The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-12-03
Greuing Telesraph
SATURDAY, DEoEMBER 3, 1870.
TIE POSTNAS7 BR- GENERALS RE
PORT

PORT.
POSTMASTER. G GENERAL OREswsLL Ia in his annual
report makes an interesting aud satisfactory
exhibit of the affairs Of his department for
the last fiscal year. The Post Office Depart
ment is not yet self-supporting, but the de-
6cienoy has been greatly reduced, and as
Mr.. Oreswell shows, he could more than make
ends meet if Congress would do its duty by
abolishing the franking privilege. He states
that he is unable for several reasons to give
the exact cost of transmitting free matter
through the mails under the franks of men,
bers of Congress and other officers of the
Government, but he has ample evidence that
it fully equals the deficiency, which for the
last fiscal year amounted to $2,Slt,-
11s, and although the figures cannot
be given, there is good reason to
believe that 1t much exceeds the deficiency,
so that if the franking privilege were done
away with the Post Office Department could
absolutely be made to yield profit to the
Government As the matter now stands the
franking privilege stands in the way of
cheaper postage, and the public are made to
suffer from the miserable selfshness of their
representatives. The Postmaster General
argues as strongly as he did in his last report
against It's further continuance, and his ro-
marks upon the subject will receive the oom-
mendation Of the country, whether they are
responded to in proper manner by Congress
or not.
With regard to the transmission Of foreign
mails the Postmaster General explains the
arrangements that have been made with
various European and other lines of steamers,
but it does not appear that our foreign mail
system is established upon a suffi oently sure
and permanent basis, and Congress should
give the subject attention, as it should also
Mr.. Oreswelrs recommendation for an in
crease of mail service from monthly to semi
monthly trips on the mail steamship route
from San Francisco to China and Japan.
The postal money order system is shown
by Mr.. 0reswell to work in very satisfactory
manner, and that the conveniences it offers
are appreciated by the public is shown by
the large increase in the number of orders
issued and in the much greater amount of
money that is transmitted by this means
ovcr the previous years that it has been in
operation. During the past fiscal year the
total less to the Governmsnt by the mis-
carriage of money order packages amounted
to $sl6s-a small sum in comparison with
the whole amount of money remitted for de-
posits during the year, viz, $2S, ,O27.
The Postmaster General renews his re-
sommendstion of last year for additional
legislation to authorize tho exten sion of the
money order system to tho stations or sub
post offices of large cities, which wiH greatly
increase its usefulness, and he also recon-
mends the introduction of correspondence" or
post cards, such as have lately been adopted
with success in Northern Germany and Great
Britain, These are stamped cards, by means
of which messages and communications not
of q private nature can be transmitted at less
than tho regular postage rates. They will
certainly be appreciated by large number of
persons. as message oan be written with
lead pencil in the street even and the GARD
dropped into the nearest depository, thus
offering great conveniences for the transmits
sion of messages on great variety of sub
jscts in an easy and expeditions manner.
These are the most interesting if not the
most important points of Mr.. Creswell's re-
port, which in the matters we have men-
toned, az well as in others, Indicates that the
Post Office Department is under excellent
management, and that its deficiencies are due
rather to Congress than the Postmaster
General.