The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1866-01-17

Post Once Department.
We clip from the Muscatine Courier cor
densed report of P. M. Gen Dennson:
The revenues of this department for the yea
ending June, 1865, were $l4,556, SO 20 ez
penses, $l3,794 ,G22 %. Estimated expense
, of the current year (, $l8 ,67s. 900
appropriation of $26O, ,OCO is asked 70
steam service between the United States ant
Brazil, for eight months service the present
and twelve months the coming year and
like sum for steamship service between Sal
Francisco, Japan and China for the first 81,
months OF the coming year.
Postage stamps issued during the year am
cunt to over ,O00-stamped envelopes
$724 ,l25 stamped newspaper wrappers, $23.
3l5. OF the number issued, $l2,399,727 Si
| in value were sold.
The mail service in operation in June EN-
braced 5Ol2 routes, la, 2,34O miles, costing
$6,246,SS4
Railroad service, 90, ,4Ol miles, cost s2,7O7,
42l.
Steamboat service, l3,Oss miles, cost $3.50,
| 59S.
Other kinds of transportation, lO5,s5l
miles. cost $3.l7g.s65.
Cost per mile by railroad, llL cents by
steamboat, lla cents; by other routes, IL
cents
Number of routes recently ordered in opera.
ton in southers states, PAL in miles, lS, GAO ).
l'2; compensation. $72l ,949.
hallway post offices have been put in opera.
ton on several of the leading railroads, and
the system has been sn satisfactory that it will
soon be extended to other routes sa
Of the $500 post offices in the south before
the war. ,06l have been re.opened.
The department has 81 local agents, who
are paid $30,949 33 special agents at Ss2,-
79O route agents, 3S7, at 1927 ,522
Received at dead letter Office, 4,36s, ,Os7 let.
teIs containing money and re mailed to own.
ers. 42,l54, with enclosures amounting to
1924, 1893 81 OF these 35,26S, containing
$2lO,954 go, were delivered, leaving $3.50
undelvered, with enclosures of $33,4I9 OF
Letters containing less than one dollar, l6, 709,
OF which 1858 we're returned to the writer's
The number of registered letters and pack
ages was 1895 Letters containing checks
bills of exchange, deeds and other papers of
value, l3,304, with a nominal value of S3 ,329,.
eSS, of which 1916, containing S3,2i6,l4
were delivered. Containing photographs, Jew.
elry and other articles, G9,9O2; Al $50 were
delivered valuable letters sent out, l07, ,979 !:
unpaid and msdirected, l662i5. Eead letters
returned to the writer's, .lSS, ,599 not return
ed, 297 ,304-about 90 per cent. Letters re-
esNeu HoW lorelSn countries, oS,5bl.
1t is recommended that prepaid letters be re.
stored to the owners free of postage also
that letters be forwarded, at the request of the
parry addressed, from one post Office to anoth.
er, without extra charge The number of let
ers conveyed in the mails during 1865 is esti-
mated at 467 ,59l 600. OF these 4,36S, ,OS7
were returned to the dead letter office The
total number lost and destroyed was 2,3.2 ,42f
or one in every two hundred mailed for trans
mission and delivery Fully three-fourths of
the letters returned as dead failed to reach the
parties addressed through faults of the writers.
The postal money order system has been, so
far as tried, a success. 1927 of these orders
have been issued, amounting to ST. ,360,l22 So;
of these lO,523 have been paid to the persons
,792 22-and to the original
purchasers of the orders, $2l,7s4 sc The
largest amount now allowed in these post Office
orders is $50. The Postmaster General recon-
mends that it be increased to $50.