The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1891-09-03
The Post.

No a. junct OF modern civilization has
had more rapid development than the
carrying and distribution of the mails.
The United States surpasses all other
nations in the amount Of its mail matter
carried, in the number OF its rost-offices
and in proportion of post, offices to the
population. While the United King
dom OF Great Britain and Ireland has
some eighteen thousand post-offices,. or
one post. office to every two thousand
people, we have in the United States
sixty.two thousand post.offices, which
means that the average number OF
people to every post. Office is about one
thousand.
The United States post-office handles
many more letters than any other
country. While somewhat more than
one and one. half million letters were
delivered in the United Kingdom in the
last reported year, in our own country
nearly one million nine hundred thous-
and were transmitted.
There is one important difference be.
tween the administration OF our post
Office department and that of most
European countries. There is no at
tempt on the part of our government to
make profit from the carrying Of the
mails. While the British Government
derives net revenue of several millions
of dollars each year from its post office
department, our own was operated at a
loss OF somewhat less than six million OF
dollars.
The reason for this is obvious. No
government of civilized, modern State
really desires to make mrney out OF the
business OF carrying the mail of the
people, and all such governments have
gradually reduced the cost of postage
But the great majority of the Europeans
have expenses which exceed their reve
.nues, and their governments are pressed
| to obtain revenue wherever it is practic
able.
In, the United States, on the contrary
our national revenues have for severa
years been in excess OF the needs OF thu
government. This surplus revenue ha
been an excellent occasion, therefore
for the extension, Improvement ant
cheapening OF the postal service.
The deficit in the post.office depart
ment is not due, indeed, to any loss o
money in the actual carrying of letters
AS a matter of fact, there is yearl,
profit OF nearly thirty millions of dollar
from letter postage. But it takes al
this profit, and more too, to transpor
the other and cheaper classes of mail, t
carry the immense mail OF the govern
ment itself, and to extend mail facilitie
over newly settled regions.
The development, extension and i'm
provement of the postal service has b
! no means reached it's limit. Many pre-
7 posed new steps in advance are discusses
in the Postmaster Generals annual re
. port, lately submitted to the President
( The early reduction of letter postage
3 one cent is one OF these measures, and
5 is shown that the existing deficit, whic
: now hinders farther reduction OF lette
: postage, could be nearly or very nearl
, removed by legislation. which woul
prevent certain losses in the administra
+ ton of the department.
Other changes or improvements locke
forward to are postal telegraph system
under which the government woul
take to itself the business OF telegraph
communication in the same way i
which it carries the letters; the use {
pneumatic tubes for messages in lare
cities, the establishment of house lette
boxes where letters can be received an
= mailed; and the free delivery in smalle
places than any which now have deliver
by carriers.-Ez.