Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1871-12-14
POSTMAsTER-GENERAL's REPORT.
The following is an abstract of Postmaster Gene


The following is an abstract of Postmaster Gene
raj Creswells report:
The ordinary revenues of the Post Office Depart
ment for the fiscal year ended June 80 1871, were
$40 OBJ, ,045. .42, and the expenditures of all kinds I
Ss4 39o,loi0s For the year ended June. 80 1870
money-order funds deposited postal receipts for
convenience of transfer) $1S,ST9, 81 65 and
the expenditures mot including the amount of mon
eyorder funds retransferredD were S23,34S S31.G3
The increase of revenue for the year 1871 the
year 1870 was 81 ,66s n or 613 per cent? and the
increase of expenditures $1041 .26645 or 4.45 per
cent, showing net increase in revenue of
s116,4o1.32: The increase in revenue for the year
1871 over the year 1859 was So 122 500 20 or 15T2
per cent, and the increase of expenditures for 1871
over 1869 was 81 ,251912.5S, Sal per cent. The
increase in revenue for 1871, compared with 1870
was less than the increase for 1870. compared with
1869, by $270,0i2 IS: and the increase of eNpend-
lures for 1871, compared with 1910. greaterthan
59o8a
[ If, in addition to the ordinary revenues the De
partment be credited with S700o00 appropriated Tor
transportation of free matter, and the amounts
| drawn and expended for subsidies to steamship
lnes it viii appear that the deficiency provided out
of the general Treasury for the year 1S11 Is S2g2S
05S.66 against 81 s14. lie 9s for the year 1870
Estimated expenditures for the year ending June
3d. 1871 S27 4s9 fao revenues, estimated at ten per
1 cent. Increase over last year. including Sio0,0oo
standing appropriations for free matter 22 Ils, 49
leaving deficiency of "a, 749,oGl. These esti-
nature of subsidies, for mail steamship service be-
I tween San Francisco and Japan and China, between
/ the United states ana Brazll; ana petween san
Of the deficiency appropriated for 1870 there was
pnexpended at the close of that year the sum of
S4740, ,000 appropriated for deficiency in 1S71 81
6S5 032-makinga total of $9.4a5 os2.
+ There were drawn during the last fiscal year of
sthe amount ,inexpended at the close of 1870 for
I payments on account of that year 81 COO; of
amount appropriated for 1871 81 $50, ,oQo-making
total of 81 100000, and leaving in the Treasury I'M
expended, S6,725O32, against (which there are
chaigeable sundry unliquidated accounts estimated
at 81 27S 921 61 leaving after settlement OF all la
appropriations of S5,446, ,110.3e.
The number of adhesive postage stamps issued
during the year was ass 126,115 representing S14,
$50 715: stamped envelopes, plain 4995 CPS repe-
senting 81 4sa 414 70; "request envelopes, AS Ill
6609,O0o. representing S132, 1851 making total of
COZ sol $50 samps n envelopes & and wrappers PC repre-
over the fiscal year ending June 30 1870, was ST.
112, 1872 or 7.13 per cent. ofs->1 -
i The number of packages Of postage stamps lost
| in the mails during the year was six representing
S25S: and of stamped envelopes three representing
S51 10: being much less than the losses from SINH
lar delinquencies in 1870 and previous years.
| 4+ii TRANSPORTATION STATISTICS. .-4
There We're in the service of the department on
the Both june 1871 1885 contractors for the trans
portaton of the mails. u .43s l.5= 81
of mail routes in operation there were s,951,
aggregating in length exclusive of special routes
23S, ,359 miles, in annual transportation 191,57a,
| 794 miles, and in annual cost $11 ,529, ,395.
Adding the compensation of railway post.
office clerks route agents. local agents, mail
masters in charge of registered passages amounting
to 81 SI5r526, the aggregate annual cost was $13,
1915
The service was divided as follows:
/ Railroad routes: Length 1884 miles; annual
transportation, So 557, ,0iS miles; annual cost S.
| IA, ,979-aboIt 1920 cents per mile.
| Steamboat routes: Length, 20, 334 miles annual
Transportation. 46S4,11S miles annual cost, S776
943 -about 1888 cents per mile. 5..
Other routes which the mails required to
be conveyed with ''celerity certainty, and secur-
ity." Length, 16S 191 miles annual transportation,
47,330968 miles annual cost, $5.027, ,473-aoout
1862 cents per mile. ~
There was an increase over the preceding year in
lengh of routes of ,127 miles, in annual transpor
tation TO- SAT, ,79S miles, and in cost $644 742 Add
ing the increased east for railway post-oiice clerks,
route, local. and other agents. $404 $780, the total in
a crease in cost was 81 ,0493 y StJt
The foregoing statements of distances and costs
do not incfade service for especial offices. There
were at the close of the year a,115 of these, each
mot allowed to exceed the net postal yield of the
office. Especial routes and their carriers are in
cluded, however, in the number of contractors and
routes as given above
The new railroad routes put in operation during
the year 1871 amounted to 6,1O7 miles; during
dition in three years of 1886 pniles to the 36O1s
miles in operation on July /, 1868. The increase in
three years exceeds 38 per CENT. and in the last
year alone it reached the unparalleled proportion OF
II per cent. ,-t< -4si--
), + In both my former reports have advocated re-
vision and readjustlnent of the rates of compensa
ton for the transportation of mails on railroads
but as vet no effective action has been taken by
Congress. The Department continues to encounter
many annoying difficulties in its efforts to
rapid Transmission of the mails particularly those
containing newspapers, to the South and West. ow
ing to complaints by the managers of railroads OF
the inadequacy of their pay, {and their refusal tC
allow the of their fastest trains and com
modious nlail7cars. 1t is important to the service
that this long-pending controversy should be set
tied and hence @ !, again renew my recommendation
allow fair and reasonable increase of the compen
sation OF raiiroad companies, upon condition that
they shall enter into contract with the Department
for the prompt and faithful performance of then
p duties. $50 -~-4
FINES AND DEDUCTIONS. -. --
The amount OF fines imposed upon contractors and
deductions made from their pay, on account of fail
ures and other delinqueneies for the last year. was
Sa5s56 q and the the ar am9unt % remitted during the
of fines and deductions S., 1877.
MAIL DEPREDATIONs.
Il The number of complaints of missing letters dur
ing the year Is 4600 OF which 2057 were registered
and 2543 unregistered, containing bonds, drafts
and currency to the nominal amount of $41S, 74S 90
Of registered letters $50 were accounted for as re-
ceived at their destinations and only 233 have been
reported as actually lost. The remaining cases are
in the hands of special agents for Investigation;
For violations of the postal laws, 1913 persons have
been arrested, Of whom al have been convicted and
sentenced to different degrees Of punishment, and
the remainder in the hands of the Department of
Justice to be dealt with according to law.
lGd Is RAILWAY PesT-oFFICEs.
The statement hereto .appended shows anincrease
Of eight lines and 1856 miles of railway post-ofice
service The numberof lines in operation the
30th day of June, 1871, 40, extending in the ag-
gregae II 20S miles of railroad and steamboat
routes. Upon $50 miles the service is performed
i daily, upon 2527 miles twice daily, and upon 81
miles four times daily, equivalent in all to 1379s
nes eaeh tb way daily q g. az Ut fhenes both
4 and 10,072, $40 miles annually The number of
clerks employed was 513 at an annual cost of $685.
400 against 3f5 clerks at cost of 442 600. for the
previous year, showing the increased cost for the
fiscal year to be $2o6 500. OF this amount, the
of 600 expended for the equalization of sal
nndua ircrs sn1
ture is $17S200.. ..-..-s-.-. tsf
II The value of the railway postoffice system was
especially demonstrated after the destruction by fire.
of the great distributing post-oice at Chicago H.
the 9th of October last But for the lines lead
ing to the West and concentrating at Chicago, the
western States would have been seriously
interrupted for many weeks During the
month of October, besides the letter mails,
i afarge portion of the great paper-mails for the
States mentioned We're successfully distributed on
the cars and passed to their destination with the
i The want of sufficient room upon the cars now in
use prevents, however, the proper distribution of
frequent delays at the various distributing offices
for separation, while the letter-mais go directly
4 forward to their destination.
In FOREIGN MAILS.
II The total number of letters exchanged during
the year, with foreign countries, 20 295 $685. an
increase of 1.936620 over the number reported for
1870. Of this number, 10,461 1868 sent from,
and 634 130 were received in, the United States.
j The number of letters (single rates. exchanged
u tiie ItiIs Will European countries was ll3
55o an increase of g12 IA the number reported
for 1870. -ss5a
:. The total postages on letters exchanged with for
eign countries amounted to 81 735, ,266 81, being
4 1929 29S. .16 less than the amount reported for
i 1870. 8 ~
The aggregate amount of postage (sea, inland and
| foreign on the letter-mails exchanged with the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Germany Switzerland, Italy. The Netherlands, Bel
gium and France, s., ISL O5741 being 1884 1885,
10 less than the amount reported for 1870. The
postages on letters sent exceeded the postages on
Letters TecesUed from the countries in the sum
of $5802. Is, being less than one-half of one per
cent. of the aggregate amount. The postages col
ected in the United States amounted to $55 724 80
and in Europe to 1926 333 o. the of collec-
tions in the United States being $780, 1S7, or 2S
per cent of the entire postage receipts.
Comparing the year 1871 with the year 1870 the
rate of increase in the total number of letters
changed in the mails with foreign countries was
1019 per cent, and the rate of decrease in the
amount of postages thereon II g per cent. The
increase in the number of letters exchanged with
European countries was nearly per cent, and the
decrease of postages thereon amounted to is 81
per cent. this large reduction in the postage re
fccipts having resulted from the greatly reduced
rates of international postages established between
the United States and the different countries of Eu
rope. which came into ODeratiOn durnp the latte