Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-10-12
POSTAL REC EiPT
Falling OFF D, r ng the Last Quarter Due to
the Free Silver Agitation.
They Increase Rapidly In Time of
Financial Prosperity and Fall Dur
ing Seasons of Depression.

The depressing effect of the silver agi-
tation upon business Is indicated by the
falling off in postal receipts for the quar-
ter ending September 80. There is a fall
ing off Of 81, 100000 as compared with the
quarter ending in June, and 500, 900 :as
compared with the quarter ending Sep
TENDER 30 of last year. While the loss is
not large for the last quarter, as COM
pared with the corresponding quarter of
1895, 1t has taken place in the face of the
fact that postal revenue increases more
rapidly than population in prosperous
years, and that there should have been an
increase Of nearly 81 100000 under normal
conditions. Third Assistant Postmaster
General Hazen declared in his annual re-
pert for 1855 that in no other statistics
of either government or private business
are the pulsations of trade SO readily and
SO unerrinsly distinguishable as in the
tributary to them, and every department
of life. whether of a business or social
nature, feels the need of the service which
they represent" He presented figures to
show that the issues Of postage stamps and
other postal revenue had fiuctuated up and
down with the state of business, and that
this was peculiarly true of the thirty
largest post offices, which represented most
directly the pulSatiOnS of general trade.
The issues of stamped paper advanced at
an astonishing rate during the prosperous
years from 1885 to 1893. This increase in
eight years was at the rate of nearly
A,oOO,OOO annually, and represented a total
percentage in 1893 nearly double that of
1888. The exact gain was equivalent to
about 81 per cent. or nearly IL per cent a
year upon the total Of 1885. The year 1894
told different story
The crisis pulled down the sales of stamp
ed paper to $7O.2:S9,91O. and the improve
ment the next year was only about per
cent instead of 10 per cent. The receipts
from the sale Of stamped paper in 1895
were $13.SS9, 59S, and for 1885, $79I6S, 212
The ngures Tor 1895, therefore, fell below
those OF 1888, and the figures for 1896 show
ed an Improvement of less than per cent
Oh those of three years earlier. The fiscal
year ending June 30, 1896, was the year
OF the operations Of the bond syndicate,
quarters was about $400O.OOO. This rate of
Improvement was not maintained during
the following quarters, while the silver
agitation Vas gathering Roadway and fell
TO SS0,OOO for the quarter ending on June
~ The quarter ending with September
has witnessed further decline, and the
total receipts from stamped paper are less
than year ago.
The decrease for the quarter Just closed
would probably have been still greater but
for the campaign activities, which have re-
suited in the mailing of newspapers and
other matter not subject to frank This
may be judged from the fact that the pay
age increased 100000 from June to Septem-
Der. in spite of the loss of more than 81 500
NO in the total Issues Of stamped paper.
Inc receipts for newspapers and periodical
postage in the quarter ending September
80. 1898. were only $3.50. 4S1, or less than GO
though the total receipts were nearly the
same.