New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-12-03
THE POSTAL SERVICE.
REPORT OF THE PosTMAsTER-GENERAL.

-, Of the finances OF the. Department. from winch ID
onnears that the total revenues for the year enas juno
On 1854 amounted to S45.5oS.6e2 81, OF WHICH On"
s4I1 81 o 81 came from the Money order BUREAU GA
ana,tnres were $40 700 &C. and the estimated sur
ns Of revenue over estimated total cost Oh inc service
rho wear 81 DOL 2sl &c. In addition TO the expeno-
tures for the service OF the year. S4664a 81 WI" pau Oh
account OF liabilities for previous years Ane reoep'o o
the wear were So 632.2S2 46. or SO per cent more '
hose OF the previous fiscal year. Inc In
crease in the item OF compensation 10 PoS'"aS'eiS
1vas s1 35o717 "a or little more than 10 per cent over
.ho ovnendure for the previous year. This wasan un-
suauv large increase It Is estimated that nearly
800 600 OF ii due to the fact that the ACT OF Match
1882 10 eaualze the salaries OF postmasters was aue
IN appy TO the fourthclass offices from the daIe oil s
massage instead OF from October l. when the icduclOh
of postage took eject
rt tota cost of railroad mail transportation
as SO 1852 s. Recent decisions Of the courts re-
ouire pavment for the Pacific INES 10 DE ie
ont OF the appropriation for the transportation oi '
mails The amount already ascerialned iof serNoo VI
these lines for the year is $i52367 ~ ana IL Is e
timated that this viii be increased TO S3OOOOO which
amount is included in the exhibits of expenditures anu
liabilities As compared with the previous year. thee
was decrease in the expenditure Tor star ser'ieeoi
SI.Oi2.9 800 SO, or Is per cent
Congress appropriated $1,902,177 90 to supply e''i
mated deficiencies in the postal revenue LOT inc year
ended June 80 1888 and S2152,258 was appropriated
g. . I,,, nurnose for the year ended June so. 1882
These concentrations remain undrawn In the treasury
The posla revenues having been found more than
sufficient 10 meet the expenditures OF both years.
ESTIMATES.
The change in letter rates and other circumstances
cause unusual difficulty in forecastng the postal revenues
Some compensation for the loss in the rate may reason
ably be expected three sources. VIZ; FIRST an H.
creased amount of correspondence second the increased
revenue TO he derived the substitution OF sealed cir
cars at cents for open ones at cent; ana thtu the
increased revenue from the substitution OF letters lo
postal cards In the absence OF more certain data inc
revenue for the year has been estimated al l1o4
O7s 81 the ordinary postal revenue being placed at
45s 6 and the loss by reduction OF letter rate
$7,s93,3so 80.
FREE DELIVERY.
The Free Delivery system was III operation al A'4
offices dncuding AZ newly established ones) ana en-
ployed in the aggregate $3.50 carriers The total appro
patiop for this service was $3.200000 an increase OF
over that the preceding year. The total cost
of the service was 1886 81 leaving an unexpended
balance of 663 49, The increase of cost over the pre-
eedng year was S550O73 H. This was owing 10 the ex
tension of the service to fOtytwo additional cities In m
ferent sections the country and other similar causes
tabular review OF the free delivery service since It's es
Enlistment In 800 given showing that the number OF
offices has increased from &c in lS63-64 land 40 In
the following YEAR, TO 154 and OF carriers from $50 10
36sO The cost OF the service has risen from S3lI'
O61 % TO S3173 1886 ST. The postage on local matter
was in 1s69-'7O S6S1 s64 20. and in lss2-S3' S4lSo
o3o So There was an Of cost Of service
hostage OF from $685. 15 Is in 1s690 10 Sl9l2l4 10
in 1924 and an excess Of local postage over cost there
after of from S67 5l7 So IN 1S7475 20 $l,021s94 OF In
1923 Tn ls8t65 the cost per letter for delivery at
OF theprincipa cities IL cents each, as against "a
mills for the delivery and collection of each piece OF mail
matter in 154 cities in 1ss2-'s3, reduction OF 81 mills
per piece.
PosTMAsTERs AND CLERKS.
The number OF Presidential postmasters is 2195,
and the aggregate OF their annual salaries according
10 the adjustment October 1888 under the new law
win be about 100000 AS these salaries are now based
upon gross receipts the required 10 compensate post
masters depends largely the condition on the BUSINESS
interests OF the country and upon the result as yet prob
Iemaca Of the recent reduction OF the rate OF eier post
hire for the last year. at offices Of the first ana second
for cekre for the fiscal year is relatively smaller
than the appropriations for previous years: ,uaL
ment OF pOstmasteTs who sustained losses by burglary
fire. other unavo1a6le casually embraces al, claims
which accrued within fifteen years prior to s pasage
one thousand nine hundred and tortyor claims were
filed during the last fiscal year OF these sZ2 were aus
posed Of pa were allowed amounting to $iO,21l 40
PACIFIC RAILROADS.
The report pronounces the relations between The Gov
eminent and companies owning the subsidized Pacific
roads unsettled and unsatisfactory.
For some years entire earnings Of these companies
whether from their from leased or operated lines
have been treated a credit against their indebtedness
TO the United States During the past year 1t has been
decided hy courts that the amounts earned Oh non
subsidized roads must be paid TO the companies this adds
100000 per year 10 the amount necessary TO 10
prOpTated for railroad transportation Hereafter only
the earnings OF the subsidized companies VIII be creded
hv the Treasury payments on their Indebtedness 10 the
limited states These earnings are proper Items OF cost
AGAINST the Of the Department and should be so
treated Another complication this connection grows
ont the demand OF the Union Pacific and the Central
Pacific companies claiming that under certain provisions
of the statute creating them, they are entitled TO exep
other companies under general laws. Considering
that there other lines between the Missouri River and
Do.iG ncaau no
is to what extent II is proper TO use these subsidized
lines for postal transportation"
sECoNp-CLAss DEAD AND REGISTERED MATTER.
The amount of postage collected secOnd-class mat
ter during the year was $l7O5177 SO, an increase o.
Sl4OO74 o. or 901 per cent, the previous year
OF the receipts from this source 26.40 per cent was
collected at NewYOrk, s.37 per cent at Chicago, G5C
per cent 1T Boston. and 800 per cent at Philadelphia
The number Of dead" letters and parcels received n
GLIDING 6l424 hand from the previous year, was
4440S22 increase of about per cent over the yeaI
ended June 30 1882.
which the addresses are invited by pOsimasers 10 remit
the bostaSe and receive the a e ng ~ bS deaG
letter office found 10 work satisfactorily at the
freedcyeTy offices that order issued on May 49,
1888 extending it to all the Presidential Offices TO take
effect July l. 1888. The plan Is operating WITH equally
good results at the additional Offices to which was ex
The number Of letters and parcels through the
registered mails during the year was lO,904,l6 Inc
Amount of registry fees collected 926549 TO- ia
crease OF So 1910 Per ceu over the previous
year Inc actual lonoVS va N9Vn
stiu being under Investigation were only 627 or say
This small proportion Of loss is unprecedented
FOREIGN MAILS.
OF tile correspondence exchanged with foreign coun.
tries 80 per cent of the letters So per cent OF the postal
cards and 60 per cent Of other mail matter was dis
patched the United States The estimated amount
OF postage collected in United States unpaid mail
matter received exceeded the estimated amount of the
unpaid postage mail matter sent in the sum OF
$123,333 6S. Complaints are made by the
proprfctors Of United States steamships carry
ing mails 10 distant ports Of the INSULT
cheney OF compensation and has become question for
careful consideration whether the seapostages even
the full postages and inland be regarded af
fordng reasonable compensation TO such lines OF United
States steamships transport mails regularly over
Of great length to ansPacihc. Central and South