The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-12-03

each man of 400, 307; an increase Of Los per
cent. over the preceding years experience
The railway mail service, as the term is en-
ployed In the department does not embrace the
care of arrangements with railroad companies
for the transportation of the mail in general, but
deslgnates the service performed by postal
clerks, whether upon railway or steamboat lines;
the appointment examination and government,
and the management Of the methods of carrying
and distributing railway mail matter, and to
some extent incidental thereto, the care or
| railway postofices and of provisions made to
specially facilitate the transportation of the
mails. The report of the superintendent, with
accompanying tables, presents the affairs of this
branch of the postal business during
and and R Re Contrasts sas the As statistics Of
its proportions and performances in the last with
former years of it's history in such manner as
not only to exhibit its present aspect, but to IL
lustrate its development from the beginning. 1t
furnishes explanation in part, of the increase of
the expenditures of the service already com
mented on. that the additional equipment of the
past year has been: Of railway postoffce lines,
3D. of postal cars apartments in cars l55. and
of clerks of all classes, 424, with an increased
annual mileage of g. 76l 70l miles. The employ
ment of one steamboat line was discontinued,
the clerks steamboats, were diminished in
number by five, and the annual mileage of clerks
upon them fell off 81, 1923.
The total length of clerks routes attained in
the year was 121 1877 miles, and the entire num-
Der of miles actually run gives daily average to
each clerk of 1870 81 miles. The gross number of
pieces handled. exclusive of registered matter,
increased by g. 48 per cent This fact tends to
prove an increased employment of the mail, not
withstanding the unfavorable business condition
during part of the year, and gives support to
the observations previously made upon the rev.
enues of the service Altogether about five thou
sand million pieces were handled by these clerks
during the year.
The record Of errors in distribution by clerks
shows some improvement in the average results
over former years, and indicates, Dy the reported
average percentage of 80 SO Of correct dstribu-
ton, good state of discipline. There is reason
to think, however, that this percentag is higher
than the facts warrant, because of failure in
some cases to report errors. Clerks have been
dismissed for this fault, and the consequence
will be rigid,y imposed when the fact is known.
The casualties to the clerks were, it is pleasing
to say, less than in some former years, although
it is necessary to record the death of two and
the seri ,us injury to thirty-fve besides slight
hurts to sixty-five, from accidents occurring In
the course of their duties.
Some improvement of the service has been
effected by extension of the use of through reg
istered pouches. and by increasing the separa-
tons of letters for city delivery while in transit
Results in the latter direction have been sat
isfactory as to give hope of increasing benefits
from extending the method as far as practicable.
The fast-mail service has been rendered il
substantially the same manner during the
previous year. lew minor changes III Guo Sclleu-
ule of trains only having taken place.
With a view to the introduction of the system
of immediate delivery authorized by the last
Congress, provision was made in the contract for
adhesive stamps, entered into in June, for the
manufacture and supply of the distinctive spe
cialdelvery stamps, and. soon after the contract
term commenced, design was adopted and the
manufacture of the stamps begun. The 1st of
October was fixed as the date on which the sys-
tenn should 60 into operation and, in prepare
60 I'D g. 40
at about thirteen thousand Offices, circulars of
instruction issued to postmasters and published
for general information, and other means taken
to commend the system to ready popular use
and favor.
The usefulness of the service seeming to de-
pend much on the extent to which its facility of
delivery was afforded. it was decided to desig-
nate as special delivery Offices all those allowed
by laval free-delivery offices, ard others at
''any city, town or village containing popula-
tien of 4 900 or over, according to the federal
census" and the entire number SO designated is
800.
Many other Offices sought to be included with
in the Nst manifesting public expectation of
convenience and benefit from the system.
From reports received from these Offices for
the month of October it appears that lao. 800 let
tiers bearing the special stamp were Immediately
delivered at the several designated Offices during
that time, of which 9S. 906 came in the mails and
Al, GA were local. OF all these, 1882 were at
carrier-delivery Offices and 1l.00S at the others.
Sales of special delivery stamps at special
delivery Offices alone aggregated 500. 482 80
for the month. There has been at most
Offices sufficient application to supply
messengers. although in some places the small
ness of the service has so limited the compensa-
| ton that postmasters have found it difficult to
secure them. The average compensation to the
messenger for the month was about Sc. So and
the average number of letters delivered on trip
but small fraction over The average
time required for delivery has been seventeen
minutes.
No sufficient experience has yet been afforded
to justify much generalization from it. Yet it
is apparent that the public have accepted the
system with favor and that it affords privilege
to the patrons of the service which is very con-
venent and often of much value. It's largest
employment has naturally been at the carrier
delivery Offices. because these are at towns of
Importance where the centers of business exist,
and to which greater volume of important cor
respondence flows. This is only in accordance
with the relative position of the same Offices in
every feature of the postal service, and does not
disprove the desirability of affordng the facili-
ties at others.
The abuse of the mails by those who seek the
money OF others through appeals to cupidity
ignorance or folly, is, under present laws, very
considerable, despite the efforts of the Depart
ment to suppress it; and it is due to the cause
of good morals. the dignity of the law and the
welfare of society, that adequate means should
be provided to purge the offense 1t is especially
IuOuIuoous oA WIG SoNcTuiHouL because IL Is the
facilities it has established which, in a great
part, enable the tolls of the vicious to be spread
over large territory, and expose the weak to
the arts of the wicked from affair." The press
and the mail combine to give long range to the
weapons of ingenious rascality, and easy collec
ton of the fruits of false pretense. The
laws ought not to suffer an institution, whose
most benefcent service is to discriminate inform
alton and facilitate intercourse. to become the
swift messenger of vice. AS the statutes now
stand, it is matter of doubt what is the meas
ure of authority in the department. what the
| subjects to which it extends, and what the
protection its orders afford to its officers Thou
sands of schemes are shown on the records and
papers of the department, and new ones are con-
| tinually brought to light by which immense
sums of money in the aggregate wrongfuly