The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-12-16

! die, and the life of the "king of the
American forests was brought to an
! ignominious close by the use, Of a peck
ct knife and cudgel. lie measured
tseven feet from tip to tip, and weighed
! 105 pounds. Three toes were, gone
from his fore foot, Seeming to eVince an
intimate acquaintance with steel-trap
some time in the past. Hunters and
! dogs escaped uuhurt-a fact probably
due to the severe injuries sustained by
the animal in the early part of the fight.
The. carcass was borne in triumph to
the village and exhibited to the wonder
ing eyes of the Inhabitants.
Report of the Postmaster General.
WASHINGTON. D. c., Dee. j The Post
master-General' 5 annual report shows the
receipts OF the Departments be So, AL 800,
and the expenditures SO, 61l, 800. The re-
ceipts exceed those Of 1874, / l3-l0Q per
| cent, and the expenditures 4 62-lOO per
cent. The actual amount drawn from the
Treasury was 81, ZIG, $40, or S543,6 COG less
than the previous year. The recorded COM
! plants of missing letters number 5,645, of
which 2. were registered letters contain-
ing bonds, drafts, etc, amounting to Si6,-
! PIG. while the unregistered letters contained
! OF the former, ,0S3 were satisfactorily
accounted for, 81 actually lost, and 6S3 re-
main under investigation. Arrests for Yio-
/ lation Of the postal laws numbered 500, the
greater portion not beingconnected with the
postal service: 107 convictions were had and
! l57 await trial. The Money-Order Depart
ment, the annual transactions of which have
reached about $50. 900. 600, shows an ap-
parent profit of $40, 900, though really in
! arrears more than that if the clerk-hire and
stationery required for the business were
charged directlvtOi its account. The increase
Of rates on small orders made by the author
ity Of the last Congress will, it is believed,
enable the Bureau TO hereafter pay its own
expenses. '..r
AMERICAN MAILS on AMERICAN STEAM
SHIPS.
The fact that bHtone American steamship
line carries the mails across the Atlantic,
and none to South America, is regarded as
| humiliatimg to American pride. Postmaster
General Jewell thinks as 4 matter of Ma
tional pride, and as 4 means of supplying an
efficient steam marine available for immedl-
ate use by the Government in ease of war,
provision should be made for the transpOr-
tatiOn of our mails on important ocean
routes in steamships Differed and manned
! by our citizens and sailing under our own
! flag. He says: "A moderate compensation
| in excess of the hostages now al
| lowed would enable the establishment and
]
and South America: and a moderate mail
compensation for 4 line to Japan and China
will doubtless continue the mail service to
those countries in American ships after the
termination Of the existing subsidy contract,
which will expire on the 31st of December,
1876. / think il safe to say that the sum of
500. 600 per annum now granted rs a subsidy
TO the Japan and China line for single
monthly service on that route would, in ad-
ditiOn to the hostages on mails conveyed, be
quite sufficient, judiciOusly apportioned be-
tween the respective routes, 10 maintain an
efficient mail service by steamers sailing I'M
der our flag on all the important ocean
routes which should be occupied by lines Of
American Steamers
.--r STRAW BIDS.
Mr.. Jewell says the evil of ''straw''-bid-
ding, which annually involves the Depart
ment in the loss of many hundreds of th0us-
ands of dollars, can, in his judgment, be ef-
fectually removed by such a change in the
law as viii authorize the Postmaster-Gen-
eral, on the failure of any accepted bidder,
to offer the contract as ut present to the next
lowest bidder ON the list, if, in his judg-
ment. the bid be not too high; and, if this
next lowest bidder declines to enter into 4
contract, to be authorized TO enter into
| contract with person not a bidder at any
! price not exceeding said lowest bid.
TIE RAILWAY POSTAL. SERVICE.
The PoStmaster-General speaks of the
!
| i'm high terms, but thinks it would be more
equitable to pay companies by space instead
| of weight. This would increase the COM
| penSatiOn of roads of the larger class, but
| reduce it materially on many of the smaller
/ and weaker ones. The fast mail service is
praised, and the opinion expressed that at
| no distant day the business of the Depart
ment will be so great as to induce railroad
companies to run similar trains from New
! England 10 the Gulf, and from the Atlantic
to the Pacific.
THE OLD RATE on THRD-CLAss MATTER
SHOULD BE RESTORED. r--rF =
| The PoStmaSter-Gcneral says: 90 recon-
mend that the postage on transient newspa-
| pers and periodicals, books, printed matter
OF all sorts, Autographs, maps, sheetmusic,
| photographs, and manuscripts designed for
publication, shall be reduced to one cent for
| each two ounces or fraction thereof, which
was the rate before the enactment of the law
/ advancing it during the closing hours Of the
last Congress.
1t is also recommended that any person be
| permitted, without additional charge, to
| write a form of presentation in any book,
! pamphlet, magazine, periodical, or any 9TH
er matter of the third-class; and also that the
| sender Of any package be permitted, without
additional charge, to write his or her name
and address on the outside thereof, with the
EwOrd Prom above or preceding the same,
so As TO inform the person addressed of the
name Of the sender, and to write briefly on
any package the number and name of the
articles enclosed.
NEWSPAPER POSTAGE.
| Concerning newspaper postage, he says:
THE new law, which went into effect on
the LIST Of January. 1879, from present indi
cations, viii realize about 81 900, 600 for the
first calendar year. This is not a material
! variation from the average results Of the old
law. though during the last year in which
| this latter was in operation the amount was
| increased by payment Of postage on news
papers circulating within the county of pub
! LEGATION, a requirement that was discOntin-
ued at the end of one year. While, there
/ fore, there has been no increase in the ag-
\ gregate receipts, there has been large net
gain by saving the commissions on collec-
lions allowed by the old law, as under the
present law the great bulk of postage is paid
ut Iares offices where salaries are not affected
/ bv this item. Under the old law there was
! no check TO insure collections at the office Of
destination, and the consequence was that
much matter went unpaid, and il is salts
factory that under the present more equita-
! BILE mode the universal collections have made
] up for the reduction in rates. The new sys-
] TEN has worked so admirably, and has given
such general satisfaction, that no change.
has been deemed necessary
COMPENSATION OF PosTMASTERs. Il.
Ills recommended that the compensation
OF POstmasters Of the fourth class be based
upon the business of their respective oflces
as determined by the cancellation OF stamps,
the account to be duly sworn TO for each
quarter and returned TO the Sixth Auditor.
Mr.. Jewell says: ''There is a great want
Of equity in the compensation of Post
masters Of the first, second and third class.
If the salaries at smaller Offices are
not excessive, those at larger cities are eer-
tainlytOo low. l find Postmasters, as class,
capable and attentive bevond nv eXpecta-