The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-11-30
WASHINGTON Nov. 1

! he 1OllOWlng interesting statistics are
| CLEANED from the report of Gen Barber,
Third Assistant POstmastcr-Ge General, being
extracts from the reports of the several
bureaus in his office, for the fiscal year
ending June 30, 1876
| Four million seven thousand eight hun
| drcd and seventeen letters were registered
| during the year, and fees rec iyed thereon
amounted to S335 1860. OF the letters reg
| istcrcd, upon which fees were paid, 8, ,19S ,931
| were dome tic; 155 235 were sent to foreign
| countries; 653,65l were transmitted through
| the mails without payment of the regis
| try fee.
The losses Of regis cred matter have been
very small. OF the total number of letters
transmitted, only l,049, or about one in
1000, were absolutely lost. These losses
occurred from various causes; some by rob-
berries Of the mail, others by burning OF
pos al-cars and postof1iccs; most of them by
unavoidable casualties to the service, and
no traces of the letters or their contents
ever obtained.
The number of ordinary letter postage
stamps issued to Postmastcrs for sale to tho
public during the year ending June 80, 1876,
was 69S, 199, 40, valued at SIS, ,T3, ,454; of
newspapers and periodical stamps, 1926, ,347,
valued at $945, ,25i.75; ordinary stamped en-
ycIOpcs, plain, 81 ,461 900, valued at S22SO,-
D I,
request" IA, ,554 500, valued at 81, ,019 SIS 30;
of newspaper wrappers, Is 4gS. 80 valued at
$213, ,723. so; of postai cards I50 S15 coo
valued at 81 sos, ,l50 official postage stamps
for the use of the Executive Drpartmcnts of
the Government, II ,6S2 ,665, valued at $780,
llO.93, making total number Of l,49, 1884,
5o7 valued at S26, ,@55, ,421.72.
The increase over the previous wear was as
follows; Ordinary postage stamps, valued at
S5Ol ,974, or 2.71 Der cent OF ncwsnonrr
STAMPS. sl29 352 2S or Il 81 nrr cent Of
ordinary stamped envelopes, plain, S23+, :
2O7.39 or LA per cent. of special request
stamped euyelopcs. S2SI S(t2. .O5. or l6 O6 npr
cent: of postal cards S431 900 or 40 IA ner
Tha nj ;ncraasa in tho voIire of sfnmns
issued over the previous year was Sl,2'2,
4o0;4S' or lo.f' per cent.
4W:5, 40 registered envelopes; S,6i3,9I5 tust-
office cnyclOpcs and | 5I2 600 dead letter
enyrInnrs making = total of "a o71 425.
I'M !r,n,,rt .,IInctnd fran, r,.,ysn,urrs on
,t ~ ra,r,,ir, s,,isor;L.rt ,.ns ~
GA, l5427, an increase of s4l, ,21729, or 4.24
per cent.
The New York PostOtliCe alone during the
SSl1 ri increase of S12.eSb, n, O. 10
nrr cent over fine previous wear,
Gen, Barber, in his report, estimates that
thr Government loses nearly $4,000, 900 a
wear by frauds, which consist mostly in the
Washing of stamDs and reviewing all the cX-
narin,rnts made to scrurr an indrliblc ink
Tor canccling stamps, thinks the preventive
to fraud is in the exclusive use of stamped
envelopes.
The issues of stamps are almost the only
revenue Of the Post0fffce Department., and
repre> cuted last wear nearly 81 900, 900, the
cost for their printing and preparation being
less than 81 .OiO 600
The following table shows the operations
of the Dead Letter Office for the fiscal year
ending June 30, 1876:
Descr;Dfjon. No. received. Talue
Letters containing money 35,6l2 $5i,691 80
Containing drafts, bills OF
exchange, etc...-.-....... 1914 l'eo4''ll 10
,rr a. ooo e1q n.
,.;I. loIai ia. ,L.. 49,, i otbo
ron.-tr % 367
Continuing receipts bills Of
ladng etc ................ 95,7ss
Containing photogranhs..:.' SI.$s 3r$3
containing p p'stagt Stamps. '''u"t
Ordinary et'Sfs WITHOUT III . 800 no
For,.ign letters without in
closrraa 2N3. .523
Letters held for postage 30T,559
Total............ ...'3'"4''1f
The work Of the office shows That there
were SD, ,473 ordinary letters without in
closures, containing nothing important, de-
stroycd, there not being anything in them to
indicate persons to whom they could be re-
turned. There were returned to the owners
! l,39l 223 letters containing Enclosures, val
ucd at 81 ,751 ,646.22, OF about eighteen times
as much as the Dead-Letter Office costs the
Government; $500 are now awaiting returns
of notices sent to writers.
There have been large reductions in the
numbers of letters received at the dead.
letter office this year, which is accounted
for by the Superintendent, Mr. Dallas, as
follows:
l. That the use of envelopes bearing re-
quests or business cards is becoming more
general, and thus postmasters are euabicd
to return an increased number OF UNCLAIMED
letters direct to the writer's 2. The in
creased efficiency of the letter carrier service
in large cities. 3. The action of this oihce
in calling the attention of postmasters to
cases of mistreatment of correspondence
| and thereby providing against repcutlo1