St. Landry democrat., 1881-12-03
REPORT OF POSTMASTER-GENER-
AL JAMES.
WASHIvGT0N. Move


wear ended June -, last, were 1921, 49,
.4G; total revenues, S36, 1S5, 397.91. Excess
of expenditures, S2,4GG,33s. 40; other DELI
cts on account of bad debts' and "com-
promise" accounts, 1870. Shrinking the
total excess OF expenditures, S2,4Sl, l29. 80.
The number of postage-s stamps, postal
cards, stamped envelopes, etc, issued dur
ing the year was 1,5}4,3l1 ,542, amounting
in value to S34, 621 1881, against totai
value during the previous fiscal year OF S32,-
0S7, 342.46.
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 $l,399,o4S-
81, an increase of $172, $4,000, ora little over
IA per cent.
The weight of second class matter mailed
was G9, 952, 1872 pounds, or "a 9.6 tons. Inc
number Of postotlices at which the matter
was mailed was 4,S2l, an increase OF 39S 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 first week in Decem-
Der, 1880, it has been ascertained that the
whole number of letters mailed in this
country In the last fiscal year was 1885,
101, 34S. The number reaching the Dead
Letter Office during the same period was
3,323, 1921, or one in every 315. The total
number Of letters and Of packages that
were of sufficient value to be recorded and
lodi ba
80. 1881, was 3, 614, POS, an increase OF 354,
623 over the number received during the
preceding year. For convenience OF treat
ment they were classified as follows: In
claimed domestic letters 2,s91 ,050; held for
postage, 30, pa; misdirected, 242 ,336 tnot
including 81, 1S4 foreign letters with imper-
feet or erroneous addreSses): withou. any
superscription whatever (the majority OF
them bearing stamps topay postage), 9,f13:
letters addressed to foreign countries, and
containing articles (coin, jewelry, etc.,
which are forbidden to be sent in the inter-
national mails, / 292; letters of foreign orr.
gin, 2S4 ,127 (of which 81 ISL were sent to
the Dead Letter Office on account OF erro-
neous or imperfect addresses) foreign par
GELS (unopened), Is, SGG; and domestic pack
ages, % ,59l.
OF the letters and packages opened. 49,
Gil were found to contain money amount
ing to $40, $3.50: 22,012 contained drafts,
money orders, checks, notes, ETC., the az
gregate face value of which was 81 ,s99, 062-
.o1 1878 contained receipts, paid notes
and cancelled obligations of all sorts; So, 81
contained photographs; 1855 contained
small remittances of postage stamps; and
in Is, 213 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 So, $50, which was
deposited in the Treasury. The amount of
postage collected upon short-paid matter
forwarded to destination, and upon I'M
claimed packages of third and fourth class
matter returned to owners, was So, 109. 81.
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 >, 13l
We're finally delivered to the owners. the
balance being placed on file awaiting iden-
LITIGATION by the parties interested.
THE POSTAL MoNEY-oRDER 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 iotal number
OF post offices authorized to issue and to
pay domestic money orders was 1929
During the year 341 additional money order
offices were established. and seven We're
discontinued, leaving 5. 1863 in operation on
the Both day of June. 1881. Since then :3s3,S
new offices have been established, making
the whole number OF money order offices in
operation ut date Of this report 5,4a9. The
number of domestic money orders issued
during the year was 1853, 232, of the aggre-
gate value Of S1o5. 075, 1895; number of or
ders paid. Z. 621. TO, amounting in value to
$1O4, 219, S11.65; to which must be added the
amount of orders repaid to remitters S7O4,-
1896, making total of $104 81, S53. 81:
the excess of issues over payments was
$3.50, 915.74: the total amount of fees paid
by the public to postmasters for the issue OF
domestic orders was 1866, 1872. IS.
Seyenty-seven cases of alleged lost remit
tances of surplus money order funds
amounting to $19,753 were under investiga-
ton during the year, and claims were fled
in thirty .six cases on account of alleged i'm
PlopC1 PdgLuCut Vi inOitS OIttcIS. Lie
amount OF all these claims was $767.07.
Their number, compared with the total
number OF payments made during the year
is as one to $211 ISL.
Ninety-nine cases Of alleged improperly
paid money orders, amounting to -, 153. 40,
were investigated during the year. In thir-
ty-three instances the amounts, the total of
which was $47.75, were recovered by post
office inspectors and paid over to the right
orders altogether amounted to Ss4. 10, 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 remitters, payees, or in
dorsees, they were required to sustain the
loss, $124: in nine, the loss, 1868. sS alto
gether, was assumed by the Department, the
paying postmaster having been found not at
fault: and in eleven it was ascertained that
the orders, amounting to 1862, had been
originally paid to the proper persons.