The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-11-24
The Postmaster Generals Annual
Report.
Leading Subjects Considered and Recon-
mendationS Made.
Postal Telegraph Railroad Charges The
Heavy and Unnecessary Burdens Carried
by the Service
Special to THE MORNING CALL

WASHINGTON, Nov. 23.-The forthcoming
annual report of Postmaster General Wan
amaker will be, undoubtedly, the most In
teresting and valuable of any issued for
many years past. Mr.. Wanamaker has
not only faithfully set down the operations
of the department during the last fiscal year,
but he has evidently given the mail service
great deal of earnest thought His treat
ment Of the leading subjects which he dis
cusses is conspicuously able. limited
postal telegraph scheme is eXhaustively
discussed. He shows that the telegraph is
no longer luxury, but great and growing
necessity, and essential to the very life of
the business world. The people, he believes,
have right not only to a better service but
cheaper service, and he argues that the
exclusive management of this great engine
which furnishes motive power for the CON-
merce of the world should not be permitted
to remain in the hands of a few millonaires
whose sole interest in it is to get the larg-
est returns for the smallest possible outlay.
He shows that the scheme which he has
recommended to Congress is entirely feas-
ible and should be pressed to final consum-
nation.
RAILROAD CHARGES.
The report will show that the deficiency
this year is in the neighborhood of S6,0OO-
600. 1t will also show that the service is
carrying many heavy and unnecessary
burdens from which it should be speedily
released. But relief must, unfortunately,
come through Congress. 1t is shown that
during the last twenty years there has been
no material change in the rates paid railroad
companies for carrying the mails, and yet
within that time there has been a gradual
decrease in freight rates, amounting to at
least 20 Ter cent. Mr.. Wanamaker applied
his knowledge of arithmetic to this fact and
he finds that if the railroads were compelled
to make to the Government the same con-
cessions they have, within the last twenty
years, made to freight shippers, the saving
to the people would be about 81, SOC, 600.
This saving alone would place the service
aearly upon self-snstaining basis.
The postal service is compelled to carry
the mail burden of all the other departments
of the Government without any compensa-
tion. Ii the other departments were COM
PEELED to pay postage on matter sent by them
through the mails tle revenues OF the postal
service would be increased thereby by about
SS,000,000. Another million dollars is lost to
the Government through-the carrying of
fake advertising sheets as sample copies
at the Same rates as are charged legitimate
newspapers. 1t is not the purpose of the
publishers of these fake sheets to increase
their circulation as one might suppose, but
the only mission in life of these sheets is to
advertise schemes of one character or anoth-
er by which the pu blic may be made TO part
with their money.
ANOTHER BURDEN.
Still another burden is that borne in car
rying paper-covered novels at newspaper
rates. Each number consists of complete
story, and the only evidence of its being
serial publication is statement to that eff
feet on the cover. The law provides that
printed books shall pay postage at the rate
of cent for each ounce, and yet these pub
fishers succeed in evadDg the law, and so,
instead of paying book rates, they pay only
newspaper rates, l cent a pound. Yet Con-
gress allows the Government to be robbed
of at least S., ,000,0 000 every year in this way.
Mr. Wanamaker points ont just how the
Government is annually defrauded Of many
millions of dollars. 1t is the plain duty of
Congress to stop the leaks at once. The re-
port discusses at some length the question
of reduction of letter postage to 1 cent.
Mr.. Wanamaker does not think. however,
that the time has quite yet arrived when
reduction would be advisable. Should Con-
gresS think otherwise, however, he would
offer no special objection.