The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1890-12-05
uNc-s SANS MAILS.

Report of the acknowledgements
Business OF the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
Savings Banks Recommended.
WASHINGTON Nov. 29-The annual report
of Pos: master General Wanamaker for the
fiscal year ended June 80, 1890. was made
public last night. In the administrative
methods Of the department itself he says
some changes for the better have been
made. A new series of smaller stamps
criticised and iu silly criticised at fret, 60
far as the two-ceut stamp was concerned
sre now. IL is believed. quite acceptable to
the public Over $4,000 have been saved
on the contract for postal cards. which,
though they were properly criticised at
hrst were quickly brought up to the re-
quired standard by the contractor. -Four
hundred Thousand dollars have been saved
on the contract for stamped envelopes. Two
hundred thousand dollars or more has been
saved on certain lettings of contracts for
carrying the malls, and at the same time
the mali routes have been extended all over
200 900 miles OF railway ano steamboat and
stage lines
The anti lottery legislation has entaIIed
much extra labor upon the inspectors
force. but on the other hand the temptation
TO thievirg among employees Of the depart
ment has been much dimIn ished by tho
same means. The past year has been made
very disagreeable to the green goods"
swIndleTs.
Negotiations with the German authorities
looking to the establishment of sea most
offices have been successful. commiss ion
Of postmssters has examined 800 models,
designs and suggestions on house letter
boxes to find something which, II univers-
ally adopted, would cave a quarter part Of
the time Of the carrier force OF the depart
ment
few figures given illustrate how much
the business of the department has grown.
L. - nnaA M
than IL ever was before Almost 5000 new
post Offices, more than 10 any one year be-
fore, have been established upon the petit
tiop OF communities which have needed
them The star route mileage has increased
over 5000, 600 miles and the railroad mileage
over i, 900, COO The railway postal clerks
have reduced the number of pieces usually
sent &C the dead letter office by 100000
The one idea which has dominated the de-
psrtment this year is, Mr.. Wanamaker says,
TO make malls go faster more safely and
more frequently. He submits q few illus
tsstions of the enlarged service In the West
In fifteen months i69, $50 miles OF mali SER
vice were added to the State of Washing ton
alone -Four years ago tbs service was not
so large by 1000 900 miles In Wyoming In
fifteen months have been added about 200
miles OF service, and IN Idaho In fifteen
months about l60, 600 miles
The Postmaster General says: "The swift
est mail is not fastest enough In these days
for all the needs of commerce and social
correspondence The conviction steadily
grows upon me that the post o flee should
do moro than employ fast mails and stage
coaches, and that the electric wires should
carry letters so that the people " no pay In
postage rates the cost of tho postal system
have n right to the use of the postal plants
as q means of reducing the cost of tele-
grsphic correspondence and for the instant
p afdef of eel
plan proposed for a postal telegraph is
familiar TO the public II there Is better
one il will be quickly discovered and
adopted"
Under the bead "A New Plan OF Postal
Savings Banks" the report saysi 81 recon-
mend that the Post office Department be
authorized to establish postal savings banks
under regulations formulated by the Post.
master General, that the said banks be To-
Gated as follows First, In States having no
laws regulating savings banks; second, in
any other State upon petition of q consider.
able number of residents of any one
locality. and, third, not more uumerously
than one post flee TOR every ten miles
OF area That the Interest to be paid to
depositors shall be liked 10y the Secretary of
the Treasury at the beginning Of each year
and be one half Of per cent less than the
average rate paid to depositors by private
banks; that all postal savings received
within q State shall be placed on deposit
with the National banks of thst State on an.
plication. in such amounts and at such in
terest as the Secretary OF the Treasury shall
prescribe. and that ali such deposits be de.
claTed By special enactment preferred
claims against the banks holding them"
The next question considered was that of
lotteries and the mails The subject was
treated briefly as follows: THE new act of
H Congress concerning lotteries accords with
n q If m al
port The lottery companies can not but
see that there Is to be 10 triflng or evasions
in dealing with them. The press has aided
the department by its very general approx
al and the public at large have seconded its
efforts to make the law effective.'
Concerning the excIus ion of THE Ereutzer
Sonata" from the mails the report, after re-
viewing the law on the subject at length,
says: "A translation of a questionab
book was, as a matter of fact, presented
some mouths since 1T the post office in q
Western city for transmission in the mails.
II was held and referred TO this department.
The Assistant Attorney General, finding it
indecent under any definition of the word,
issued an order excluding it To exclude
the book was the simple duty of the depart
mont For myself. never discuss the pol
ICY OF wisdom OF breaking the law, and the
officials of the Post office Department do
not"
during the year was more than 81, OG0 0O0
The compensation for transporting this
mail paid to lines of steamers to Latin
American countries. the Postmaster General
says, is inadequate. and he recommends the
ptsSage Of the subsidy bill now pending In
the House
The number of Presidential postmasters
removed during the last two years was 10
or these 80 were removed on inspector re-
ports any 56h for incompetency and other
causes for the good seIvce." OF the latter
ilg had served four years or more. At fourth
class Offices the removals were 400 in 1889
and SOL! In ISga There we're II. $50 appointe
in the same time. TEe appointing for the
past year numbered Il I6S and the removals
6,274 The n um Der OF post offices at the close
of the fiscal year-June 80. ls9o-was g. 4OL
The number of new Offices established in
1881 was s,236
The total expenditures OF the service dur
Ing the year were S56, 645, 0S3, and the revenue
sSIs2s,2sS, leaving a deficit of S, 7s6, 800.
Compared with the preceding fiscal year
there was an increase of s4,I7O,s $50 in revenue
and an INCREASE Of - ,css eS6 In expenditures
The Postmaster General favors one-cent
postage He also thinks civil service COM
petitIve examinations good. new post
Office building for New York is recon-.
mended.
A Narrow Majority.
HARTFORD, Conn, Nov. 29-The
State Board OF CanvasserS consisting Of
the Secretary of State, the Treasurer
and Comptroller, met at the Capitol yes
fardar Tho oficiol caovacc ~ +ba total