Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1869-12-16
OUR POSTAL AFFAIRS.

A careful rsadiug of the report Of the
Postmaster General will show that bis
Department 10 working very we'll, SO far
as the growth Of its revenue is con-
cernsd; and We agree with him in his
conclusion that It a easily be made
entirely sslf-aupporting, if the psrni-
cious Thanking privilege is abolished, as
it should be. The ordinary revenue
for the year 1ses-s-that 10, the revenue
from postage, exclusive of any Con-
grsssional aid-was Sls, 344. $40. This
10 an inesease orer the preceding year
Of $205l, 9lo, or about twelve aud a
half per cent. The increase Of expsndi.
ture for the same time was but S967,.
$50, Or only four and a quarter por
cent. This Is doing very well. Indeed
the revenue has been progressing in a
very handsome way for the last nine
years. In 1860, the year just preceding
the war, when every post route and
Postofics was in uninterrupted opsr.
alton, the total receipts from hostages
was but Ss,6ls,O67. From this it will
be seen that the revenue has more than
doubled in the last nine years, and that
is more than it did in in the preceding
twenty years, from 1910 to 1860. 1t
should be remembered, too, that there
are fewer Postoffcss in operation now
than there were in 1860, for at that
time there were %, 4ps, whilst there
wore but 26,4sl at the close of 1869.
Had the full number been in operation,
the rate of increase in the revenue
would have shown a much greater pro-
portion. Notwithstanding this, the
great progress Of the event of the Do.
partmsnt, both last year and for the
nine years since 1860, is very gratifying
because it indicates q corresponding
increase in the interchange Of letters,
and the diffusion Of newspapers and
books.
The rapidly growing usefulness and
popularity OF tho Postal Money Order
system is not less gratifying and still
moro remarkable. 1t required q long
struggle to got it engrafted on our postal
system at all. As far back rs 1857 a
strong effort wat made to get the Post.
master General to recommend it in his
annual report, and he was furnished
with full data to show how it would
work in the United States, sparsely set.
tied as n portion Of our country then
was and still is. At one time he agreed
to recommend its adoption, but at the
last moment, just before Congress as.
sembled, he changed his mind, because
the approval of a Postal Money Order
system might be construed into an at
tempt to revive q United States Bank
Aud so 1t fell until 1865. Since its es.
Enlistment in that year it has amply
indicated what was predicted Of its
operation eight years before. II began
with l4l offices in 1865, and an issue OF
orders for that year amounting to $l,'
3Gs,l22, and has 20 rapidly grown in
popular favor, that the number OF their
Offices in 10000 was l,46s, which issued
in that year 1884, l43 orders, amounting
to S24, s4s, o58 90. During the last year
its business increased moro than fifty
per cent. over the preceding year, and il
paid n profit 10 tho credit Of the Post
Office Department of 1854. 1t is by
far the most useful improvement in our
postal affairs since tho reduction Of post
ago to three conts, except the new treaty
with Great Britain. There is no convo.
nience like it for safety, and for avail
ability in tho transmission Of small and
fractional amounts of money by mail.
The average amount of the orders issued
last year was $40 As, which shows that
il is n popular institution.