and
recommend such modification of the Law
as will authorize such deposits to be made
under the direction OF the postmaster gen.
eral.
sAMBo, ouffee, Cesar, POmpey, and the
names of other ancient wortnies and I'm
I.,o,.h;o, a,o MA vad mt az neUro RnDeIla.