The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-12-01

situation by reason of his competency and thor
ough knowledge of the service
Il have dwelt in detail upon this feature OF
the needs Of the railway mail service because /
deem it important The present general super
ntendent of the railway mail service has fire.
quently urged that this measure of permanehcy
in appointment is necessary to the perfection of
the mail service, and one of my predecessors
transmitted bill to Congress with his approval
embodying the main features here set forth"
The remainder of the report is devoted almost
wholly to routine matters and includes a recon-
mendation for an appropriation of $226,000 for
special facilities, statistics of the foreign mail
service, ana a brief mention Of the postal treaty
with Mexico; the steps taken to improve the
service to Mexico and England are detailed, and
the opinion is expressed that fair compensation
should be allowed American vessels carrying
mails. Hon. William II. Otto and James S
Crawford have been appointed delegates to the
congress of the Universal Postal Union The
contract of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company
for carrying the Australian mails has been
renewed. During the year, 90, 410 cases were
referred to inspectors for investigation, and 75G
arrests We're made. The total receipts from the
money order business were 81, 800 1853 a. OF
the postal notes and money order fees the report
says
1.-THE following statistics of the postal note
business for the first ten months of its operation,
from Sept g. 1883, to June 80, 1854, are interest
ing inasmuch as they exhibit the large field
which this new means of renting small sums
extent of business done, between the postal
notes and the money orders;
Number of postal notes ISSUED 1859 237
Amount of postal notes issued Al 992.4S
Number of postal notes paid 3,350,314
Amount ofiposta notes paid. ,l55 1882
Amount of postal notes repaid --.---. sos 741.43
Amount of fees received $110,2S2 SS
''Of the total number of transactions the
money orders comprised 6S per cent and the
postal notes 30 per cent The revenue derived
DOCfa1 m he Of 10
year amounted to $33, S9339.
Il cannot too strongly urge upon Congress the
necessity of so amending the law as to permit
the depositing Of all fees received from the issue
OF money orders and postal notes in the treas
ury with other postal receipts. Under a con.
struction of the present law a clerk in post
office paid from the regular allowance for clerk
hire made by the First Assistant Postmaster
general is not permitted to do any part of the
labor required in making out and paying money
orders. This is absurd. Postmasters at first
second, and third class offices should not be al
lowed any portion of the money order and postal
note fees These fees should go entire into the
receipts of the various offices, and o sufficient al
lowance should be make for clerical assistance,
without reference to the class of work per-
formed
II fully approve the superintendent sug-
gestion that the law authorizing the issue of
postal notes be so amended as to permit such
notes to be drawn payable, like money! orders,
to designated individual or his indorsee when
the purchaser desires it. This may be accom-
plished by authorizing the issue of an advice at
the request of the purchaser, which shall make
the note payable only to the person named
therein his indorsee, and such advice,
it is thought may conveniently be drawn upon
a penalty card" to be sent in the open mail
without envelope, like return registry receipt.
An advice should be issued only when The remit
ter of note desires it, and in all other cases
postal notes would be payable to the bearer,
a feature which, it is believed, is very accepta-
BILE to a large class of the patrons of the system
inasmuch as it obviates the necessity of identi
flying the holder at the Office of payment When
ever an advice would be issued it would be nee
essary to keep at the Office of issue and Of pay
ment a record of the name of the remitter and
that of the payee of the note, by means of which
record a claim to ownership could be established.
II also concur in the recommendation of the
superintendent that the fee for money orders
not exceeding So be reduced from s cents to 5
cents. From the statement in tabular form
nexed to his report it appears that of the
money orders paid at ten large representative
postof1ices, five Northern and five Southern,
during the week ended Oct %, 1884, $3.50 in every
1000 orders were for sums not exceeding 3d.
Assuming this ratio to hold good throughout the
United States, a reduction of the fee on such
orders to cents would have occasioned, last
year, a loss of 1874, 2S2. a. loss which the sys-
TEN, with its present revenue can well afford. :"
In conclusion, the report urges the necessity
of providing increased accommodations for the
department in Washington, by an extension of
the present building.