National Republican., 1882-12-05

work. At n subsequent congress held at st. Peters
and assurances were given that the countries in-
teyested would CO. operate. The station Mt Point
Barrow is At the most northern point of Alaska, In
party consists Of First Lieutenant =. H. Ray,
Eighth Infantry, one acting assistant surgeon
three enlisted men and five civilian employees.
The expedition sailed from sun Francisco on
July is. 1851 and reached the station on
.SppIfad sSpefmdder wh Sh following; Inc station is
and everything necdul for the prosecution
Of The work undertaken, provided tile supplies
shalt lie renewed each year. The station at Lady
franklin Bay is the most northern one in the
cham Of internstional posts Of obServation. 1t is
siss of three officers OF the Army, Que acting as.
sistant surgeon and naturalist and eighteen EN-.
listed mcm. and is under the command of First
officer and assistant During the frat session of
the Forty.seventh Congress ali act was passed taut
ply nnd relief of Lieut.. Greedy and party. The
suoply expedition was promptly sent, but The yes
SCI was prevented by ice from communicating
with the party, and returned, after depositng
large quantity of stores in manner which had
been agreed upon with Lieut.. Greely, in anticipa.
ton of such failure. relief expedition must be
sent next tsummer and an appropi iation therefor is
urgently recommended. About 5000 mi les of mill
iary telegraph lines and Clio miles Of sea.coast
telegraph lines are operated by the Chief Signal
OGicer
The Secretary concurs in the recommends
tion of the Chief Signal Officer for
DISTINCT ORGANIZATION
sufficiently large to perform the work of the
weather bureaus and he also recommends
that the weather bureau be wholly separated
from the Army and from its appropriations.
Attention is again called to the condition of
the road between the Aqucduct Bridge and
the Arlington National Cemetery, and it is
recommended that the approaches to these
cemeteries be improved by appropriations of
Congress.
THE ARMY MEDICAL MUSEUM.
The attention of Congress is again invited
10 the great necessity for tire-prool building
suitable for the proper accommodation Of the
Army Medical Museum collection and the
library, which yearly grows more imperative.
The present building is over-crOwded and
unsuitable for the purposes intended while
it's general insecurity against accident and
fire places in extreme jeopardy collections
which, if destroyed, would be an irreparble
loss. not only to the United States, but to the
world
The museum has attained u worldwide
celebrity, is second to none in the numser
and value of specimens illustrating military
surgery and the diseases of armies, while its
sphere Of practical usefulness to the medical
profession of the country is unlimited 1t is
therefore hoped that Congress may be in
duced to appreciate its great value and inn
portance and provide for the fire-proof build
ing required to place the collections beyond
the chance of loss or injury. The Secretary
believes that the question of
THE SAFETY OF OUR HARBoRs
and maritime cities, our navy-yards and
arScnals in ease of foreign war has been too
long neglected. and he concurs in the judg-
ment of Gen. Wright to increase the
strength Of the engineer battalion to $50 men.
BRIEF REFERENCE
is made to the records of the war of the Re-
beliOn, the monument at Yorktown, and the
building for the State, War, and Navy De-
partments In reference to the retirement of
officers from the Army, il is recommended
that the laws be so amended as to avoid the
difficulty now existing under an opinion of
the Attorney General, that so long as there
are 400 officers on the retired list, except one
belonging TO one or other of the classes men-
toned in the act of 1882. An increase of
$4,000 is recommended to make the compensa-
ton of the chief clerk disbursing clerk, chiefs
of divisions, assistant chiefs of divisions, and
stenographer in the office of the Secretary
commensurate with the arduous duties per-
formed bythem.
POSTMASTER-G GENERAL HOWE.
The report of the PostmasterG General COM
mences with the gratifying statement that
for the first time in thirty,one years the
postal service is not burden upon the treasury,
as the excess of receipts over expenditures
during the past fiscal year was 81 1894, ,3SS92.
This is in marked contrast to the showing for
the fiscal year ended June 80, 1881, when the
expenditures for the postal service were
S39,251, ,73646. The total revenues were
S36, 7s5, ,39797. The deficiency was So, 1866
33S.49. In 1850 the deficiency was more than
Sl0,0OO,0O0 The estimates for 1884 promise
the tattering estimated excess of revenue of
$3,929 345.O2.
SALARIES AND ALLOWANCES TO PosTMAsTERs.
In reference to the adjustment of salaries
of the first three classes, the Postmaster-Gen-
eral says:
1t would be easy to frame law more unjust
than that under which the salaries of pUstmasIers
are now settled, but it is quite unnecessary to do
so-the existing law is sufficiently unjust But
necessity herself, though admitted to be the
mother of invention, could not invent q more
cumbrous or complex method of adjusting sala-
rles. P0stmasters at the smallest offices are paid
alike Their pay Is apportioned in part upon the
revenues of their Offices, and III part according TO
| the labor performed in them. So far as revenue
Take he whoe ES% ae 81 4 Esn Of eok b
sale. OF waste paper, dead newspapers, printed
matter, and twine," they receive 60 per cent. So
| they receive one-third. SO iar as it is derived
from tue sale OF stamps, envelopes, and postal.
thousands in value, but they get 10 share Of the
| proceeus. IT. however, they cancel Il stamp ON
matter mailed at their Offices no matter where
value. II they pay money order they receive u
quarter OF per cent Of ts amount.
! clently equal. PustmaSlers continue to be SO
paid until their sales and cancellations, exclusive
OF money orders reach Sl0O per year. At that point
new rule is introduced They still get the whole
OF the box rents, they still get the same commits
sion on the sale and payment of money orders
but upon the procectis from the sale of waste
| paper, dead newspapers, printed matter, and
| twne, and upon the cancellation OF stamps, they
get 90 per cent instead Of 10, OH the excess over
siO0.
This new rule controls until such sales and can
cellatons, exclusive OF money orders, reach
Sl,2OO year. Then a new rule obtains. IL Is
dtticult 10 see why but thereafter OH the surplus
received from the sales OF waste paper, dead news
papers printed matter, and twine the postmaster
receives not 60 per CENT nor 30 per cent but 40
per cent, ana the same percentage on the value
OF stamps Cancelled.
When, however the box rents and these various
commissions, exclusive of the money order busi-
less, shall Aggregate $1,000, the office is advanced
from the fourth To the third class. Then there is
new and most curious rule for compensation.
Then the postmaster receives d salary in lien
the box rents and commissions before assigned
| 10 him.
10 determine the amount of the salary in
given case fund is set apart. That fund Is COM
posed of all the box rents, if the postmaster owns
the boxes and the rents do not exceed 81 $50 per
| annun. 1t is composed Of two-thirds OF The box
| rents, II the government owns the boxes and the
| rents do not exceed $1,000. To those sums, re-
spectlvely, is added commissions on all other
postal revenues of the Office in different proper
uons, TO wit, 60 per cent. on the first $780, so per
cent. on the next $500, 40 per cent. on the next
Sl,6OO, and 80 per cent. on the excess until the
| commissions amount To 81 $50.
That sum, so curiOusly compounded does not
constitute the salary OF the postmaster but out of
II Is dipped, 50 10 speak, US many even hundreds
OF dollars MS can BE- found, That is the salary for
all pOstmasters, unless the gross revenues exceed
Si,OOO per annun When the revenues exceed
S4OOO the postmaster receives percentage ON the
! excess That percentage constantly varies iS