The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1874-11-19
value Of s17 ,g5, ,24sS6f pls{1l stamped en-.

value Of &17, ,275, ,242 - plailf stamped en-.
velopes about 81, ,000 200, valued at g..
027,952; of mpedenvelopes bearing d
return request $4,000, 900, valued al
| 81, ,733, ,73s; Of newspaper wrappers some
100000, valued at 100000, and OF
pos.al-cards 91,OO0,O00. The increase in
value Of the ordinary issues over the
preceding year was 81 1858, 4ss, or over
8 per cent These figures represent the
cost Of manufacture added to the postal
value.
| It is estimated that for the fiscal year
ending June 30, 1875, there will be re-
quired to defray the cost Of adhesive
postage stamps $149, ,784; of stamped en-
velopes and wrappers $446, $50; Of post
al-cards $159, 1906; and of advertising
$115,OO0. The number of stamps, ETC.,
issued each year increases at a uniform
rate of about 10 per cent. per annum, but
in consequence of more advantageous
contracts having been effected the esti-
mate for the above items is some $31 900
less than the sum appropriated for them
for the current fiscal year.
The Dead. Letter Division received dur
..~g the past year 4, sol, ,77S letters, repre-
senting an actual or nominal value of
"a ,637 ,429, exclusive of jewelry and other
property, which class Of Enclosures is
treated as possessing no money value
that can with correctness be determined.
One million three hundred and ninety
two thousand two hundred and twenty
four letters, representing &, ,9O9, 1868, were
delivered to the owners or writers, in
cluding 225,S93 foreign letters, which
were returned unopened to the countries
from whence they came. OF the remain
der some 1900, 900 were either worthless,
containing circulars, etc, or could not be
delivered and were destroyed. The rest
are filed for reclamation or are in the
hands of Postmasters for delivery.
The Third Assistant strongly recon-
mends that provision be made by law
for furnishing to each and every Post
master throughout the country indelibls
ink and other requisites for effectually
canceling postage stamps and for post
marking None of the postoffices are
now furnished by the department with
any such articles for the protection of
the Government. Mr. Barber estimates
that the proportion of washed stamps
used again in payment of postage is 5
per cent. of the value of all the stamps
sold each year, causing an annual loss of
81 100000 to the revenue of the depart
ment.
The report describes the plan devised
by the Third Assistant, and approved by
the Postmaster-General, for collecting
newspaper postage under the Prepay
ment law, which is to go into effect next
January. This system provides, in brief,
for the prepayment by stamps affixed to
a memorandum Of mailing, or, in other
words, to stub in book retained by |
the Postmaster at the mailing office, a
receipt showing the weight of the mat
ter and the amount paid being given by
the Postmaster to the person mailing the
same. The stamps affixed to the stub to
be Cancelled by a cutting punch. 1t is
that, notwithstanding the re-
duction of rates by the new law,
this system Of compulsory prepayment
of newspaper postage will yield larger
Comprehcn.: has ever been .S Sva'snst Warrant
the belief that in the city of New York
alone not less than 100000 per annum
will be paid, a sum which is little less
than one e-half of the entire revenue from
postage throughout the United
States during the fiscal year 1t is, how
ever, impossible to estimate the actual
increase for the whole country, owing to
that provision of the law which allows
free mail circulation of newspapers in
counties in which they are printed.