American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1878-11-30
DEPARTMENT REPORTS.
The Post-ofhce Department..

The annual report of Postmaster General
hey is made public. Considerable space is
devoted to the subject Of present and pros
pective deficiencies in amounts appropriate
ed by Congress for salaries Of POstmasters
and for railway mali transportation. In re-
gard to Postmasters' salaries, he says de-
ficiencies, or the prevention Of them, so far
as salaries and compensation of Postmasters
are concerned, are not, and can not be, con-
trolled by the Department. If the amount
appropriated by Congress for the purpose be
not equal to the anottnt OF compensation es-
tablished by law there must-be,a deficiency.
After describing the rates of compensation
prescribed by law for the railway mail
service, the Postmaster General says:
The appropriation made by Congress
at it's last session was not sufficient
railroads, and should no additional appro-
priation be made for this service he shall
feel it his duty under the law so to cltrtail
the service as to fall within the appropria-
ton, however much he might consider
the public interests injured thereby. He is
satisfied it would lead justly to much COM
plant, mails would be detained at offices Of
separation hardly ever less than II hours,
and generally "a hours. Books, papers and
packages passing over great distances or
circuitous routes would be detained at more
than one such office in very many cases, and
there would be delay in the immense num-
Der of transactions which are initiated, con-
Quoted and completed by communications
through the mails. In his opinion 1t would
cause shock to our postal system from
which it would not soon recover. Railway
companies which have been at the expense
of furnishing postal cars might be slow to
furnish us such conveniences second time,
and there is no law to compel them to.
In relation to the revenues of the service
the report saySi
Time and again it has been shown that
matter of second and third class does not
pay its way through the mails, and Congress
has been urged to increase the rates of post
age thereon. The question has been consid-
cred time and again by appropriate commit
ices, ana @ ~ no.i b tGt IL H.
not expected that the Department should be
self-sustaintng. but the deficiencies in its
revenues should be met by appropriations
from the General Treasury. The amount of
matter sent through the mails free is very
large adding greatly to our expenditures
and giving us no revenue. The ranking
privilege has been restored to members and
chief officers of Congress, SO as to allow them
to send free almost every thing they were
allowed to transmit through the mails free,
except letters. Tons upon tons of books, doc,
urnents, seeds. shrubs. and the like are placed
in our mails free of charge. On this score,
now, 1 most respectfully, but earnestly, sug-
gest that it would be better policy to reduce
the deficiencies of the revenues of the De-
partment by curtailing or abolishing the list
of free matter, and by increasing the rates OF
postage on merchandise, than by approprt-
ating sums inadequate to an efficient, prompt
and fast transmission of mails.
The Postmaster-General recommends that
suitable provision be made by law for the
delivery to addresses in this country free
from customs duty of all newspapers and
other articles of printed matter received in
the mails from foreign countries, when dis
patched in accordance with the conditions
prescribed by the International Posta
Union.
The following reference is made to the
free delivery system:
There is an urgent need of greater frequen
CIV in deliveries and collections in several o.
the larger cities, and in view of the large eX-
cess of postage on local matter over the cos
Il, to
a wise policy would seem to justify more lib
eral appropriations for the purpose suggested
ice to other cities having population o
$4,000, emitting them to it under the law.
In regard to the pay of carriers, the Post
master General, without repeating thu
argument, renews his recommendation o.
last year for material increase in their com
pensatlon.
He again invites attention to the subjec
of the service rendered by railway compa
MES in carrying mails between stations ant
| post offices, and saws it should either b,
made an element of basis of compensation
to be paid for according to work done OF
each route, or railway companies should ht
| relieved from this duty. Attention is again
| called to the insutliciency of compensation
| allowed under the law for service on man,
| short routes. During the last session o
| Congress bills were presented to amend Thu
law regulating compensation to raiiwa,
companies for carrying mails, so as to hav'
rates pay upon items of space, speed ant
| frequency. 1t is suggested that the spac to
| be paid for on each route should be limited
| to a specified amount or certain weight o
| mails. Otherwise the compensation OF al
railroads, and consequently an expenditure
! of more than 80 1000 900 annually, would b'
| left to the discretion of the PostmaSterGen
eraI, and he thinks it is clear this should no
| be done.
| The other recommendations of general in
! terest made are in belief that Congress
/ should authorize temporary contracts 10
| star mail service to be made for one year, il
: case of need, without advertisement, in
! stead of the six months period, to which
| by the amended law, the Department is lin
/ tied, and that he be authorized to prescrib
a unif ,rm to be worn by all employees O
the postal service, with Il view to prcventin
their personation by unauthorized indiyid
| uals. He also recommends the erection of
new Post office building for San Francisco
and urges that accommodations he prov i'll
ed for the Washington City Post office out
side of the Department building, where Il
space is greatly needed for general pun
poses, including storage of valuable rec
ords, which are now exposed to danger iroi
fire.