Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-12-03
A YEAR In THE NAIL BAGS
POSTMASTER GENERAL GRES.
HAMS ANNUAL REPORT.

I 10 O0.fsO
More Revenue Expected Next Year
The Free Delivery System and Other
Departments.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 2.-The following
is synopsis of the annual report of the
Postmaster General:
REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES.
Inc revenues of the department for the
nscal year ended June 80, 1888, amounted
to $40, sos, ,692 61.
The total amount disbursed during the
year, not including credits to Pacific
railroads, was $43, ,2S2, ,944 43.
The receipts for the year We're s.. .632. :
2o2 46, or $50 per cent, more than those
| OF the previous fiscal year. This ratio of
! increase is about per cent. less than the
| average one for the preceding three wears.
ana IL may be accounted for in large part.
IL not wholly, by the fact that the public
We're induced to limit their purchases
OF three cent postage stamps and
stamped envelopes in anticipation of
the change of letter postage.
The increase in the
ITEM OF COMPENSATION TO POsTMAs-
TIERS
was 81, 1850, III "a, or a little more than Is
per cent, over the expenditure for the
previous year. This was an unusually
large lnCEeaSes out II rs estimated that
nearly 100000 of it was due to the fact
that the act OF March 3, 1888, to equaliZe
the salaries of Postmasters. was made to
apply 10 the fourth-class offices from the
date OF Its passage, instead of from Oc-
toDer !, when the reduction of postage
LOOK enect. The expenditure was $1.515,-
394 40 III excess of the appropriation.
Inc increase in the expenditure for
clerks IN post offices was $45S,6S2 81, or
RA1Nf 4I..
yious year, and for letter carriers it was
5000, ,043 n, or 20 per cent.
AS compared with the previous year.
there was decrease in the expenditure
Tor star service of $1,042, ,939 5S, or 1S per
cent.
REVENUES FOR NEXT YEAR.
In the absence of more certain data, the
revenue for the next year has been esti-
mated at $47, ,104,07S 81, upon the following
calculations:
The increase in the postal receipts Tor
looO over 1879, following the revival of the
business industries of the country. was
at the rate of 1913 per cent: for 1851 over
1851 1t was 10.4 per cent; and for 1882
over 1881 it was 1873 per cent. The ill.,
crease for 1888 over 1882 was only SO per
cent; but, as has already been explained,
the receipts of the last year were mate
rally affected by the then approaching
reduction of letter postage. Except for
TINS reduction OF postage the increase of
receipts would probably have been not
less than 10 per cent.
THE FREE DELIVERY SYSTEM
was In operation during the year at l54
ofhces (including 42 newly established
ones J, and employed in the aggregate
1850 carriers,
The total appropriation for this service
was So, 100000.
The number of mail letters delivered
during the fiscal year was 342. O13 $50. an
increase of 14.66 per cent. over the pre-
eedIng year; mail postal cards delivered.
50, l33, rs, an increase of &c. 40 per cent:
local letters, 104, 437, ,146, an increase of
1903 per cent; local postal cards. 6O.472.-
l93, an increase of 1915 per cent; regis
tered letters delivered, 1880. .203, an in
crease OF 1O.S6 per cent; newspapers de-
livered, 203,56S, ,005, an increase of q. go
| per cent.
The number of letters collected was
5f9, 81 ',o03, an increase over last year of
4J0 per cent; postal cards collected
| 115, 1881, an increase of 1918 per cent;
newspapers collected, 64, ,751, $40, an in
crease of 4.90 per cent. The whole num-
Der OF pieces handled during the year was
| 1,324, ,637, ,70l, an increase over last wear of
| 1888 per cent, and the average number
handled by each carrier was 359, ,955, a de-
OAOaoC VI Iso0 per C6uU.
THE GROSS RECEIPTS OF THE 9, 1893 PRES
| IDENTIAL OFFICES
for the fiscal year ending June 80, 1888,
amounted to $33, ,535, 253 50, or 742S per
| cent. OF the entire revenue of the denart
ment for the same period, while the fourth
class offices 1850 in number, Welded
only $l1,614, 746 %, or 25.72 per cent. of
! the revenue.
The salaries of POstmasters at Presiden-
Val otflces amounted in the aggregate to
$3,707,500, or 11.06 per cent. of the gross
receipts.
1t is the general opinion that the rates
of pay for railway mail service have been
| greatly increased of late years; the fact is
| otherwise. The cost per mile of transpor-
tation IN 1854 was ia cents; in 1888, not
| WithStanding the enormous increase in
| the weight of mails and the superior facil
| tiles provided for distribution, the cost is
1915 cents per mile.
At the close of the year there were
| $500 railway postal clerks, an increase of
2.o5 per cent. over the preceding wear.
while the increase in annual salaries paid
averaged only At cents per clerk.
MONEY ORDER SERVICE.
On the Both day of last June there were
1927 money order offices in operation.
whose transactions during the wear. of
domestic orders issued, amounted to S117.-
329, 4O6 81, and ofd0mestic orders paid and
repaid to $117, ,344, ,281 IS; of international
| orders issued, to $7,717, ,S32 IL, and of in
ternational orders paid and repaid,
to $3,063, 1877 %, a grand total in
issues of ,$l25,047, ,23S AZ, and in
payments pay zen 3 and repayments of
| Sl20, 407, ,46S SO. The fees received on do
mestic orders issued aggregated 81. .101.-
o21 so, and on international orders SI70.-
23S 80, total of $1,272, ,060 co. The gains
were, III domestic transactions about 81
| per cent, and in international transac-
tions from 1855 to over 56 per cent. in
domestic fees about ~ per cent, and in
international fees from O.56 to over "a per
cent.
The gross revenue for the last fiscal
year from domestic money order business
was 1911, ,704 81; and from international
money order business for the year ended
June 30, 1882, it was $99.914 TO- There
was a net profit of $3.50, 104 "a after all
expenses paid from appropriations had
been deducted
The new postal notes, the issue of which
was authorized by the act of March 8.
1888, are being extensively EMPLOYED
for remittances of small sums,
DEAD LETTER DEPARTMENT.
The total number of undellvered letters
and articles of third and fourth class
matter received at the Dead Letter Office
during the year, including 81, 424 on hand
from the previous year, was 4, ,440, ,S22, an
increase of about per cent over the
year ended June 80, 1882.
OF the letters and parcels which were
opened during the year for the purpose of
restoring them to the writer's, 15.301 were
found TO contain money, amounting to
$32,64 %; 1S,O95 contained drafts, checks.
money orders, ETC., representing value
of 1881, ,991 Al; 96,80S contained mer-
chandise, samples, books and miscellane-
Gus articles; 66, 1877 contained postage
stamps; 40,215 contained receipts. paid
notes, Cancelled drafts, insurance papers.
ETC.; 30, 160 contained photographs. From
letters for which the department. failed to
find owners the sum of 81, 1872 16 was sepa-
rated and deposited in the United States
Treasury.
REGISTRATION SERVICE,
The number of letters and parcels sent
through the registered mail during the
year was 1854, 716. The amount of reg
istry fees collected was 1926, ,549 10. an in
crease of $50, ,057 so, or 1910 per cent. over
the previous yeaR. The actual and esti-
mated losses a number of cases still being
under investigation, were only 627. or.
say, one out of every 16,897 letters and
parcels forwarded. This small pronOrtion
of loss is unprecedented.
FOR THE BENEFIT OF NEWSPAPERS.
recommend that the rate of nostaoe
on newspapers and periodical pubIi-
cations sent by others than the publishers
or news agents be made / cent per three
ounces.
ABOUT LOTTERIES.