The new North-west., 1891-01-30
THE POSTAL SYSTEM,

The Democratic press Of this country in
their efforts to find 4 weak spot in the ad~
ministration Of President Harrison, have
been compelled to resort to many rnim-
portant and trivial matters on which to base
their complaints and slurs, and in most in
stances have descended into personalities
In these attacks the various departments
have received their share Of attention; but
perhaps more than any other, because of
its direct contact with the people, has the
Postal bureau been a favoritc object for
malicious darts. Nothing was too harsh
for the bourbon organs to say Of the Phila-
dclphia merchant prince, Wanamaker,
when he was appointed Postmaster Gen
cral. A man who by honest, fair dealing,
had become rich in trade, and who com
mandcd the respect Of his employees, from
cash-boy to cashier, III his great mart at
home, as he now commands the respect of
his subordinates i'll the department of gov
| ernment, from clerk and carrier to the
| highest nf his officers. 1t was fitting
selection, based on the rule that Il man
who had shown executive ability in his
own affairs would be able to successfully.
manage those of the nation, and right we'll
has the rule been established.
| General Wanamaker sent to the Prcs-
dent his first report, that covered Il full
years work, last November and it has only
just been issued from the Government
printing Office, and therefore is now mad /,
public complete. It is IL business like re-
sumo of the years work, and many
changes for the better and in the way Of
tbs tRayf hsar fas fdT Toarah ST hh ha
been saved on the contract for postal cards
which, though they We're properly criticised
ut first, were quickly brought up to the re-
quired standard by the contractors Four
on the contract for stamped envelopes.
Two hundred thousand dollars or more
| has been saved on certain lettings Of con
| tracts for carrying the mails. and ut the
same time the mail routes have been cX-
tended over almost 2,O0OOO0 miles Of rail
way and steamboat and stage lines. The
same number Of inspectors have treated
S1,136 cases during The year against GG364
| treated last year. nr an arcrhg" of 1,2l3 per
man this year, against 93S last year. The
total number Of cases on hand July /, 1890,
| ,
1883. This means an increase Of 3};} per
cent. in cases treated and decrease Of %
per cent. in eases on hand. The antilot-
terry Legislation has entailed much extra
labor upon the inspector force. but, on the
other hand, the temptation to thieving
among employees of the Department has
been much diminished by the same means.
The past year has been made very disa-
greeable to the green goods swindlers."
In addition to these facts, the gross reve-
nue. was nearly $5,000,000 larger than ii
ever was before, and 5000 new offices were
established.
General Wanamaker has other measures
at hand which he strongly favors-the
postal telegraph idea, the system of postal
savings banks, rs used in Great Britain, the
shortening of the day to eight hours, and
the establishment of a more rigid exami'
nation of applicants for positions in the
civil service.
To the critics who have accused him OF
Censorship" of the mails, and of adver
tising his business by excluding a certain
book from transportation, Mr.. Wanamake1
pays few brief respects, and states that
| lnc REASON otAcl puullchtlons are uot eA
cluded is, that they are not reported OF
complained of to the officials. The fact
that the exclusion of an indecent work ad
vertises it, is not the fault Of the officer
This is the only instance in which the re-
port notices these fault-tinders, and il
closes by paying we'll deserved tribute
to his retiring assistant, Clarkson, and
other officials.
In the progress and methods Of carrying
on this great branch Of the Government
business, is everywhere seen the guiding
hand of the business man, and it is to be
hoped that John Wanamaker will be given
an opportunity Of testing some of his pro
posed Improvements in the postal system.