Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-04-01
: THE ]. s. NAIL.
Figures Showing the Magni-
tude of Our Postal Service.
Over 10000 Persons Necessary to
Conduct 1t.
In Railway Postal Routes we
Lead the World.

some very interesting information, status
tical and otherwise, concerning the |
growth and development of the postal |
service. Incidentally some important |
and suggestive facts are brought out |
relative to the benefcent influence q
recent legislation and the co sc iuent |
prospects of an increase of American
trade with the extension of the foreign |
mail service under the shipping act. |
Few persons except those directly con- |
yected with the postal service have a
rood conception of the magnitude to
which it has grown within the last few
wears. In the number of miles OF rail-
way postal routes, the United States
leads all the world. The combined
length of the railway routes of the cDun
try is 144, 551 miles, while the transport"
alton of mails on those routes last year
reached the enormous total of 1920
! 3S4 miles. Germ my comes next with
| total length of "A ,j22 miles and total
transportation Of 80 ,26S, 900 miles. But
the railways by no means carry all the
mails in this country. The star route
and steamboat service have length or
! 261 1902 miles, with transportation an
nually over 1902 600 900 miles. To carry
on successfully this immense service
requires the work of over 600 persons.
The postal correspondence of the
| United States with foreign countries
falls but little below that Of Germany,
which leads the lists of nations. Ninety
millions of pieces were dispatched by
the United States to foreign countries
during the year Of 1890. The increase
over the amount forwarded in 1880 was
about 10 per cent. When it is known
that of the 90,000,0O0 pieces forwarded
fully 70 0000, 900 were carried by vessels
of foreign register, the anxiety for some
measure by which American mails can
be carried by American vessels can be
readily understood 1t appears from
the fact that this government has
actually snubbed other nations that
have been disposed to assist American
shipping and cultivate more intimate
and friendly relations with the United
States. New Zealand may be cited as
an example. That far-oH colony OF
! Great Britain has always shown very
warm feeling for this country, and
manifested i'll every possible way de
sire to have closer connections with
America For several years New Yea
of vessels to carry the mails across the
Pacific, paying to that line annually
S4O0, 900, while the United States paid
for the same service only 500 0. That
is. New Zealand paid for bringing her
mail to the United States eight times as
much as this country paid for carry
ing the outward bound mail. All this
was done to secure regular line of
/. steamers between the two countries
Time and again the government of New
! Zealand appealed to the postal authori-
ties here to bear more equal portion
} of the burden, but they were pOwerless
to act EeCause of the failure Of con-
gress to confer the authority. During
the latter part of last year New Zealand
notified the authorities here that she
would no longer contract for carrying
mails to San Francisco, unless the
j United States would assume an equal
share. The owners of the steamship
line announced that without the helT
they were then receiving they would
have to abandon the service and dispose
of their vessels. Canada and England
have been anxious to have New Zealand
abandon the san Francisco line and pay
it's subsidy to vessels making Vancouver
their mort on this side. SO anxious
however. was New Zealand to deal witt
this country that she renewed her con
tract with the San Francisco line fol
one year, hoping that before the eXpira
tion of that time the United States gov
ernment would do something.
Had it not been for the passage of thu
shipping bill the United States woult
have lost the trans Pacific line of steam
ers before the end of the year, anC
n would have been compelled to send th'
American mail for China, Japan anC
- Australia via Vancouver aud all tn
American mer, handlse destlnel TO
those countries would have had to TAX
the same route. So long as the mail
were carried to those countries wit
reasonable regularity, the peopl
of the United States seemed t
care little about the weal tenure b
which that carriage was secured or held
- The fact appears, then, that the exist
ence of the line of steamers plying be
tween this couar y and those on tn
, other side of the Pacific is due solely t
=" the bounty paid By single colony o
Great Britain. and that against the pre-
test of the parent country. Englan'
and Canada still In the hope OF destroy
ing the San Francisco line, have no'
subsidized a line from Vancouver, an
will forward their mails from there II
stead of from San Francisco.
=, The United States ha' not single lii
TX of contract steamers between tins coul
IN try and any of the South American n
pnblcs, but is compelled to take /
chances of steamers sailing to any
those countries. Hence the mail col
nections with South American countrl
- are very irregular. Whenever Il
agents of any steamship line fix the da
of sailing of vessel they notify Il
postmaster of New York, or other po
of departure and then notices aye sci
out to the leading postotfices OF t.
country and mail is hurried forward.
is only by such irregular communicate
that the United States has enjoyed ms
facilities with South America for yeal
Under the new system the service w
be letter and much more speedy,
y No vessel of the first class of Amt
lean register and only one of the secol
class carried mails for this country la
wear. Eighteen were of the third cla'
ali of the others were of the four
class or of smaller tonnage than !
minimum fixed by the new law. !
the trans Atlantic mail was carried
vessels of foreign register and much
y that destined for other countries.
! United States has one vessel OF the St