The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1890-12-05
A Year of Postal Service,

tracts. The cards though inferior at
first were quickly brought up to the re-
quired standard. Four hundred thou
sand dollars were saved in stamped en-
velopes contracts and 5000, 900 on GER
tain'mail carrying. At the same time
the mail routes have been extended
over almost two million miles of rail-
way, steamboat and stage lines. The
gross revenue was nearly S., 600, 600
larger than ever before. Almost five
thousand %postoffices more than in any
one year before, have been established
upon petitions of committees. Sub
station and stamp agencies service, the
railway postOffice service, the free de-
livery and other matters have been
greatly extended during the year. The
Star route mileage was increased over
five million miles and the railroad mile
age over eleven millions.
The work of the dead letter Office
has been greatly reduced during the
year.
Touching on the postal telegraph
scheme, the postmaster general says:
The swiftest mail is not fast enough
in these days for all the needs of CON-
MERGE and social correspondence. In
n form or another the public imper-
a~tively demands cheaper %telegraphy
and the postoffice department can sup
ply it at less cost than any corporation,
unless the latter has rent, light, fuel,
carriers and clerks free"
The plan proposed for postal tele-
graph involves no outlay of money. no
appointment of clerks, no financial liza
bility. 1t is surely entitled to fair
consideration.
Under the head GA New Plan for
Postal Savings Banks" the report rec
ommends that the postoffice depart
ment be authorized to establish postal
savings banks under regulations for
mulated by the postmaster general.
These are to be located in states hav-
ing no laws regulating saving banks;in
any other state upon the petition Of a
considerable number of residents of
any n locality; and, not n~umerously
than n p~osto1ice for every ten miles
of area; the interest rate to be fixed
by the secretary of the treasury at the
beginning of each year and to be one
half of l per cent less than the V
age rate paid depositors by private
bankers; all the postal savings received
within a state to be placed or deposit
with the national banks of that state
on application, in such amount and at
such interest as the secretary of the
treasury prescribes; such deposits to
be declared preferred claims.
Touching the a%nti-lottery act the re-
port says the press has aided the de-
partment by a very general approval,
and the public at large has seconded
its efforts to make the new law effec-
tive.
The report shows IA, O72postmasters
removed during the past two years and
26, $50 appointed in the same time.
The postmaster general hopes the
way may be seen clear to connect the
executive department and senate and
house with the Washington p~ostoffice
by a pneumatic system and that it may
be her extended to sub-stations and
%postoffices of the large cities. He would
specially like to see the pneumatic
system working perfectly in Chicago
when the worlds fair is in progress, so
that the postal exhibit there would
really show this high development of
the service. He favors, wherever
practicable, o%ne-story, inexpensive
buildings for p%ostoffice, and says that
to move out of aS60O rented room, safe
and ample for postal business, into a
500, 900 building. where the %janitor
alone gets more salary then the rent of
the former place, cannot be justified
on any business principle.
Regarding reduced postage the post
master general says, in part, I'm point
of fact there is a clear gain of nearly
$50, 600. 600 from letter postage. This
large profit with the annual deficit
(Which last year amounted to S., 1885,
300) is all swallowed up by losses on
other classes of mail matter carried at
less than the cost of distribution and
handling. The amount received from
letter postage last year was about $685.
600. 900. Reduction to the l cent rate
would bring this down to $40, 900. 600.
The deficiency for the current year is
about 81, 500, 000, which would make
the total deficiency $23, 500, 900. This
deficiency would be reduced by the
natural increase of business due to the
stimulus of the low rate and by COM
pletion of pending legislation to collect
proper postage from sample copies of
so-called newspapers and from paper
covered books. By sample copy bust
ness alone over 81, 600, 600 is annually
lost to the revenue and in the transport
tat'on of paper covered books consider
ably more than 81. 600. 900 is kept out
of the postal income for the benefit of
certain book publishers. The defc-
iency under the 1-cent rate might fur
Their still be reduced by the adoption
of improved devices from time to time
which would ave time and money.
The most formidable item, however, is
S.. 600, 900 worth of work performed
annually, without pay. for the execu-
tive departments. If they had paid
postage the revenues would have been
40 00A 000 moro onnuoIlv than nown