The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1881-12-02

I'VE years. old is presented for payment II
deemed expedient, in the interest Of payees
Of money-orders, longer period, for ex-
ample seven or ten wears, might be fixed BY
Congress. during which the amount Of any
money order would be payable to the own-
er thereof, aud beyond which the amount
Of all orders unpaid would accrue to the
United States.
"Althoush the money order fulfills every
reasonable expectation of remitter and payee
where the amount sent is considerable.
strong and growing demand has arisen since
the withdrawal Of fractional currency from
circulation for some device by which
amounts under five dollars could be trans.
mitted by mail at less cost than at present I
desire to call special attention to the plan
proposed by the Superintendent for the
transmission Of sums less than five dollars
by means of an order of q new form, to be
termed "postal- order, :" in which the writ
ten application and the advice. which is the
chief element of expense as we'll as of Sc
curity, are to he dispensed with, SO that
these orders may be issued more expedi-
tiously and at cheaper rates than money
orders.'
THE sTAR-ROUTE SERVICE, ETC.
The Postmaster-G General is of the opinion
that So the country has reached that stage in
the progress Of its material development
where an effort ought to be made to bring
the credit and debit sides q the Depart
ment's balance sheet nearer together. All
or nearly all the long and expensive Star.
routes have been superseded by railroad
service. The cost of the Star. service ought,
therefore, to rapidly decrease in the West
ern States and Territories. A careful and
impartial examination of the Star-service
made during the past summer satisfied the
made without causing any Inconvenience to
the sections Of country supplied thereby"
A minute investigation into alleged
abuses ia the Star-route service W as iusti-
tuted by direction of the late President,
and is still being prosecuted. The Post
office Department has cO.operated, and will
continue to cooperate, with the DEPART
ment Of Justice in this investigation. No
one who has not been directly concerned in
the matter can fully appreciate the magni-
tude Of the undertaking. the mass OF record
evidence examined, the difficulties of a per-
sonal investigation in sparsely-settleG terri
tories, and the results attained by the pa
tient and intelligent labors of the Inspectors
of this Department. There can be no doubt,
from the facts already ascertained, that the
existing statutes leave the way open to great
abuses, and that there is abundant ground
for asking judicial investigation Of the
transactions of the last few years.
"The one serious difficulty in the way of
bringing back the Department to a self
sustaining basis is the constantly-increasing
cost of the railway mail service. This in
crease during the past fiscal year was 1885,
446. regret to say that there is deficiency
of $47S, los for this branch Of the service for
the fiscal year ended June 80, 1881, which
must be provided for, and also that there
must be an increased appropriation for the
same service Of 81 .O97, $40 for the fiscal year
ending June 81. 1882. The estimate for the
fiscal year ending June 80, 1888. for the rail-
way service is $1O,655 600. There has re-
Gently been an unprecedented growth of
railroads, and this accounts largely for the
enormous increase of the cost of the railway
SERVICE" .sB
The actual payment for the railway mail
service during the year was $11, AL, 1000.
The cost for the current fiscal year will be
ST., O06,6 01. and the estimates for 1888 are
$13, ISL, sol. The enormous growth Of rail-
roads in 1850 and 1881, and their anticipated
increase of mileage in the near future, will
account for a great portion of the augmented
cost for the service.
There were 461 arrests made during the
year for violation OF the Postal laws. OF
this number 424 cases were prosecuted in
the United States Courts, and thirty-seven
in the courts of the several States in which
the arrests were made. OF the former, 1SS
persons were convicted, twenty-siX were
acquitted, three escaped, five forfeited bail,
twenty-fOur proceedings were dismissed,
one was killed while resisting arrest. and
III await trial; thirty hignwaymen were ar
rested and prose cuted in United States
Courts.
TIE CIvIL-SEHvICE QUESTION.
"Careful observation in this Department
and elsewhere has but confirmed nv con-
victiOn OF the great public benefit to be de-
rived from conducting the public business
on business principles. Some method Of re-
lief must be provided from the overwhelm-
ing pressure for appointment to clerk>hips
and other subordinate positions, and from
the equal pressure for The removal OF clpa-
BILE and experienced assistants to make
room for those who are not more cOmpe-
tent. The public service is Il public trust
to which every citizen may properly aspire,
and the public interest plainly demands that
admission to it should not depend upon
personal favor, because such favor can not
we'll be impartial, and because system OF
appointment ty mere influence may
be readily perverted to the promo
ton of private interests and personal ambi-
ton. appointment by influence naturally
results in making the tenure of Office de-
pend, not upon fidelity and efficiency in the
discharge Of official duty, but upon the as
sduOus cultivation of the favor of a patron.
Such tenure is incompatible with the self
respect of the incumbent, and the service
must necessarily suffer from the decline OF
its morale. But the evil consequences can
not be limited to the public service; they af-
feet all political action, the purity and vigor
of the Government. and the National char
acter itself. The question, therefore, is one
of far higher Importance than that of the
comparative fitness of clerks in the employ
ment of the Government, and really con-
Germs the character and success OF republic
an institutions.
The first step, in my judgment, toward
the relief of the appointing officers and the
promotion of the greater efficiency and econ
omy OF the civil service would be method
of minor appointment, which should be
independent of personal or partisan lnf1I.