The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1881-07-15

Where the Letters are Written.
Last fall an official count was made
of the letters mailed at each post once
in the United States during one week.
From this count an estimate has Deen
made of the amount and Distribution
of the postal business Of the country
during flfty.two weeks, or the year
ending December 81, 1880.
The Post Office Department has just
issued q statement. of the results OF
this inquiry, which shows that the
number of pie6es of all classes mailed
during the year was 2, 7O, ZS4,252. The
whole number Of letters mailed was
]. O53. go. 8H. or an average of q for
each mah.. woman and child in the
United STATES; 324, 556, 440 postal cards,
612OSz. 600 newspapers, 40, las, 1872 mag
fazirieS and other periodicals, and I'll
1852 packages Of merchandise! =
y This statement is accompanied by
table giving lin alphabetical order)
the several States and Territories, the
number of letters mailed in each, and
theaverage number to each inhabitant.
aThe tive extremes are, naturally,
Alaska, with its unlettered pOpu!a-
..tion.. and the District of Columbia,
(which, as the center of the postal sys-
Xem and the seat of National Govern
>nent. must necessarily have more
lH,an the normal or domestic and bus
siness CORRESPONDENCE. In Alaska only
oniy one inhabitant I'M five is credited
with one letter year. In the DIS
trict of Columbia there are IS letters
mailed for each inhabitant.
g., At first thought almost any one
would mention as the probable regions
of mostl frequent domestic and business
Underwriting the States containing
the great business centers, the regions
of abundant schools and general liter
sary culture; but He would be Yfde OF
.tiie raktk. The most letters are writ
Ten Where there is proportionally the
largest intelligent adult population
who are away from home, namely, the
newer States and Territories. Colorado
heads the list of letter-writing commu-
mites; with fifty-five and a fraction to
each inhabitant.
The settlers in Arizona write 81
letters each year; Dakota (Omitting
the decfhial and giving the nearest in.
teper):: 90; Montana 40; Nevada, 81
Califbrnia, Is; Idaho, Is; Wyoming, AZ
The States which supply most of the
letter.writers of the Territories in ad.
dition to being the great seats of maa.
.dfactures, commerce, ana genera
intelligence, COME next: New York
with AZ letters to each inhabitant
Massachusetts,, with 80; Connecticut
with 80. In the next group we MAJ
put the states and territories whici
are neat the average in letter-writin&
activity. They are mostly thrifty ag
ricultural and manufacturing states
with an:abunaant and settled popula
ton. They are Illinois, %; Maine, 70
Michigan 20; Minnesota, Il; Pensyl
vania, Is; Rhode Island, 26; Yer
mont, q; Nebraska, q; New Hamp
shire, %; Oregon, 81 Ohio, 10; New
Jersey, Is Missouri, Is; Maryland, Is
Kansas, Is; Iowa, IS; Utah, 10. (Th
surprisingly low figures of Ohio ma.
be due to the heavy draught upon it
writing population to fill Government
positions elsewhere
i It will be noticed that no distint
lively Southern State has yet bee
mentioned; the people of the SOut
are not letter-writers generally, no
are they as much given to migratio
as the people Of the North. They al
more apt to sperd their lives With
milling distance 6f their relatives an
friends /; and besides, those States ca
~ a heavy population of blacks WI
are iiliterate. The result is the contr
buttons of the Southern States to tt
mail pouches are strikingly meage
The annual average for each inhab
tant of Alabama is Z; Arkansas,
Florida, IL; Georgia, 8; Kentucky,
Mississippi, 6; North Carolina, 6; TIE
nessee, Z, South Carolina, Z; West vi
ginia, 8.
eWhe higher rate of Florida is due,
doubt, to the new element which h
zone tAere Of recent years. The san
may be saidiOf the three or four 9th
Southern States switch markedly OF
flank the rest of the South in the m:
ter Of letter-writihg,' pamely, v
glnia, IL; Texas, il. Louisiana, Is; NJ
Mexico, lS. The more northern Stat
which write the lfewest letters al
Delaware, 16 I; Indiana, Is; Visions
AZ. Washington Territory, '15.
I'm the total number of letters pos,
annually the more populous Northe
States naturally lead: New Yo
with lin round numbers) 2l1 ABE, IN
Pennsylvania, los, 81, 600; Massacl
sets, 69,0Oo,O 600; Illinois, 6S,64S, OF
Ohio, 81, 464 900.
A Great EnterDrise.