The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1895-02-18
ENGLAND's POSTAL SERVICE.
How 1t Compares With That of the
United States.

| bNGLAND'S PUSIAL SEkV lUE.
How 1t Compares With That of the
| United States.
Great Britain has three-ffths as many
people as the United States, but they are
confined to an area of LII, 900 square miles.
| We have three and one-half times as
many postofices, but they are scattered
over an area of 1901, 400 square miles,
which accounts for the difference in the cost
| the postal service.
The British Government makes a profit
of more than $13, 100000 out of her mails
every year, while we lose an average of
Sc, 800, 900.
The deficit during the last year in the
| United States was larger than ever before,
and 100000 more than the estimate of
| the PoStmaSter-General, which was due to
the decrease in the receipts caused by the
financial depression and the falling-off in
| trade.
The deficit in 1890 was $5,O48, 619, and in
1893, $5,177, III.
1t will be noticed, too, that there are as
many more employees in the British ser
vice than in that of the United States in
proportion to the amount of business
transacted, although they are paid much
less.
This is accounted for also by the fact
that the British postal system includes the
telegraph, savings bank and other extra
| features.
The average salary of the British postal
employer is not more than half of that
paid for the same service in the United
| States.
The 1O1, O96 employees in the United
States postal service are divided as follows:
Postmasters 69,805, clerks 1854, carriers
IL, 1856, railway mail agents 68S1.
| There is no record of the number of
women employed in our service.
| The British use the money-order more
than the people of the United States, but
it will be seen from the figures in the table
above that the countries write about the
same number of letters annually.
One would naturally suppose that our
English cousins would be more careful
| in their correspondence than the Ameri-
cans, for they are trained to a higher
degree of accuracy and eXactness, par
ticularly in commercial transactions, but
the statistics of the postoffice show that
this is a mistake.
Although we wrote 1912, 100000 more
letters last year than the British, the
difference in the number of dead letters is
only S9,6SS.
That is, in England one letter in every
289 went astray, while in the United States
one in every 40.
at the same time it is shown that when
we did make mistakes the most of them
were beyond remedy, for nearly 60 per
cent of our dead letters could not be de-
livered, while all but 504 600 of those in
Great Britain were returned either to the
people who wrote them or to those for
whom they were intended.
1t is q curious fact also, that though more
people in Great Britain forget altogether to
address their envelopes than in the United
States, many more of the letters posted
without address in the United States con-
tanned money. The accuracy of the regis
tered service, as will be seen, was yery
much to the advantage of the United
States.
There is no reference in Mr.. Bissell's
annual report to a postal savings bank,
but the annual report of the Postmaster
General of Great Britain shows that the
system is in use over there and is a great
success. The number of deposits received
last year was 983, 1913, representing a value
of $123, 245, 100 in our money and interest
amounting to SIS, SOC, $50 was permitted by
depositors to remain and be placed to their
credit at the end of the year. The
total amount due depositors is $407, 1888 ,205,
which is net increase of $685. 724 $40 from
the previous year. The number of de-
positors is 5, 748, 239, which is in proportion
OF one to every seven of the population, but
| the greater portion are in England In
| Scotland there are only 225, III depositors,
| or one in nineteen of the population, and
in Ireland only 235, 944 or one in twenty.
There are over II 900 postal savings Offices
in the kingdom. New regulations went
nto effect last year, under which deposit
tor may withdraw his money by telegraph.
! The method is very simple. He is fur
nished blank or check at local post
office, which is filled out for the amount
wanted, and pays pence for telegram,
which the postmaster sends to the office
where he has his account. If the reply is
satisfactory the depositor may receive his
money upon identification.
| Energetic measures have been taken to
advertise the benefits of the system, par
ticularly in the manufacturing districts
and among wage-earners everywhere, and
| millions of little pamphlets have been dis
! tributed from house to house. To this a
| large portion of the increase is attributed.
The cost of maintaining the service is cal
| culated to be six-tenths of penny per de-
positor.
! What is called the stamp-deposit system
| has been introduced among the children of
over 5000 schools, tifty-five having been
added to the list duriag the year. Under
this system children are furnished with
| cards ruled off in squares the size of
stamp; when they have penny they are
encouraged to buy stamp instead of
| spending it for candy. The stamp is placed
| upon the card, and when the card is full it
is delivered to the nearest postmaster, who
gives the child credit in passbook for the
amount of money represented by the
stamps it contains. The aggregate amount
thus deposited during the year by the chill
dren of Great Britain was over $780,
600. Of the shilling forms to hold
twelve stamps, 630,860 were issued,
and of the four-shilling forms to hold
forty-eight stamps, 247 625. These forms
of cards are supplied in bulk to the teach
ers of the public schools, who are required
to instruct their pupils concerning the
benefits of thrift. This is said to have an
excellent effect not only upon the children
but upon their parents both by the force
OF example and by making known the adj