The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1881-12-02
REPORT OF OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES.
AL JAMES.


The following are some of the lead
ing features of Postmaster-General
James re- port: 3
The total expenditures during the fiscal
year ended June 30, last, were $S9, 251, 1885,
.46; total revenues, $50, 7S5, 397.97. Excess
of expenditures, 81, 466, S3s. 40; other def
cts, on account of ''bad debts" and "com-
promise" accounts, $14, 100. S6-making the
total excess Of expenditures, $,4S1, 129. IS.
The number Of postage stamps, postal
cards, stamped envelopes, etc, issued dur.
ing the year was 1,54, 311 ,542, amounting
in value to 1882, 1851, against a total
value during the previous fiscal year of $S2,-
O87, 3342.46.
The total amount Of postage collected dur
ing the year on newspapers and periodicals
mailed to regular subscribers from known
offices of publication and from news agen-
cies, at two cents per pound, was 81, 500, 04S-
GA, an increase of $172, 5000, or little over
Il per cent.
The weight of second class matter mailed
was 9.952, 432 pounds, or 34.976 tons. The
number of pOstOffices at which the matter
was mailed was 1891, an increase of 1913 over
the number for the previous year.
DEAD LETTERS.
By careful reckoning based upon an actual
count made in every post. office in the Unit
ed States during the flrst week in Deem.
Der. 1850, it has been ascertained that the
whole number of letters mailed in this
country in the last fiscal year was 1.046,-
10, 34S. The number reaching the Dead
Letter Office during the same period was
323,621, or one in every 315. The total
number OF letters and of packages that
were OF sufficient value to be recorded and
filed, received during the year ended June
30. 1881, was 1874 2O5, an increase of 354, =
623 over the number received during the
preceding year. For convenience Of treat
ment they were classified as follows: I'm
claimed domestic letters 2,791 ,O50; held for
postage, 279, pa; misdirected, 242,536 (not
including 81 1874 foreign letters with imper-
feet or erroneous addresses); without any
superscriptiOn whatever (the majority of
them bearing stamps to pay postage), 9,473;
letters addressed to foreign countries, and
containing articles (coin, jewelry, etc.,
which are forbidden to be sent in the inter-
national mails, 1, 1872; letters of foreign orr
gin, 2S4, 127 (of which 81 ,1S4 were sent to
the Dead-Letter Office on account of erro.
neous or imperfect addresses); foreign par
GELS (unopened), 1856; and domestic pack
ages, 1851.
or the letters and packages opened. 49,
617 were found to contain money amount
ing to $40, $3.50; 22,O12 contained drafts,
money orders, checks, notes, ETC., the ag-
gregate face value Of which was 81 ,s99, O62-
81; 1878 contained receipts, paid notes
and Cancelled obligations OF all sorts; So, 49,
contained photographs; 61,556 contained
small remittances of postage-stamps; and
in 70, 21S there were found valuable articles
of third and fourth class matter in endless
variety. The amount Of money separated
from dead letters for which no claimant
could be found was IS, 5S4. 40, which was
deposited in the Treasury. The amount of
forwarded to destination, and upon un-
claimed packages of third and fourth class
matter returned to owners, was 800. "a.
The records of the Department show that
S,33S, 9lS registered letters and packages
were mailed in this country during the
year. OF this number only 2,614 reached
the Dead Letter Office; and of these 9, 131
were finally delivered to the owners, the
balance being placed on file awaiting ideu-
tification by the parties interested.
THE POSTAL MONEY-OHDER SYSTEM.
The operations of the money -order system
are multiplying yearly under the impulse OF
prosperous trade and the influence of immi-
grafton, with the rapid development of the
newer States and Territories, and the de-
mand for additional means of intercommu-
nicatiOn and exchange. At the commence.
ment Of the last fiscal year the total number
Of post-offices authorized to issue and to
pay domestic money-orders was 4,S29.
During the year 81 additional money-order
offices were established, and seven were
discontinued. leaving 5, 1853 in operation on
the 30th day Of June, 1881. Since then 33S
new offices have been established, making
the whole number of money order offices in
operation at date Of this report 5,499. The
number of domestic money orders issued
during the year was 1856, 232, of the aggre-
gate value of $105. O75, 7G9.S5; number of or
uSAo P"u1 SsO.SS sAos SAiuC W
$1O4, 219, S71.65; to which must be added the
amount Of orders repaid to remitters $7O4,-
90, making total of $104, 924, S53. 81;
the excess of issues over payments was
$3.50. 3D. "A; the total amount of fees paid
by the public to postmasters for the issue OF
domestic orders was 5000, 49,. Is.
Seventy-seven cases of alleged lost remit
tances of surplus money-order funds
to $1o,75 were under investiga-
ton during the year, and claims were fled
in thirty six cases on account of alleged inn
proper payment OF money orders. The
amount Of all these claims was $767.O7.
Their number, compared with the total
number of payments made during the year
is as one to $211,sSl.
Ninety.nine cases Of alleged improperly
paid money orders, amounting to s, 15349,
were investigated during the year. In thir-
ty-three instances the amounts, the total of
which was $477.7 were recovered by post.
office inspectors and paid over to the right
full owners; in seven cases, in which the
orders altogether amounted to SS4.15, the
paying postmasters were, after due investi-
CATION, held responsible for the erroneous
payments; in four, where erroneous pay.
mant was directly attributable to careless
ness on the part of RENTERS, payees, or in
dorsees, they were required to sustain the