Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1883-11-18
LETTER POSTAGE.
Falling on in Receipts Caused by the
Reduction.
The Department Will Not BE Self Sus
tanning Again for Several
Years.

Correspondence st. Louis Post dispatch.
Washington, November l2.--"IIow
much OF u falling Off Ia the receipts OF
the postofllce department do You sup
pose the reduction OF letter postage Is
going To cause 81
rhequestion was addressed TO a rath
or short, plain-looking man, who
leaned back In an easy chair In coy
room In the postoilicc department
building smoking very ordinary
looking pipe, that if IL was not one of
the thrce-for-ive-cents kind IL very
much belicd II looks. He took the
plain pipe from his mouth, and, look
ing reilectively toward the ceiling, III.
piled that he did not know.
at IL very difficult to give an esti-
mate of that yet, /" said the third assist
mt postmaster-general, for he II was
who was engaged with the
short, plain pipe aforesaid. at lis
pretty hard TO say what the falling ~
will be yet; indeed, IL will lac some
months before we can give IN accurate
estimate
But you have the first months
sales by this time, have you not--at
least in some of the more important
cities?n
ayes, we have the first months
work in some thirty or more of
the cities. They show that the
sales of stamps for the month
amount to q little more, in cash re-
ceipts, than in the corresponding
month of last year. That, you will
observe, when you think OF il, shows
immense increase in the number OF
stamps sold for ii takes n good many
more stamps Mt two cents 10 make II
thousand dollars than at three cents
He put the short pipe into his mouth
again and pulled reilectively for II
minute or so. "Of conrse,n lie said
"tho receipts for last month are more
than they will average, talk
ing one month with another,
for there were many people who buy
stamps in large quantities who put OIL
their purchases until the reduction
and Others who delayed certain classes
of their correspondence TO await the
date OF the reduction; so this months
work will not he n criterion. IL en-
ab.ea us To see, however, that the fall
ing oft in the receipts is not going 10
be very great
GLOW great, should you think
We'll, perhaps from three TO four
millions of dollars. Then the expenses
of the department naturally increase
each year as the country expands, and
I the mail service is called upon TO grow
with It, so that the simple amount in
reduction of receipts does not show
what the deficiency is TO he"
"lou do look fora deficiency then,
do yol:'
"Oh. undoubtedly. You see there
have been but three years In the past
( twenty or more in which the depart
ment has made its expenses. IL is not
| intended that il shall do more, and
when IL has me within u few mill.
ions of that the people have been well
satisfied. For the past two years how
ever, we have come out with hand
some balance ut the crd of the year
and should doubtless have done so IN
! the one in which we are now working
! but for the reduction. IL would, now
ever. be asking too much when we cut
down the principal source of income
| % per cen. and 20 on incroas'
I ing expenses, expecting thai
we should make expenses he first
year. We shalt probably have
deficiency of six or eight million
dollars
"How long will il be before, the
department will he again sclt-sus-
taining?"
"prohably two or three years, pro-
yiied there are no other reductions.
There is talk, as YOU OF course know,
that congress in It's wisdom may make
some further changes, especially III
regard to local postage on letters, and
perhaps by increasing the standard
letter weight TO one oun e, witch
latter measure would give us precisely
I the same letter rates that England
I has,