Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-12-04
THE POSTAL SERVICE.
Extracts From tho Report Of the
Postmaster General

HR. wASAMAKER DIscUssEs THE NEEDS OF couS-
TRY AND CRY Posr oFFIcEs-THE STAR ROUTE
AND OCEAN MAI. sERvrcEs-FIGHTIsa no
HoPoLY-wHAr WASHINGTON NEEDS
"a somewhat marked country boys IN
stinct" SAYS Postmaster General WanamaKef
In his annual report, has not prevented me
from taking the greatest interest, whether u
has been effectual or not, in the postal neeos oi
the great cities. The tubular post question mas
interested me greatly. and friends OF mine
have gathered valuable materiol aoou' Eu-
ropean systems. / hope that the peopie Vi
New York, Brooklyn and other large cites ana
the members Of Congress who represent them
really mean that they want Pnenmatic tuDes
for the transmission of mails. for the system,
thourb extensive In its introduction is effect
ral and will certainly be self-sustaining II not
profitabIy. / thoroughly believe in it. II
great reforms do not come the small ones do.
The department employs stamp-canceling ma
chimes. which remove some OF tho causes OF er-
rors in post Offices
SHOULD NOT BE sELF-sUsTAINISo.
al have never believed that he continues,
"the department should rightfully be expected
to be self-sustainins; but tho fact 10 that the
congressional base Of supplies expects il to be
SO, and have consequently tried to draw bet
ter and more numerous efforts out of the whole
service than formerly and at o smaller cost.
The revenue has been upward of i've millions
more than ever before The deficit il unques-
tionably decreasing and will entirely disappear
In the next fiscal year, as per estimate. II Con-
gress thinks 1t advisable the service may COM
mence to be self-sustaining on July /, 1893
1t Is possible to develop two new methods
Of quickening and making more frequent the
deliveries and collections in cities. IL would
be marvellous to see n letter box for collec-
lions, as well as for deliveries, on the door OF
every man. house, but 1t is not impossible, II
Is entirely probable that the street railway
post Office may be found adaptable and capable
fgreat utility, and by utilization of both these
means the mails will be accelerated almost be-
yond imagination.
Il try never to forget the country. The ap-
preparation OF SO. GOO. Nv hich the Inst Congress
allowed for The free delivery experiments did
not seem n large sum, but it showed all signs
Of actually earning over 80 600, and this most
interesting fact is probably the beginning Of
universal free delivery, and that would mean
countless benefits for rural dweilers-
FoUErH-cLAss PosTMAsTERs-
81 commend a bill for the appointment CT
fourth-class officials, upon information fur
nished by supervisors, to the attention OF Con-
gress and of ihe postmas;ers themselves. 1t is a
good thing to study i recommend the aboli-
tion OF personal suretyships of postmasters, as
too many OF them are under obligations which
prevent the strictest performance OF their best
work. and finally, as still another measure Tor
the usefulness OF the service in all its ramfica-
tions, i recommend a very general extension OF
the money-order system.
Il believe more earnestly than ever that the
telegraph ought to be applied to the postal serv-
ice so that the two great systems, like the rail-
road and postal service, may quicken and
cheaper transmission of messages for the bene-
Mt Of the unseryed many, and 1 would make
the application OF the telephone TO the postal
service IN adjunct quite as important, because
Of its susceptibility Of extension into rural
neishborhoods- The whole object Of the postal
system Is to transmit intelligence
FIGHT AGAINST MONOPOLY.
"a monopoly has prevented the adaptation
Of the quickest methods of communication to
the great common method; but the fight of any
monopoly is of necessity losing one. Its
character before the last Congress would have
shown that il no other evidence had. The
postal telegraph and postal telephone simply
cannot, in logical events. be kept away from
the post The proposition for their consolida-
tion With il. for the mutual benefit of each, 10
tIst as simple and businesslike as 1t ever was.
urge Just as earnestly ever, too. the expert
ment OF postal dcpositsries. where the working
people, who are remote from any opportunity
TO save, may become forehanded and pros |
perous
4ucfc Is SIcub uetu Vi u NlutE trdEbpOI III |
ticn OF packages by mail, but DO not urge il |
until the greater and more needed improve
ments in the service are made. One-eent post |
age, too, is not Immediately to be undertaken, |
but u can be made possible by the LIST OF jan |
nary. 1884. II desirable, before the service is |
further perfected. II will come the easier if
We let the reduction Of the foreign rate wait a
while: if we simplify inland postage rates SO
that all hostages may be rightly collected; if
we consolidate third and fourth-class matter
-
mails and other losing business. which the de-
parrment under present law is Obliged to do.
THE STAR RoUsE SERVICE.
ST think we shall be able to deliver and col
lect mail along star routes, and successful
experiments have already been made in the
direction Of rural deliveries in suburban
places by means Of electric roads. I purpose
TO do away with the renting of boxes in post
Offices served by free delivery, because it is
manifestly unjust that persons outside Of the
delivery should be charged for an inconven-
fence which they cannot at present get rid of,
and earnestly urge that the bill to entitle
towns as small as 1000 population to enjoy the
free delivery service be passed
The Investigations of the year adduce
plenty OF good reasons why it would be q use
full economical and patriotic thing to build
generally small public buildings for post
offices. This question hardly ADMITS of argu-
ment the more so because Of the Anticipated,
REPRESENTATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT.
Mr. Wanamaker refers with satisfaction to
the Reorganization Of the department., due to
the creation by the last Congress of the Office
Of the fourth assistant He states that one of
the best results OF the reorganization is that
the Postmaster General is given an opportunity
to pay attention to the large probe ms really
enecting the improvement Of the postal service
There is time now, he thinks, for the Post
master General to study how this like any
other business. may be put little in advance
Of the growth of the country. Considerable space
= given to the introduction of the merit system
regulating promotions in the department.
and the extension Of the same system to fiftv
Of the larger post offices. Under this system he
states, from the smallest of the classified most
Offices the workers will now begin to climb
nrst through the various grades Of the post
ONCE TO the railway mail service and finally to
the Post Office Department
GRATIFYING RESULTS OF THE MERIT SYSTEM.
The results OF this competitive meri. system,
IN the Post Office Department" he adds, ..have
been extremely gratifying. There is a notice
A., able absence Of pressure for the advancement
Of clerks who base their claims upon other
considerations than just deserts. There il
marked Improvements in the quantity and
quality Of the work done from day to day and
considerable diminution in the number aud
extent of petty absences"
The execution OF the act OF September 10,
-.